TO celebrate the Queen’s 90th Birthday, Hexham Abbey is hosting a vintage tea dance in the Great Hall.

With music drawn from the 1920s, 30s and 40s, this event promises to evoke memories of the past, to a world of palm court orchestras and polished etiquette where gentle pleasures like tea dances offered a few hours’ respite from the great uncertainty and conflict in the wider world.

Entertaining the dancers while they enjoy their tea will be the Doo-Wop Dollies, an all-female, North-East-based vintage singing group very much in the style of the Andrews Sisters.

Their repertoire includes wartime classics including Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree and Kiss Me Goodnight Sergeant Major as well as lilting pre-war numbers such as Lullaby of Broadway.

Traditional tea dances at around the time of Her Majesty’s birth in 1926 might have included high-octane dances like the Charleston, the Black Bottom and the Lindy Hop, but in Hexham Abbey’s Great Hall, somewhat gentler forms of dance are anticipated.

Events manager Jane Musto said: “We’ve managed to find a real working gramophone player and we’ll be playing popular numbers by the Glen Miller Band and others, which are ideal for dancing waltzes and foxtrots.”

The Great Hall will be decorated with bunting to create a vintage party atmosphere and a perfect backdrop for the home-made tea of assorted bite-sized sandwiches, scones with jam and cream and a selection of cakes and tray bakes, served on cake stands.

“Everything is home-made and very much in keeping with what would have been served at tea dances from the 1920s,” Jane added.

“We served refreshments to the Countess of Wessex in the Great Hall recently, and although the Queen won’t be here on her 90th birthday, I’m sure she would approve!”

The event will take place at 4pm on Sunday, June 12. For more information or tickets call (01434) 602031 or email admin@hexhamabbey. org.uk