Office Ladies - Finer Things Club

Episode Date: June 18, 2025

This week on Office Ladies 6.0, it’s a celebration of the Finer Things Club! Jenna and Angela revisit Dunder Mifflin’s exclusive club that met once a month to “discuss books, art and celebrate culture in a very civilized way” with core members Pam, Oscar and Toby. The ladies also read fan letters about book club drama, Angela deep dives high tea, Jenna shares her experience commuting to a book club and the Office Ladies team enjoy some high tea. So come and enjoy this episode and remember, no work talk allowed.  Office Ladies Website - Submit a fan question: https://officeladies.com/submitaquestion  Follow Us on Instagram: OfficeLadiesPod To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some trips are just better in an Airbnb. And right now you can discover Canada and their many local hidden gems with an Airbnb. I worked in Canada off and on for two years. Yes. And my first year, the production put me up at a place. And the second year, I was like, hey, whatever that production budget is,

can I have it and go find my own place in more of a neighborhood, you know? Yes. And I did, I got an Airbnb, I got a little apartment, it faced a park, it was so lovely. I loved the host and I stayed there for two months. Wow. Yeah, and I was near a grocery store.

I really felt like I made a little life there. I'm thinking about like the Rocky Mountain areas in Canada where they've got the lakes and the Alberta Rockies. I don't know, it just feels like if you got yourself a cozy little cabin there. You know what I mean? Yeah. Like Banff National Park.

Well listen, maybe you should consider Airbnb for your next adventure. I mean, we love it. Love it. I'm Jenna Fisher. And I'm Angela Kinsey. We were on The Office together. And we're best friends.

And now we're doing the ultimate office lovers podcast just for you. Each week we will dive deeper into the world of The Office with exclusive interviews, behind the scenes details, and lots of VFF stories. We're the Office Ladies 6.0. The Finer Things Club is the most exclusive club in this office. Naturally, it's where I need to be.

The party planning committee is my backup and Kevin's band is my safety. Hello everyone. Hi, we are so excited because today on Office Ladies 6.0, it's a meeting of the finer things club. Okay, so I loved doing the finer things club storyline so much, it's one of my favorite office memories. I'm so excited to talk about it today.

I wanted to be in the finer things club. So I'm very excited today I about it today. I wanted to be in the Fighter Things Club. So I'm very excited today I get to be an honorary member. Yes, that's right. Because today we are going to talk a little bit about Dunder Mifflin's Fighter Things Club, but we're also going to dive into the world of book clubs and book club dramas. Angela, I believe you did a deep dive

on the origins of afternoon tea. I did. You know I can't wait for that. It was so fun. And Jenna, you've been so excited for this episode because you're a super book nerd and you've got lots to share. Oh, I am in my happy place today. Cassie, I know you as well.

Yes, this is very true. I love reading. It's not to say that Sam and I don't love reading. It's a little harsh, but all right. Did you feel it? Did you feel it? A little smug opening? Sure. Well, as you all know, The Finer Things Club was revealed in season four, episode 10 of The Office, titled Branch Wars.

This episode introduces the club as a very exclusive group within the Scranton branch. It has three members, Pam Beasley, Oscar Martinez, and Toby Flenderson. And let me tell you, Toby is not interested on having anyone else join. No, he is not. Well, there are rules for the finer things club. It's very organized. And here's a clip of Pam explaining how it all works. Oscar, Toby and I are founding members of the finer things club. We meet once a month to discuss books and art, celebrate culture in a very civilized way. Sometimes the debate can get heated,

but we're always respectful. There is no paper, no plastic, and no work talk allowed. It's very exclusive. Look at how happy she is. It's very exclusive. Just so hoity-toity. I mean, I think she's just proud of her little group. I think she is proud, but I also think she's hoity-toity. My goodness.

Well, you know, things are going very well for our little finer things club group until Andy decides he wants to be a member. And then later, Pam lets Jim into the group. You know, she feels bad for him. And he's clearly not read the book Angela's Ashes. Drama, drama. And you guys, we were all talking and we realize any book club we've heard of, there's always some drama.

And we reached out to you guys and you wrote in with your book club drama stories and you definitely confirmed our theory. For example, we got this letter from Colleen C. in Pittsburgh, which I just loved. Here it is. Colleen said, I attended a snooty book club similar to the finer things club. See? Snooty. I was invited by a friend and didn't realize how exclusive it was. They rotated hosts each month and the host had to provide the food, venue, and drinks.

The host would be silently judged on what they were able to provide. And if it wasn't up to standards, would be openly critiqued in the group chat. Oh my gosh. This is a book club Angela would like. Well, she would love the judging. Yes. Colleen said the books selected were long and intellectual.

The discussion was very formal. At the end of the night, we would all go around and rate the book from one to five. Members were encouraged to be extremely careful in rating a book a five and should only do so if the book had quote, changed their life. Eventually, the original members decided the book club was getting too big.

They were mad that people were just inviting their friends without any sort of vetting process. They met together and selected who would be kicked out of the book club. All members being kicked out received a formal phone call letting them know they were no longer welcome to attend. I ended up being kicked out, but my friend warned me in advance

and I ignored the call out of spite. They called several times before finally resigning to the fact that they'd have to inform me of my removal over voicemail. All of us who were kicked out started our own book club with less pressure and less rules. Oh my goodness. So snooty.

Well, you know who has a book club, lady. Who has a book club? The writer of Branch Wars, Mindy Kaling. Oh yes, of course she does. And I guess everyone can join her book club so it's not snooty. I went to the website for it and this is what it says. Fresh, vibrant and binge-worthy reads.

Mindy's Book Studio celebrates emerging and diverse voices from fresh romantic comedies and poignant coming-of-age stories to suspenseful dramas with unforgettable female protagonists. And then there's a quote from Mindy. It says, I'm passionate about bringing unique stories to readers and viewers,

and I can't wait to help discover and support talented new voices through Mindy's Book Studio. Right now, they're spotlighting eight books, and I'll put them in our stories. I love this. I know. I love the idea of starting a book club. But the follow-through sounds kind of daunting to me. Well, lady, I have a little surprise

for our office ladies group today. Are you starting a book club? I'm not starting a book club, but I do have a passion for reading. Lady, you gave me that amazing book club membership for my birthday from that independent bookstore. So I thought maybe it would be fun to surprise each of you today with one of my favorite books.

