Certainly there were those who said he didn't do enough to chat up people in the tearoom.

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Today the tearoom sticks to its roots, serving delicate pastries among palm trees and wicker furniture in an old-fashioned conservatory.

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Now, thanks to years of recession, even a backpacker can enter a tearoom once reserved for CEOs and enjoy its economies of scale.

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Every day, I went to the tearoom two doors to the south, with its carp pond in the garden and its shelves of trophies commemorating giant fish within.

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The former home of the Bishops of Durham now has guided tours, a children's trail for younger visitors, a new tearoom and an exhibition of religious artwork.

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The Scottish Fisheries Museum has had a busy 2012, including an upgrade to its tearoom and the opening of a community curated exhibition 'Iconic Artists in Iconic Places'.

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Inspired by a Glasgow tearoom designed by Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Elizabeth Ruby set out to capture his spare organic aesthetic at The Tea Room in Savannah, Georgia.

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Out goes the hotel bar, in comes the tearoom.

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Mary Alice Higbie and her son, Daniel, run this charming tearoom where guests are tucked into intimate seating areas inspired by English spots such as Stow on the Wold, in the Cotswolds, and Magdalen, for the college in Oxford.

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The saga of who said what about a donation at gatherings of the rich and powerful in Corfu may be the story dominating headlines and the talk of the Commons tearoom, but at prime minister's questions Mr Cameron was clearly desperate to steer well away from it all.

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