LITTLETON, Colo. — Inside a small business on Littleton’s Main Street, a table is covered with pots of tea, cups, and various plates filled with pastries, cakes and muffins. A group of British women have been gathering here weekly for the last decade to sip and spill the tea, literally and figuratively.
“We love a cup of tea,” said Sylvia Lambe with a laugh. She’s from the United Kingdom and has lived in Colorado for five years. “There are different types of food here that we have that are traditionally British, and [this is] a time for us to get together to remember where we came from.”
For the Sept. 9 gathering, though, around 30 women from the group used their weekly visit to commemorate — and contemplate — the life and legacy of the late Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away a day prior at age 96.
“Today I would say is a community therapy session. It’s feels therapeutic. My friends who are living here in Denver, we have a common experience and it’s important that we remember we’re away from home, and that we have family back in the U.K., but we miss them and understand what they’re going through,” said Lambe.
Lambe said she has conflicting feelings about Queen Elizabeth II. She feels a connection to the queen and a sense of patriotism — along with so many other people from the United Kingdom — but as a British-born Black woman, Lambe says she must also consider what the monarchy has represented to so many people of color across the world.