Oh, that's wonderful. That I have fun to surprise each of you today with one of my favorite books. Oh, that's wonderful! That I have hand selected for each of you. Oh, so we have a different one? Yes. Ah, this sounds so cool. Now this is a book that is a gift to me or a task that I now have to read.

It is a gift. Okay. But Sam, your phrasing says everything. Yeah, when does this do? Cassie, turn around. There is a red wrapped item on the shelf behind you. This is your book gift. This is like the matrix where there's things

and you're like, what? That's been there the whole time? Yeah, I had no idea. I just lead everything back to Keon. All right, I'm opening it. All right. Now, Cassie, I know you read a lot. It was very hard for me to think of a book

that maybe you hadn't read. So you may have already read this. What is it? It is 112263 by Stephen King. Oh, that's a really good one. It is one of my all time favorite books. It's not horror, but there is a fantasy time travel element. Here's what it's about.

The main character discovers a portal where he can go back in time, and he decides that he's going to try and stop the assassination of John F. Kennedy. This sounds amazing. Have you read it? I have not read it. My partner has read it.

But years ago, when we'd go on walks, he was telling me the plot. Oh, no. So you know the plot. But he told me this over five years ago. Oh no, so you know the plot. But he told me this like over five years ago. I remember a little bit about a romance, but everything else I don't remember.

You know what, Cassie? The romance is my favorite part of the book. I'm telling you this book, it's like beautiful. It's beautiful, and also the past is obdurate. What does that mean? What's obdurate? Is that what he says over and over? What's that word mean? Ob that what he says over and over? What's that word mean?

Obdurate. It means the past is unmovable. Oh. It's the phrase that stuck with me after I read it. I'm so intellectual of you. Oh, I guess you're surprised. You know what stuck with me is there's a moment where he drinks root beer and it like, I don't know, the way it was described

was like one of my favorite passages. Obdurate, stubbornly refusing to change one's opinion or course of action. Oh, that's a little hint. All right, but that's the phrase he says over and over. Jenna, what? I'll be tracking it as I read it. Okay.

Thank you so much, Jenna. I can tell Jenna's in her happy place because we've been friends a really long time and she does this thing with her hands when she's feeling a little like festive and fancy. She does like this little like, I don't know, you can't see me because I'm on a podcast, but I'll do it and I'll put it in stories.

Okay, Sam, would you like to turn around and get your red wrapped gift? I would, thank you. Okay, here it goes. I'm not familiar with this. I'm familiar with the author and my year of rest and relaxation. You've read my year of rest and relaxation?

I have, yes. Okay, so Sam, that is one of the most original, weird books I've ever read in my life. Agreed. Okay, this book is her new book, Lepvana. Lepvana. The author is Otessa Moschveg. And it is set in a fictional medieval town.

It's about how this lowly sheep farmer and then the Lord that lives on the hill interact. It is so bizarre and wonderful. I absolutely loved it. I think you're gonna like it. Well, it says in the back, it will scorch you like a blowtorch from John Waters. And I love John Waters.

So anything that he recommends, I'm in. Thank you so much. This is killer. Yay. All right, Angela, it's your turn. I am giving you a summer beach read by one of my favorite authors. Here you go. I love a summer beach read by one of my favorite authors. Here you go.

I love a summer beach read. This is by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Carrie Soto is back. And it looks like she's really tan and in a bathing suit. She's arching her neck up to the sky. Well, guess what? You know who Carrie Soto is? She's a retired pro tennis player who comes out of retirement at 37 years old to reclaim her title. Hell yeah. As the best female tennis player of all time. I think you're going to like it. I cannot wait. I'm in. Woohoo! Thank you. That was so thoughtful. Oh, guys, I've just been so excited about today. We're going to talk books. We're going to talk book club dramas.

We're going to talk finer things. Tea party. I mean, lady, you're all dressed up. I got all dressed up. Both of you look really nice today. Thank you. I wore a little pink dress. Jenna is in this really pretty black blouse with pants and high heels.

Sort of high heels. Sort of. They're like sneaker heels. They're really cool. They're called sneaks. Sneaks. S-N-E-E-X. Snicks. Snicks? Sneaks.

I don't know. And yeah, I saw them online. They were fed to me in an Instagram algorithm and I bought them and I like them. They're the only heels I can wear. They look like sneakers, but they have a high heel. Okay, this is not an ad, I'm telling you, but I bought my shoes

because I saw them in an Instagram ad. I'm not making this up, I'm going to take them off. They're little slides and they're called Archies, and they're good if you have high arches and they feel comfy with my plantar fasciitis. So yeah. Would you like to know that my pants also came from Instagram? and they feel comfy with my plantar fasciitis. So yeah. Would you like to know that my pants also came from Instagram

from a designer named Kia Tomlin and I freaking love them. There you go. So look at us. Look at us. Getting finer things on the gram. Like responding strongly to our algorithms. Well, listen, why don't we take a break and when we come back, we're gonna share more of your book club dramas as well as our algorithms. Well, listen, why don't we take a break and when we come back, we're going to share more

of your book club dramas as well as our own. And I also want to play some deleted talking heads from Branch Wars. It's everyone reacting to the finer things club. Oh, I can't wait. All right, we'll be back. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. Lady, did you see that hilarious Saturday Night Live sketch they did about men's health and mental health where, like, in order to trick men into taking care of themselves,

they made a medical clinic that is like a podcast, like a Dude Bro podcast. Oh my gosh, it's so funny. But it's also because it's kinda true. Men are often reluctant to take the time to dig into their mental health. I've got a stat for you. Six million men in the US suffer from depression every year and it's often undiagnosed.

So listen, if you're a man and you're feeling the weight of the world, we would like to encourage you to talk to someone. A friend, a loved one, a therapist. Maybe you want to give BetterHelp a try. As the largest online therapy provider in the world, BetterHelp can provide access to mental health professionals with a diverse variety of expertise. Talk it out with BetterHelp.

