I WAS recently offered a cream tea on the Eurostar returning home from the European Parliament in Brussels. This was accompanied by a printed card offering Raymond Blanc's guide to a Grand English Tradition which raised two weighty issues: how to pronounce scone and do you put the cream on first with jam on top or vice versa?

He confused me by saying his preference was cream first and then proudly asserting that his cream was supplied from Cornwall.  It is my understanding the Cornish favour putting the jam on first while we Devonians prefer cream on first (I believe that is so we can get more cream on the scone!)

What do people think about this?  By the way I enjoyed the cream tea.

Giles Chichester MEP

Conservative MEP for South West England and Gibraltar