IN High Tea

Delicious morsels served on exquisite china. What is it about a high tea that makes us feel special and marks an occasion perfectly?

As a young woman, a visit to London’s Ritz Hotel made a huge impression on Fiona Thomas. The grandeur and gentility stuck in her mind and eventually provided inspiration for her Perth business.

“I started collecting mismatched vintage china a few years later,” Fiona says about Antiquitea, her vintage high tea company. “When I had enough pieces I did a tea party for my friends. Then my sister borrowed my collection for her 40th birthday, which was an afternoon tea.”

Those attending enjoyed using it so much, they suggested she hire out the set. Before Fiona knew it, hosting high teas became her hobby. Two-and-a-half years on it’s what she’s known for.

Antiquitea not only supplies Fiona’s collection of china but everything else you need to host a gorgeous tea party, from linen to working with her favourite caterer, Chica Catering. To date Antiquitea has hosted everything from sweet 16’s right up to a 100th birthday party alongside baby showers, kitchen teas and anniversary celebrations. For hen’s days, girls often start with a genteel afternoon tea and then head out for a night on the town or gather after a spa day.

“People say they have never experienced anything like it. It’s not just the china, but beautifully-set tables to sit at, vintage silverware, fresh flowers and the ceremony of it all. Somehow tea just tastes better in a bone china teacup.”

Fiona encourages her clients to post out physical invitations, rather than emailing them as there’s nothing like receiving a beautiful invitation in your letterbox. It sets the scene for what’s to come and creates a sense of occasion and anticipation.

“It all goes back to days gone by, when things were different. We really want to bring back the joy of high tea; and although there isn’t the time these days for ladies to gather in parlours each afternoon to drink tea with their friends, what Antiquitea does is perfect for very special occasions and it’s becoming more popular.”

For Mother’s Day on May 6, Antiquitea is staging a traditional English high tea called the Ultimate High Tea at Fremantle Town Hall.

Shift the focus

Being in the property market I’m obviously an avid follower of all the commentary and statistics released on the state of the market.

And to put it bluntly: it’s totally confusing and often seems to be a self-perpetuating cycle of either talking the housing market up or down at any point in time.

How does this constantly changing and conflicting commentary affect the buyers, sellers, investors and renters out there?

You may well ask.

So in this column my aim is to demystify the commentary and provide you with more useful information. After all, this is real estate in the 21st century where all of us have access to a wealth of information in real time, in fact, so much so, that it’s a virtual minefield to attempt to wade through.
What you need to know as a player, or potential player, is: where is the weather vane pointing at the moment and what does it mean for your own situation?

The good news is that positive sentiment is returning to the Perth housing market following the two cuts in official interest rates late last year and there are a heap of other positive fundamentals.
Evidence of this can be seen in the increase in rental and sales activity.

The combination of factors that led to the long period of inertia (and stagnation) in the Perth housing market is clearing and it’s well and truly time to shift the focus away from the negative, “GFC-inspired” commentary to a new dynamic.

According to the latest set of real estate indicators from REIWA, there was a 4.5 percent rise in the number of houses sold in the last quarter of 2011 and a 6.4 percent jump in the number of apartments sold. Average selling days dropped to 77 from 81 in the same period while at the same time, the number of properties on the market fell by 10 percent.

For renters, the market is tight and vacancy rates continued to slide. The vacancy rate has fallen to just 2.5 percent in Perth and the median rent has risen a further 1.3 percent to $400 a week.

So, what does this mean for the renter, the investor and those wanting to buy? What should you be doing?
Firstly be cautious about market generalisations as outcomes can vary from suburb to suburb and in different price ranges.

Accepting this:

• Investors should take note of the improved rental returns and assess the potential for property value growth
• Sellers should accept that price growth may not be dramatic in the short term and to have clarity about their selling expectations prior to going to market. Select an agent that has the right selling solutions
• Renters should secure longer tenancy terms to help manage any potential rental blow out
• Buyers should understand that real value is abundant in the market right now and to act before this period of opportunity passes

My best advice: don’t take on the clichés or outdated views so prevalent out there. Get involved in forums where there is informed, practical and incisive dialogue about the market.

IN Travel

Travel broadens your horizons, no matter what your age and Mary Moody believes challenging yourself keeps everything in working order.

Sitting about knitting is not the kind of life Mary Moody has ever had in mind for herself. Keeping still and not pushing herself has never been an option.

As well as publishing four best-selling travel memoirs, Mary, 62, is also well known for presenting Gardening Australia on the ABC. She lives in Katoomba, near the Blue Mountains on a farm with ducks, sheep and a good-sized veggie patch. Travel is a regular part of her year whether it’s visiting Asia or staying at her second home in southern France.

In the early 1990’s adventure travel company World Expeditions approached Mary to guide a group to the Himalayan valley of Har-ki-dun to revel in the extraordinary local plant species.

Since then Mary has lent her expertise in plants, a love for yoga and exploring to guide numerous trips into Europe and Asia for the group. This year she will do four different trips, all of which link with a personal passion and an area of knowledge: exploring the food and wine of south-west France, the flowers and festivals of Mongolia, enjoying yoga and trekking in India plus a special trip to Nepal designed for grandparents and their grandkids.

“I’ve totally fallen in love with this kind of travelling,” Mary says of World Expedition’s brand of small group travel. “I’ve found them to be the most life changing of experiences as you get a chance to absorb history, culture and modern day life.”

Mary has taken two of her 10 grandchildren on the nana-grandkids Nepal trip and loves the idea of getting them away from their everyday urban lives.

“It’s one thing to see it on television, but it’s not the same to be there and see how other people live. I think it’s a bit of a reality jolt and a little challenging, but what a great way to learn about the world. I also had seven of them for two weeks in the school holidays and they can’t just sit there and watch movies. They have to get out, explore and swing over the creek.”

If Mary’s own grandchildren are anything to go by, she says their experiences have not only created a love for travel but an attitude of philanthropy and wanting to give back. “The trip really made them think a lot about things other than their small circle of friends and turn their eyes to a bigger place.”

Mary loves the fact that a large part of the trips she takes involve walking, so you get to see life from the ground, rather than through the windows of a car or bus. That’s when you can’t miss the baby in the hammock on the porch or the newly tended flowers in someone’s garden.

“I think you feel an enormous connection that way and people do like to feel part of the place they go to. For example, during the French trip we have picnics and have drinks in the homes of people I know.

“People who have been on these trips 10 or 15 years ago are still in touch and others keep coming on new tours, which is brilliant. There’s a familiarity there and it has bred some really strong relationships as a result of these adventures.”