Our listeners get 10% off their first month at betterhelp.com slash office ladies. That's betterhelp.com slash office ladies. Whether it's a family member, friend, or furry companion joining your summer road trip, enjoy the peace of mind that comes with Volvo's legendary safety. During Volvo Discover Days, enjoy limited time savings as you make plans to cruise through Muskoka or down Toronto's bustling streets. From now until June 30th, lease a 2025 Volvo XC60 from 1.74% and save up to $4,000. Conditions apply. Visit your GTA Volvo retailer or go to volvocars.ca for full details.

Welcome back, everyone. You know, before we dive into all of our book club dramas, office and non-office related, should we discuss a book club win, a very big book club win? Yeah, we should, because our very own Cassie has a huge book club win. You just posted you won a giant trophy for reading the most books in a year. Yes, this is correct. Cassie has a huge book club win. You just posted you won a giant trophy for

reading the most books in a year? Yes, this is correct. So your book club gave you a trophy? Like how did it work? So I've been in this book club for maybe five years and it's a competitive book reading club. It's like I'll show you the spreadsheet but it's like based on what you read, how many like pages it is, the genre, you get a certain amount of points. And it like encourages diverse reading, which is really cool. Like, I've read a lot of books from different countries and like, they make sure you're reading a lot of women and stuff like that, which is really great. Yeah. And then last year I was like, I really want to win this thing. And I was neck and neck with

another reader and I ended up winning, which was very cool. But also I felt crazy. How many books did you read to win this title? So I read over 66 books last year. Wow. That's more than one a week. Yeah. And some of them, like you don't get as many points

but you can read like audio books or mangas, graphic novels. So I do that a lot on top of reading like a novel. Oh, my gosh. Did you just have so many stories in your head? Because like when I read, I sit for a while with stuff, you know, and I think about it like, how did that feel? Yeah, I think if it was a book I wasn't in love with, I would pick up the pace. But if I love a book, I will really take my time and sit in it. And I love a Saturday morning reading for a couple hours on the couch with a cat is one of my favorite things to do.

So of all the books that you read, is there a favorite? I think in the beginning of the year, I read Octavia Butler for the first time. I really loved the world she built. And, like, she's from Pasadena, which is really cool, too. So I really enjoyed her. And I also really like this Japanese detective author. His name's Keigo Higashino. Devotion of Suspect X.

That's the one that got me into him. And then I recommended it to my book club, and, like, half of them have read it now. And then I recommended it to my book club, and like half of them have read it now. And I've read like several of his books, because they always take place in a different part of Japan. And it's really cool. That's so great. Okay, wait, I have to ask.

So you've been in this book club five years, and then you won. Yeah. It was neck and neck with another person. Was there any book club drama? Oh, my gosh, yes. So like the first year I played, I almost got first place because I was just like, oh, this is awesome and I'm reading a whole lot.

But then someone who was in second like beat me in the last minute. So this year I like hung back in second place. On purpose, like strategy? Yeah, on purpose, because you can kind of see the other people and what they're reading. So I was like clocking what she was reading

and I was like, oh, I've read way more foreign authors, so I'm going to get like a bonus and win. And then like three days before the deadline, she all of a sudden uploaded seven books. Everyone got really mad because they're like, you can't do that. You can't like hide what you're reading. You have to like have it out in the open. And then I like got on a call with the guy who runs

it. And he's like, I'm so sorry about this. I'm like, it's okay. I think I can still win. I think if I just listen to audiobooks for two days straight and do puzzles, I can still win. And that's exactly what I did and I won. You were determined. Cause I knew what it felt like to be in first place and lose at the end that I was like, this is driving me insane. If I don't win this year, I don't think I'll ever be able to do it again.

This year I'm probably only gonna read 10 books. And you got that trophy. I just gave you a thousand page Stephen King books. That's going to take some time if you decide to dive in. I will, I will. I'm reading something else right now, but I will have it on my shelf. Wow.

See, every book club has some drama. Well, speaking of book club drama and other club drama, thanks to the assistant editor for the office, Rob Burnett, we have some of the early outlines for the finer things club. You told me you found these. I did not know about these, so this is going to be a surprise to me. These are just a few little fun nuggets. So the writers had this idea to show a few previous finer things club meetings. And this is what it said in the outline. Oh. We see flashbacks of past meetings.

Michael tries to join, Meredith comes in and loudly slurps from her cup. Pam says they occasionally have guest lecturers. And they see Darryl playing the entertainer for the Jazz Age meeting. We see Dwight smashing something in the finer things meeting out of frustration. Wow.

So the finer things club had a lot of people come and go. They ultimately didn't settle on any of that other than Pam, Oscar and Toby and Andy. But there was possibly some back history to the club. Yeah, I like to wonder how long has this been going on? Yeah. And I'm sure to Toby's delight that he gets to have these meetings with Pam.

Oh yeah. Right? But they did sort of toy with like how many other office members have at one point been in the club. And we didn't get to see those play out, but I wish we would have. This is a runner I would have liked to see more of.

I am so sad that we did not revisit the finer things club in the way that we would revisit the party planning committee. Yeah. Just somewhere in season nine, if we could have had another meeting, it would have just made me so happy. Well, Angela, when we broke down Branch Wars, you also said that there were some fun deleted scenes

about some of the Dunder Mifflin employees' reactions to the finer things club. We didn't play them, but I think that since today's episode is dedicated to the finer things club, we should play them today. Oh, for sure. And they're super fun. They're in the super fan version.

And I wanna start with one that would have happened at the very beginning of the episode. Pam is gonna walk over to Oscar and ask if he brought his book, A Room with a View, for their meeting that day. And Angela and Kevin are so snarky. Oscar, did you bring it? To be a Dorbjorn, his best work. Okay, well, I have the tablecloth. Don't forget the flatware.

Sure thing, Pam. Can't wait. Sure thing, Pam Frufru Club. Must be nice Look at me. I wear underwear My goodness, but actually but Angela likes Mocks Pam must be nice Well, we're gonna hear more about what Angela thinks of the finer things club. In fact, we have talking heads from Toby, Angela, and Meredith. Let's hear it. I love the finer things club.

