It’s the Christmas season and there were Christmas trees everywhere, including a cutesy palm-sized tree on my plate. This was no ordinary tree; this was a triumph of chestnut and cassis Mont Blanc covered in green icing topped with a tiny golden ball.

The tree had been winking at me from a tier of goodies at the plushly decorated The Parlour restaurant at the iconic five-star Great Scotland Yard Hotel (of Metropolitan Police fame). It was almost too pretty to tuck into, but that didn’t stop my fork from gently plunging into its softness and scooping a little of its cream and chocolate base. It was delicious.

This singular moment was part of an afternoon enjoying the newly curated Festive Champagne Afternoon Tea. With it comes a glass of Veuve Cliquot Champagne and lashings of tea. There were 15 to choose from and we were invited to taste as many as we wanted.

The tea was served in two tiers. First the savoury then the sweet. By the time I had devoured tasty hors d’oeuvres-sized wild mushroom and rocket quiches and finger sandwiches of turkey and celeriac remoulade on brown bread topped with a dollop of cranberry sauce, the Champagne had disappeared.

So I paired smoked salmon, caviar, horseradish cream on malted bread and egg truffle mayo and chives on pain de mie – a supersoft, slightly sweet sourdough bread – with Chenjia Garden Ali Shan tea, a creamy, tropical fruit number from Taiwan.

The highlight of this tier was the bite-size crispy balls of chestnut and Montgomery cheddar Yorkshire pudding which went down superbly with the honeyed notes of the Shuangji Garden Phoenix tea.

The next tier had freshly baked plain and spiced gingerbread scones with cornish clotted cream and blackberry jam. As is tradition, this is a moment to ponder what comes first the cream or the jam? I remained unsure, so I tried both methods resulting in lashings of cream and jam either way. 

Finally, I got through the aforementioned Christmas tree and the hotel’s darkly sweet signature GSY bûche de Noël Spiced Jivara chocolate and bergamot teacake ball with reindeer chocolate ears. Though the Black Forest reindeer Kalingo chocolate cake with Amarena mousse offered pleasant stewed cherry flavours, I had to give up, reluctantly, after a single bite. 

Verdict: Festive Champagne Afternoon Tea at The Parlour restaurant at Great Scotland Yard Hotel is fun, flavoursome and festive. Don’t miss it.

How much: The Festive Afternoon Tea from £65. 

More info and to book the Festive Champagne Afternoon tea click here

Address: The Parlour, Great Scotland Yard Hotel, 3-5 Great Scotland Yard, London SW1A 2HN

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We all faced a barrage of so-called “photography rules” when first starting out, and one of the most enduring for outdoor shooters is the familiar Rule of Thirds. This is a compositional guideline that involves dividing an image into nine equal parts and placing the subject where two of the vertical and horizontal lines intersect.

This simple rule is a worthwhile starting point for beginners, but there are far better framing techniques to explore as your skills evolve. Let’s face it:  if you’re a regular Shutterbug reader it’s time to move beyond baby steps and take a more creative approach when framing up your shots. Doing so will result in compelling photos and help you establish a far more sophisticated photographic style.

Instructor Jalen Oban is a landscape pro based in the Pacific Northwest who is very generous about sharing the secrets to his shooting and post-processing success. He describes today’s video like this: “I’m diving into advanced techniques that will help you elevate your compositions and create dynamic, compelling images.”

Oban takes prides in being an adept visual storyteller, and you will too after following his advice. He punctuates the lesson with eye-catching photos that illustrate how to compose different types of outdoor scenes under various lighting condition for maximum impact. His goal is to enable you to “capture the view and the feeling you experienced on location.”

The idea is to utilize concepts like symmetry, balance and tension, depth and dimension, and other pro tricks. You’ll also see how the inclusion of subtle easy-to-ignore details can be helpful for guiding a viewer’s eye.

The discussion also includes some great advice on how the thoughtful use of light, perspective, and focal length can completely transform your compositions and contribute to truly immersive imagery. In essence, this is all about changing your mindset and being receptive to news ways of visualizing the world around you before snapping the shutter.

There’s much more to learn on Oban’s instructional YouTube channel for outdoor photographers of all skill levels. So be sure to pay a visit.

We also suggest watching a thought-provoking video we featured with another accomplish pro who raises this interesting question: Should you spend your hard-earned cash on a new hi-res camera or invest in lenses with superior optical quality?