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Floral frocks, fascinators, and fancy footwear were de rigueur at Mill's Reef Winery for yesterday's Alzheimers Tauranga's Hats, Heels and High Tea charity auction. It was an elegant affair where flowers tumbled onto white tablecloths at tables named for celebrated shoe designers.

Jacqui Snodgrass and Wendy Burke.

A saucy Aphrodite cupcake demonstration and pop-opera performances by Sharon Elizabeth shocked and delighted guests, among them our dapper Health Minister Tony Ryall. The menu was exquisite: including strawberry custard tartlets, petite cinnamon scones with rosewater and honey cream, home-smoked fish and dill tarts, and mini egg mustard and wild rocket sandwiches, all served on delicate china and accompanied by freshly brewed coffee and tea.

Jane Moore and Linda Campbell of Alzheimers Tauranga.

There is some debate surrounding high tea. Some say it began as evening meal taken by the labouring classes on their return from the fields. Others claim it evolved from the light afternoon tea made popular among ladies of the early 19th century English aristocracy by Anna, the Seventh Duchess of Bedford. It began first in England, or Scotland, or perhaps China. Whatever its origins, the tradition of high tea is a popular recurrence, with many hotels and tearooms now offering sumptuous high tea experiences.

Writer, Lee Murray.

Similarly, in literature, popular central themes recur, with writers returning to examine them in fresh ways using different characters and settings. Take for example, the idea of having the courage to stand up for the vulnerable in society. This theme appeared in the 15th century ballad The Gest of Robyn Hode, the forerunner of the modern Robin Hood legend. The idea of a brazen outlaw whose moral code favours the lower classes is much-loved, and gives us the popular adage ‘rob from the rich to give to the poor.' Lawyer Atticus Finch takes on the hopeless task of defending Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman, in Harper Lee's 1960 Pulitzer-winning classic To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus defends the underdog, facing censure from the Alabama township, and an angry mob intent on lynching Tom. And Tauranga writer Susan Brocker reprised the theme in her 2009 children's novel Saving Sam. In Susan's contemporary story, a troubled Kiwi boy saves an unwanted and nervy guard dog from being put down.

Sharon Elizabeth.

Standing up for the vulnerable is also the theme of Alzheimers Tauranga, whose mission is to support the families of those affected by dementia. And while saving the world might not be achieved over petit fours and pots of tea, proceeds from yesterday's charity auction will go a long way to assist sufferers in Tauranga and in Canterbury.