My ex-wife used to have a book club and I would read their book and sometimes listen from the kitchen. The finer things club was not sanctioned by the party planning committee. Renegade clubs are dangerous. I squashed the weight loss buddy support group. They didn't need to gather. It was just gross. I don't know why I'm not in the finer arts club.

It's bull crap. You clean it up. Yeah, so Meredith is like just slurping out of this big like 7-Eleven Super Gulp. And then she just throws it on the ground and then she looks at camera and she's like, you clean it up. Not really selling yourself, Meredith, to be in the finer things club. Clearly this club ruffled a lot of feathers. They are definitely not. I mean, not if Meredith is throwing her beverage on the ground.

I know. I think it might be time to start sharing some book club dramas, lady. Let's do it. I just love this letter from Lucas G. in Seattle. It took some twists and turns. I was not expecting. Okay, so we went through the letters you guys sent. Yeah. And there was one that I pulled aside and I said, Jenna, do not read this. Yes. Because I want to read it to you here. This is the one you pulled aside. So I have no idea

what Lucas wrote in because I purposely didn't read it. Correct. I can't wait to hear. All right. Lucas said, I have the perfect story to tell about the demise of my book club, which happened almost a year ago. Demise? I never thought a book club meeting would turn into an absolute disaster, but here we are.

So my group was reading Anna Karenina, you know, the classic novel about affairs and betrayal. Fitting, because 10 minutes into one of our discussions, Olivia, my roommate, Jake's girlfriend, who would usually go for the wine, casually says, honestly, I don't even feel bad for Anna. She knew exactly what she was doing. Totally normal opinion, Lucas says,

except she says it while staring directly at our friend Zoe. Zoe, immediately defensive, fires back, what is that supposed to mean? Olivia smirking, says, nothing, just that some people pretend they're innocent when they're not. At this point, I didn't even know what was happening, but I definitely felt the tension. Then Jake, who had been drinking as much wine as Olivia, just blurts out, wait, is this about Zoe and Damien? Who's Damien?

Lucas writes, now Damien, who is also in the book club because he was good friends with Olivia, had been scrolling his phone like he wasn't a part of the conversation and suddenly looks up panicked. Zoe goes white and Bethany Damien's actual girlfriend at the time just turns to him completely silent. Lucas says, nobody is breathing.

Zoe breaks first and says, Are you serious right now? Damien says, I don't, what are you guys talking about? Olivia, enjoying every second of this, just shrugs while looking at Zoe again. Oh nothing, just that some people don't respect boundaries. You know, like Anna. Oh my gosh.

And then the plot twist that ends everything, Zoe turns to Damien and says, you told her? Boom, nuclear explosion. Bethany stands up and leaves, doesn't say a word. Zoe storms after her. Damien just sits there, fully deceased.

Olivia sips her wine, pleased. And then because Jake cannot let the moment sit in silence, he just sighs and goes, Olivia sips her wine, pleased. And then, because Jake cannot let the moment sit in silence, he just sighs and goes, so are we still talking about the book? Or, no, Jake, clearly not. Anyway, book club is dead. Bethany broke up with Damien.

Damien stopped being friends with Olivia, but at least Zoe and Damien are dating now. Oh, I was lucky enough to not catch any strays, but one thing's for sure, nobody's ever reading Anna Karenina again. Wow. That's a spicy book club story. Angela, have you ever been in a book club and did it have drama? I mean, no, I've never been asked.

Here's the thing, I have several friends in different book clubs and I've never been invited and it does not bump me at all. It really doesn't. I mean, I just have always thought, well, when the timing's right, it'll happen. And honestly, I don't have any free time right now with like all the kids and extracurricular activities. I'm like, I don't know when I'd be going to this book club or hosting a book club. But I do have a friend that is very miffed that she isn't in this one particular book

club. And whenever we get together with this group of gals for other things, it's just me and her that's not in the book club. But like, I don't care. And whenever we get together with this group of gals for other things, it's just me and her that's not in the book club. But like, I don't care. I don't care. And sometimes when we're all together, they will bring up a book they're reading or who hosted

or how late their book club went that night or oh my gosh, that, you know, whatever, that gluten-free lemon tart you made was so good or what some little tidbit from the book club and she literally is like seething. Well because that's tacky. Well I'm sorry to say who are these women who are like actively talking about their little club in front of two people who aren't in their club? I don't care. It's like this book club has been going for years before I was even in this like circle of people. And but anyway, what kind of tickles me is the other gal that's not in it. Now, just really,

if anyone's paying attention, she does things like she goes, oh, or she rolls her eyes when they talk about their club. Yes. Anyway, it just kind of cracks me up. And I'm just like, I don't know, book clubs seem like a lot of like maintenance, like emotional maintenance. I've been in two book clubs. They both ended in disaster. Oh my gosh. One of them, the first one I was in, I got invited to and it was a very similar thing as your friend, which is that this was like a group of women that were all really good friends

and they like vacationed together. And there was like me and one other gal who were not invited on the vacations. And I didn't care, because honestly I didn't want to vacation with them. But I didn't know them, you know? But like a good portion of the book club meeting would be taken up with making these plans.

And I just sort of felt like I... I just want to talk about the book. Right. I don't need to talk about everyone's vacation. But I get it, because this is the time they're all together, and they can all look at their calendars, and they can all figure out where they want to go this summer or whatever for their girls' trip. I found it annoying for that reason.

But then some drama happened from one of the vacations and it ended up blowing up the whole book club. I don't even know what happened. I wasn't very good friends with them. This was like when I first moved to LA and I got sort of invited in and I just needed something to do. I thought I was going to meet people,

maybe make some friends. It did not work out. Well, the other thing I'm kind of learning by being the person not invited in the book club is that people are so, once they get their book club set, they are not taking any applications. No.

Like, that's it. If you have a successful book club, You don't wanna mess with the chemistry. That's why my feelings aren't hurt. Who knows what I'd bring into it? You know? Also, we got this one letter. Now, this isn't the one that I said, don't read, okay?

