Casterton WI: Afternoon Tea at the Midland Hotel

On Wednesday May 15^th, nine members set out to Morecambe and, more specifically, the Midland Hotel. It was miserable weather in Casterton but the sun shone for much of our time at the seaside.

After a relaxing sit in the entrance hall admiring and absorbing the Art Deco scene, we were escorted on a fascinating tour round the hotel by the concierge, Brian. The three storey curved building designed by Oliver Hill still contains many of the original features. The lovely rugs in the foyer are copies of the originals designed by Marian Dorn which were inspired by the sea and waves and the seahorse, similar to the mosaic in the foyer, has been adopted as the hotel’s emblem. The views from the top of the hotel of Morecambe itself and across the bay were splendid.

Brian explained the wonderful works by Eric Gill: There are two seahorses, modelled as Morecambe shrimps, on the outside, a round plaster relief on the ceiling at the top of the circular staircase, a decorative wall map of the north west of England in a reception room and a large stone relief of Odysseus being welcomed from the sea by Nausicaa in the lobby. The wall map and medallion were painted by Denis Tegetmeier, Eric’s son in law.

After all this culture, we relaxed on the sun terrace for an excellent afternoon tea consisting of a range of sandwiches, scones with jam and clotted cream and a variety of cakes. Such was the feast that nobody was going to need to eat any more when they got home!

Oh we do like to be beside the seaside!