To coincide with the V&A’s Winnie-the-Pooh: Exploring a Classic exhibition, The Pelham London is hosting a whimsical Silly Old Bear afternoon tea.
But put aside any notions of the prim and proper way to prepare a scone; this is kid-friendly afternoon tea with a sense of humour.
Food is served on round pieces of tree trunk – with scones tucked inside a wicker basket lined with moss – and treats include a Tigger-striped passionfruit macaron and a meringue and marzipan bee. Younger guests will have a great time scooping chocolate mousse out of a mini Kilner jar, while adults can tuck into honey roast ham and mustard mayonnaise sandwiches.
After finishing tea in the decadent yet welcoming surrounds of The Pelham Hotel, you can wander a few minutes down the road and head into the V&A’s new exhibition, which celebrates the timeless appeal of this much-loved bear.
Parents may be wary of taking their children to an exhibition at the V&A; will it require too much attention span? Will they get bored? Will they be able to concentrate after all that sugar?
But the V&A have done a wonderful job of ensuring the exhibition caters to the kind of adults who go to museums, and children who will visit in the hope of glimpsing their favourite characters.
Original sketches from E.H. Shepherd and Winnie-the-Pooh memorabilia from around the world make up the bulk of the exhibition. But there is also a tiny bed – complete with Pooh books – for children to sit down and have a read; there’s a slide and a wooden bridge over a projected moving river, where you can pretend to play pooh sticks.
One of my favourite parts of the exhibition was a darkened room where voices read one of the original stories while the words are projected and animated onto the ceiling. It was both wonderfully inventive and very funny.
This would make for a delightful family day out and a very special treat for fans of the bear of very little brain.
This family experience is sold at £43 per person including tickets to The Winnie The Pooh – Exploring a Classic Exhibition at The V&A and is available until 8 April 2018.
For an even more immersive experience families can book the “Oh Bear!” package offering a night at either The Gore or The Pelham, a silly old bear afternoon tea and tickets to the exhibition.
The Oh Bear! Package starts at £315 per room per night at The Gore and at £375 per room per night at The Pelham and includes breakfast and VAT.
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