But I was curious about this letter. Do you have to pay dues to be in some book clubs? Is that a thing? Listen to this letter, okay? Okay. It's from Jim in Manchester, United Kingdom. He writes and says, I was in a book club up until 1990 when I was deployed to the Gulf whilst in the army. I wrote to say I had to leave giving reasons! Exclamation point.

Part of our instructions for deploying on active service was not to take books, etc. Oh, okay. However, the book club then sent me a bill for termination of membership, which eventually reached me in the desert and then continued to do so. I eventually wrote back extremely sarcastically, explaining that I was on the cusp of war with several choice words thrown in. I have never heard from them since. I've never heard of this.

Cassie, does your book club have dews? No. Isn't that interesting? I mean, just yours is the most sort of like very organized. It sounds like it's nationwide, probably. Yeah, we have people in like Florida, Georgia, and someone's mom just joined. So yeah, it's very casual in that sense. nationwide, probably. Yeah, we have people in like Florida, Georgia, and someone's mom just joined.

So yeah, it's very casual in that sense. Okay, well, I just had never heard that. Sam, have you ever been in a book club? I'm in a book club right now. Wait, what? It just occurred to me, I don't know why during the weeks of planning, this didn't pop into my head,

but I'm part of a book club called the Banned Book Club. We're reading all the books that were banned from schools this year. We just read Handmaid's Tale, it's by vote. We vote which one and now we're halfway through Fahrenheit 451. Nice. Oh, wow.

You can join if you want, email bannedbookclub25 at gmail.com. Did you like Margaret Atwood? I did, yeah, it was great. She's great. Yeah. Yeah. And you don't have to pay dues for that book club. Okay. Completely free. Well, okay. Free book club. Yeah. Banned books is just making me think of the band Mallard that you thought the band, it was a banded Mallard, but you thought the duck had been banned? Yes, I did. I didn't know why.

I did a whole deep dive in why this one mallard wasn't allowed anymore. But also how I- It was a typo. I did not question it in any way. You're like, what did he do? I took you at your word. I know.

That there was a duck that had managed to get banned from a whole state for bad behavior. Yeah, I know. We didn't question it. I was like, well, he must have done something wrong. All right. Well, let us know. Do you have to pay dues for your book club? I've never heard of that. Lady, why don't we take a break? Because you have a deep dive. I do. And it's so fun on the origin of the afternoon tea. And I have another surprise I have to get ready. I have a surprise.

I've been so excited. We have surprises. I have a surprise. I have three bags I'm going to unpack. I have two bags I have to unpack. Well, you had two bags and some books. Well, let's get to it. All right.

Let's do it. All right, let's do it. At Desjardins Insurance, we know that when you're a building contractor, your company's foundation needs to be strong. That's why our agents go the extra mile to understand your business and provide tailored solutions for all its unique needs. You put your heart into your company, so we put your heart into your company, so we put our heart into making sure it's protected. Get insurance that's really big on care. Find an agent today at Desjardins.com slash business coverage. This episode is brought to you by Dzone.

For the first time ever, the 32 best soccer clubs from across the world are coming together to decide who the undisputed champions of the world are in the FIFA Club World Cup. The world's best players, Messi, Holland, Kane and more are all taking part. And you can watch every match for free on DAZN starting on June 14th and running until July 13th. Sign up now at dazon.com slash FIFA. That That's d-a-z-n dot com slash fifa. No Frills delivers. Get groceries delivered to your door from No Frills with PC Express. Shop online and get $15 in PC optimum points on your first five orders. Shop now at nofrills.ca. at nofrills.ca.

Okay, everybody, we are back. I am in studio with my eyes closed because Angela has insisted that I close my eyes because she's gonna surprise me with something and I don't know what it is. Keep them closed. They're closed. I'm not looking, I'm not looking. Do not open your eyes yet.

Oh, I'm hearing. It sounds like ceramics. Okay, open your eyes. You guys all get an afternoon tea hat. Everyone gets a tea hat with roses from my garden. Jenna, you get black. Oh, thank you. I'm gonna give you this one.

Thank you. Samuel, I have the big broad rim. Thank you. Lady. These use this one. Thank you. Samuel, I have the big broad rim. Thank you. Lady. These are flowers from my garden. And look at my teapot. Your teapot is a kitty cat. I know.

I'll tell a whole story about it. Look. Lady, guess what I brought as my surprise. What? I brought tea fascinators for everyone. We have so much headwear today. This is amazing. We have to take a picture. We can do one with hats and one with fascinators.

Thank you so much, Angela. And with roses from your garden. Yes, I picked the roses this morning and then I bought the hats and I put the roses in the little rim of the hat. Each hat has a band around it, so I tucked the roses in the band. Well, I love a tea party and I have fascinators. I brought in my four fascinators. What is a fascinator?

It is, it's like what they wear to fancy weddings and things in England. Yes, and you can wear them to tea. One of these four fascinators is made by a famous, like very famous, milliner, Evita Petty. Her hats are sold at the oldest hat shop in Uptown, New York. Ooh. But you can also get them online at harlemsheaven.com.

Well, lady. And I met her. You met her? Yes, ma'am. So I was thinking, actually, maybe before I do my deep dive, maybe we should share what you and I just did on break. Which is hilarious. Because we both surprised each other with tea.

Yes. So I'm going to share about the origins of the tea party. But one of the things I brought was a little, it's like a tea set. It's a teacup with a plate. But it's a double plate. It is. And it's so special to me.

My mom bought this at an antique store like 20 years ago. She gave it to me. And she was like, Angie, it's really old. And it's just been in my china cabinet. I've never used it. And I thought, what a better day. I looked on the back. It says Made in England TF&S LTD. So I looked used it. And I thought, what a better day. I looked on the back, it says Made in England,

TF&S, LTD. So I looked that up. I was very curious, what does that mean? And you guys out there that are antique collectors, you can let me know. But what I found is that Thomas Forster originally started a pottery business on Longton High Street. It was a small workshop in 1877.

