Ivo, tea and the British relationship with it could easily be the subject of a book, for us as a nation, it has become much more than a drink, and it is an intrinsic component of our culture.
For me psychologically it has powerful associations, let me give you an idea how it has conditioned my thinking, through just three episodes that have shaped my life.
As a young man I sat with relatives Ralph (nicknamed Raff), and Olive, two wonderful people. I had asked about his active service during WWII where he had seen action on most fronts, from Africa to mainland Europe. He told me about his home coming after over two years of serving at the front; tours of duty were not defined as of then. He arrived back home after travelling from Italy in the back of the truck, ship, train and a bus to his village. He walked from the bus station to his home knocked on the front door - as he did not have a key - Olive opened the door, smiled and said ‘I will go and put the kettle on’.
As a boy, when my Grand Mother died, somebody who I was incredibly close to, my Father came from her home to break the news to the rest of the family. My Mother could see he was distraught and she sat us all down and brewed a pot f tea,
As a man, I had returned with some other mountain rescue team members from a harrowing incident where a boy of 16 had taken himself into the hills and hanged himself. After we had recovered his body we came back to the small village police station we were using as our control, there was a deep silence and I put the kettle on, and we all drank tea.
For soldiers, a Brew as it is affectionately called is a much bigger motivation to get to the end of a yomp than the RSM kicking them up their backsides.
Anyone else want to share their Tea stories?
Right, off to brew a cup of tea