And Thomas's sons, Herbert and Victor, were introduced to the business and became partners. And so the company name became Thomas Forster and Sons LTD in 1891. Wow. So I'm not sure when these were made, but I guess. I mean, chances are a hundred years ago, it sounds like. And it says, over the next 10 years, their company really grew, and it was one of the largest employers in Staffordshire at the end of the Queen Victoria reign in 1901. Well, they're really lovely.

I sort of described them as like a double plate, but what it is, it's like, imagine if you have your tea cup and saucer, but then the saucer is part of a plate. So you have a little spot for your tea sandwiches and also a spot for your teacup, and it is absolutely dainty and wonderful. Well, one of the reasons I was so excited to bring them in when I found out sort of the time when this company

was formed is because of my deep dive, which was all about high tea, because as you know, the finer things club was not just books. It also included food. It also included works of art. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So first of all, did you know that every year

there is a celebration of the afternoon tea and it's for a whole week? What week is it and why am I not celebrating it? It's called afternoon tea week and it takes place every second full week in August. This year is going to be August 11th to the 17th and there are even discounts for afternoon tea during that week at different places. Oh my gosh, I've never been so excited to find out a piece of news. So here is my deep dive on the afternoon tea. When did it become popular?

Who made become popular? Who made it popular? Well, according to the internet, Portugal was probably most responsible. In 1662, when Charles II married a member of the Portuguese royal family, Catherine of Braganza, she brought tea with her as part of her dowry. And tea soon became the official court beverage in the 1660s. At that time, tea was scarce, expensive, and highly taxed. It was a rare luxury that only the upper class could afford.

Now we're gonna jump in time, okay? So you got the tea part. When did the snacks come, Jenna? That's what I wanna know. The snacks are my favorite part. I don't even really like tea. Oh, well, I love the tea part, so I wanted all of it. Yes, when I go to tea, sometimes I request coffee.

Oh, well, don't tell anyone. Can I please just get a picture of Sam with his hat on? Please, just sitting there, sound mixing, and helping us out. Someone, Cassie, will you take a picture? Thank you. I just looked up and I saw Sam in his white hat with pink roses. From my eyeline, I can see Cassie and she is also wearing her hat. She is sitting there producing our podcast.

Sam, will you please take a picture of Cassie? Wearing her hat. Okay. All right. So now we figured out the tea element. Well, let's talk about the snacks part. Cut to around 1840. According to the internet, it's because of urbanization and the rise of industrialization in England that the evening meal was becoming later and later. It was cut. Because people were working later.

Yes. It was customary for the upper classes in England to have their evening meal around 8 p.m. Well, Anna Maria Russell, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, was not having it. She complained of a sinking feeling and requested that some light food and a pot of tea, usually Darjeeling, which is the tea I brought today. Okay. She requested that this be brought to her private living quarters to help ward off that mid-afternoon hunger. She was hangry. She was hangry.

She requested some tea, bread, butter, and cake be brought to her room. Well, this idea proved so successful that it soon became routine, and the Duchess decided to invite a few of her friends to her private rooms for tea. And now this new social event was born because the guests would have an opportunity to meet, catch up, chitty-chat, discuss recent events. The service would normally take place in the ladies' parlor or drawing room and be served on low decorative tables. Hence, this event became known as Low Tea.

Low Tea? Oh, honey, you wait. I knew you would ask. I knew. Wait for it. But the Duchess of Bedford was one of Queen Victoria's ladies-in-waiting. Specifically, she was her Lady of the Bedchamber. Her duties included assisting with dressing, bathing, other personal care, as well as accompanying

her to public events and receptions. They were lifelong friends, and she introduced Queen Victoria to the idea, and the trend gained popularity, and soon became a fashionable pastime of the upper class. And to meet this new demand, English china manufacturers, linen makers, and silversmiths began turning out fine accoutrements to be served in the service of afternoon tea. Jenna, might my plate and teacup have been made during this age? I think so! It sounds like it!

I'm very excited at this. This so-called at-home tea spread throughout England, where announcements would be sent to friends and relatives, declaring the hour at which tea would be served. But there is some controversy, because as we know, with the finer things club, there is always drama. What is it? According to a website called the English Manor, this was written, Whilst we do know that Anna Russell did serve tea in the afternoon, five o'clock tea as

she referred to it, this isn't unusual for aristocratic ladies of that and earlier eras. If the Duchess of Bedford did invent afternoon tea, why did Victoria, when staying with Queen Elizabeth of Prussia right in her journal on the 15th of August 1845, saying this, Quote, We went down to what is called the Painted Room and had tea, quite in the German way. We princesses sat down to a table on which there was no cloth and excellent cakes of all kinds were served whilst the queens ladies made the tea."

Oh, oh, so what are they saying? That maybe this was happening already? But it is very clear to me on many sites that the Duchess of Bedford was the one that was the squeaky wheel. Like, let's make this happen. Yeah. And you might be asking yourself,

why don't we call it low tea? Why don't we? I was asking myself that. It's called high tea. Well, for working class men and women, during and after the two world wars, when they would finally have time to eat around 5 p.m. and onwards, they were really hungry, and they naturally

felt the need to eat something more filling than just sandwiches and cake and their much-awaited pot of tea. That's when we started to see the addition of the word, high. The phrase high tea started to be used to describe a working class meal served at a high table with a high back dining chair at the end of a long workday. The tea would be accompanied by a hot meal. Oh! So high tea had nothing to do with the elite social gathering that started back in the 19th century with the Duchess of Bedford. High tea sounds like it had some, like, hot foods. High tea was a bigger meal.

Okay. More things. Well, I'll have you know, lady, I worked for eight months over in London and tea is a thing. Yes. On the television set that I worked on at 3 p.m., a person would come out pushing a cart full of tea and cakes.

Yes. Like little packages of cakes and you would grab a cup and you would get some tea and you would take a little cake right around three o'clock every single day. I thought I was like, really? This is so lovely. I had no idea. It's so lovely.

It was a thing. I did a semester abroad in London and at the college I was at, we would take tea. Yeah, with the faculty, the students and faculty. I loved it. I also lady brought my little tea kitty cat. When you pour it, it's a cat, when you pour it the tea comes out of his little paw that's up in the air. It's really the cutest little thing. It's white, and it is covered in little purple flowers. It's so dainty and lovely. Guess where I got it.

Where? I bid on it at the Furball at the Skirball charity event that I went to when you hosted. Oh, that's right. And I won it. And today, I made Queen Elizabeth II's cucumber sandwiches. Did you know that she put her own spin

on the classic sandwich? What did she do to it? She added mint to it. Mint? Yes. So I brought that, and I brought my little plates and tea, hats and hats. And I also have a website to share with everyone. It's a blog called A Lady in London,

and she goes over all the best places to have afternoon tea in London. I'm feeling very excited about what you brought. I saw you putting some stuff together you have to share. Well, you know I love a tea. I just love it. I know. And now that I can eat gluten again, it's like the first thing I wanted.

I was like, give me all the bread and the scones and all the things. So I brought a full tea service. I know you guys, Jenna. All of the sandwiches, the scones. Where did you order it from? It's from a little spot called Sugar Bird Cafe in Los Angeles. So they have two locations.

So if you're in LA, you can look them up. We have the cucumber sandwiches I made, but then what all came with yours? They're little finger sandwiches. And Cassie, I made sure to let them know that we had a vegetarian in our group. Yay. And scones and then little sweet treats.

Well, lady, we set it all up. I know. We should go have tea. Let's have tea. So we're gonna do a fakie brakie. We're not really going anywhere as far as y'all are concerned. We don't wanna eat on the mic basically, you guys.

We're trying to respect your wishes. So we'll be right back. We're gonna tell you how it was. I'm gonna put my hat on. Ah, I can't wait. Well, we just had low tea. We were at a low table. We had low tea and I'm still eating

one of the shortbread cookies from the tea. It was so delicious. Even though we said we wouldn't eat anymore on mic. It was so delicious and so fun. And we sat there with our hats and our fascinators. You and Cassie were the fascinators, me and Sam wore the hats. We had a delicious tea.

And what do we think you guys? Did you like Queen Elizabeth the's version of the cucumber sandwich or the other version that was from the tea house? I like the one you brought. Queen Elizabeth II. I did too. And I was asking you what the difference was because the ones we got from the tea house were like a cream cheese and cucumber sandwich, which I've had many times. But yours, I said, had a little bit of like a salty. Okay, so here are the ingredients

for Queen Elizabeth II's cucumber sandwich. On the website I saw, it said, the royal recipe is said to contain a simple combination of just five ingredients, bread, butter, sliced cucumber, a dash of mint, and a sprinkle of salt and black pepper. And the one thing I didn't do was I didn't put black pepper because I didn't know.

Some people are like, eh, I don't want anything peppery. I thought they were amazing. I loved them. Well, there you go. Well, now that we've had some tea, should I spill some tea? Spill it. Should I tell my big book club drama story? Yes, I can't wait.

Okay. This is a little bit of a Los Angeles book club story in the sense that, you know, Los Angeles is very spread out. Oh yeah. Like for us, traffic dictates everything. Like my sisters just visited and back in Texas, they watch the Weather Channel.

They're always checking in with the Weather Channel, but here for us, it's traffic. It's traffic and there's a sort of thing where you're like do you live on the east side? Do you live on the west side? Do you live in the valley? So at this time I lived in the valley. Uh oh. And I had a good friend who lived in the valley and one of our mutual friends lived on the west side. Mm-hmm. And I thought you were going to say that. You might as well live in Arizona.

You might as well. But we loved her. She started a book club. Now she started a book club with all of her friends on the west side. And then me and my friend who lived in the valley. There were 12 ladies. Okay. And then me and my friend who lived in the valley. There were 12 ladies. And this was going to be perfect because there are 12 months of the year.

And once a month we would meet. And whoever hosted the book club got to pick the book and then they would also provide the food. Which, of course, if you were were being fun you would try to tie it into the book. Oh, very finer things club. Very finer things club. So it was going great. There must have been like six, eight meetings all on the west side. So me and my friend in the valley, it would take us almost an hour each way. Oh yeah.

But we did it because we really liked these ladies, we liked this book club, and we would carpool. So we kind of got some extra friend time in the car. Lady, when it was finally time for my valley friend to host, she picked the book, everybody great. When it came time for the meeting, one of the West Side ladies said, "'Hey, the valley is really far for me.

How about I host at my house because it's gonna be closer for everyone.'" Excuse me, what about the two of us that drive an hour every month? For eight months, we have been driving to the book club on the West Side. And in the car, as we would sit in traffic for this two-hour round-trip adventure, we would just say, you know what?

Two months out of the year. We get it. We will not have to do the driving. So what happened? Did they say? Oh. Like, what did you say? You have to be like, it's our turn. It's our turn. She said, I was really looking forward to hosting.

I've planned the menu. I've bought the food. Because this suggestion of changing the location of the book club came in, like, the day before the book club was happening. When she realized it wasn't on the West Side. Yes. So my friend said, no, I was really looking forward to hosting. I've planned the menu. It's going to be at my house. What happened? Like half the people didn't come.

Wow. They didn't drive. So like six of you are just talking about this book and the other six are just like, we're not driving there. Yeah. They said we're really sorry, but it was just, it's too much of a trek. What do they think you'd been doing? Exactly.

Exactly, lady. Nope. Nope. We quit. You quit? Me and my valley friend. Did you start a valley book club? We didn't.

We just were like, you know what? We're done. It was too much. It was such a slap in the face. Yeah. Yeah. I was gonna say, are you still friends with that group? You know, no, none of,

I'm still friends with the gal from the West side. She's actually moved away, so I don't see her very much. But I'm kept in touch with zero of the other ladies. Here's the thing. As you know, I have never been invited to be in a book club. But I am just seeing now all the shit comes out at book club. Yeah. I had no idea.

I knew there was drama-ish, but I had no idea it was this amount. Speaking of book club drama, can I please share the letter I told you not to read now? Yes. Okay. This letter is from Daphne B. in Montana. Daphne wrote in and said, "'I am part of a book club that has a main group of girls

and then some other ladies. It's usually like 15-ish girls, and every month 10 to 12 show up, and it's a super great time and a fun way to get some girl time. Well, one of the main girls texted our big chat that she wasn't going to be part of the book club anymore, which shocked me, shocked in all caps.

So I knew something was wrong. At the next book club, I got the tea. Apparently, the girl that left the club, let's call her Lucy. You know we love it when we have to have a code name. Please give us all the code names. Okay, so apparently the girl that left the club, let's call her Lucy, was because all the other main group of friends had confronted her as an entire group

because Lucy and her husband and another girl from the book club that is also not a part of the main friend group, let's call her Hannah. Okay. They all got it on. Wait, Hannah, Lucy, and Lucy's husband had a threesome. Yes.

But Hannah and Lucy are in the book club together. They were. She goes on to say, Hannah had already left the group. And then in parentheses, she said, she only ever came to a few book clubs. But Lucy was confronted about her husband being the worst and how she should leave him.

Oh, the whole group confronted her. Well, mind you, this made me laugh. Mind you, this book club is filled with a bunch of what I thought to be vanilla married ladies, and a lot have young kids. Well, Lucy chose to stand by her man and now isn't talking to anyone in the group and told them all off. Daphne wraps it up by saying, I am a mom of a little one and this book club has been a fun way for me to get out of the house and have some adult time one evening a month.

And I love the good fantasy books. Side note, Angela would love our books. But this whole situation is awkward now. And I'm so happy I wasn't involved and was completely clueless about the whole situation. So what do you think, office ladies? Should I stick out the awkwardness now that I know, or should I leave? And that's the T. Well, I mean, Lucy has told this whole group to F off.

Yeah. Hannah's not coming anymore. I mean, listen, the two problems in this story are not at the book club anymore. That is true. That is true. I guess you just have to wonder, though. When are they going to turn on someone else?

Yeah. Are they going to meddle in someone else's marriage and personalize? Have a group meeting to tell you your husband's the worst? Yeah. Well? I mean, there's two ladies who didn't think he was the worst. Apparently.

Right? But also, like, do book clubs always get that personal? Lady, I know we're getting ready to wrap it up, but I actually have one more letter. OK. Funny you should ask if they get personal. This letter made me chuckle, and it made me think of Phyllis. Our Phyllis? Our Phyllis Lapinvance.

Okay. It's from Natalie P. in Nashville, Tennessee, who said, Years ago, our book club read Fifty Shades of Grey. Oh. I remember my friend recommending it and everyone in the room looked uneasy. I had not heard of it, so I spoke up and naively and energetically said, Yeah, let's do it. It's your choice. Natalie said I bought the book, luckily on my iPad, because I brought it to school to read during lunch. I'm a high school teacher. Now I know why you said it makes you think of Phyllis Vance. And Natalie said a few chapters in, I was horrified of what I was reading in broad daylight.

So Natalie said, anyway, in a group of about, this is the part that cracked me up, in a group of about 12 ladies, eight of us got pregnant. The book club fell apart and my husband likes to call the kids the Grabeys. That is so funny. That is fantastic. Oh my goodness. Well everyone, that was our finer things club. We had so much fun prepping this episode, doing this episode, hearing from you about your snooty clubs.

It was just a delight start to finish. This whole work week was so fun, culminating in our tea party with Sam and Cassie. And lady, you know, when we originally broke down Branch Wars, we said we were going to start our own finer things club. We were going to read all the books that they read. I remember. We never did it, but honestly, I think it's because I don't have a huge interest

in the books that they read, but I would do a finer things club with you. Do you remember talking about this? I do. I do. And you actually said we could call it Finer's Things Club because I can never say it correctly. And I want you to know the mental focus I have had to have every time we have said it in this episode.

You did great. Well, I stumbled once or twice, but I really had to say Finer Things Club. I had to think about it. And you know, last time we shared that there was a blooper of me doing this, but we didn't play it. And a lot of people were like, you should play the blooper. Do you have it?

I have it. Oh, you have to play, I wanna hear it. Okay. No problem with the finer things club, but the finer thing. The finer sthings... The finer sthings... The finer sthings club. The finer sthings club.

Okay. The finer sthings... Well, lady, I will start the finer sthings club with you. It's hard for me to say finer sthings. Finer sthings club. But the Finers Things Club with you. It's hard for me to say Finers Things. Finers Things Club. But I'll start that club with you. But I just, I don't know. What if our Finers Things Club is just going around and having tea at different places

and going to art museums? That is absolutely fine with me. You don't even have to read any books if you don't want to. Well, if history has taught us anything today is that you start a book club with people and it falls apart. Yeah. And they will like relationships implode. It's true.

So we can't start one. We also remember we're going to start an office ladies movie club that we never did as well. Okay. Well, I like this idea of tea and art, museums and movies. Great. The Finer's Things Club. The Finer's Things Club. We'll leave that book drama at the door.

Okay, before we go, I have one last thing I wanna share. I thought it might be a fun way to end this episode since we started with Andy. There is a deleted scene where we learn Andy's fate about joining the Finer Things club. Let's hear it Dear Andrew Bernard after carefully examining your application to the finer things club We are unable to offer you a position at this place in time We would however like to place you on a list in case an opportunity arises when your inclusion could be tolerated

Your position as an ongoing financial patron, however, is yours to cherish. Sincerely, the finer things club. Yes! Woohoo! Waitlisted! He's so excited. And you see Pam and Toby and Oscar over at front reception, they're watching him open this letter. It's really funny.

Aw, waitlisted for the finer things club. It's perfect. Well, thank you everyone. Thanks for writing in. Thanks for listening today. We love you. We love you. That was so much fun.

We hope you have a great week. See you next week. See you then. Thank you for listening to Office Ladies. Office Ladies is a presentation of Odyssey and is produced by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey. Our executive producer is Cassie Jerkins. Our audio engineer is Sam Kiefer.

And our associate producer is Ainsley Bubbaco. Odyssey's executive producer is Leah Reese Dennis. Office Ladies was mixed and mastered by Bill Schultz. Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratton.