The Restoration

Today is May 29th, and on this day in 1660 the English Throne was restored.

Here on this tea blog, why should we care?

For starters, Charles II of England marred Catherine of Braganza, who  is credited with making tea fashionable in England. This eventually lead to its consumption in English colonies. After all, it had already been in England for a while, but it was not popular until this highly successful celebrity endorsement.

On a blog post of May 29th two years ago, I also mentioned other key events on this date in history, such as the fall of The Byzantine empire. And on that particular day in 2012, we were announcing that we were making The Devotea teas available in both the USA and the UK .

But as I mentioned back then, they overriding feature for me of May 29th is it is Lady Devotea’s Birthday.

Yes, it is an annual event, but for me, one that gives me a chance to demonstrate the depth of my love for this remarkable woman.

We’ve been married nearly thirty years, and as you probably know, she would have got far less for murder.

It is an annual event that can fill me with dread if I don’t think I’ve had a spectacular enough idea to celebrate it. Most years, I get the thinking cap on about April and plan it with incredible precision. Some years, it’s hard to come up with that killer idea or the time itself is awkward.

I’m not a very clever person when it comes to expression, but I am quite an organiser and planner at times, so there are still a few obvious ideas in the tank, like skywriting a message* or organising a visit to somewhere fabulous and exciting.

I know this is a big day in the tea community: It should be referred to as “International Lady Devotea Day” and I imagine a whole lot of Lady Devotea tea blend will be raised in celebration.

When it comes to my own personal monarchy, no restoration is needed. I swore my allegiance in 1984, and nothing’s changed.

I know that Lady Devotea rarely, if ever reads my blog. And that’s not surprising. After all, she gets an unfiltered stream of my opinions and rants, why look for more?

I have taken the opportunity on these pages many times to express my love for her, I’m better at it in writing than I am in real life in many respects.

When I started this blog post several days ago, I wasn’t sure where it was going. Various circumstances have dictated exactly what course I charted and what point I reached. Watch this blog for plenty of news, real soon.

But right now, early on on this most notable of days, there is a cup of tea that won’t make itself. A silver tray awaiting that tea. A folded newspaper. Perhaps some flowers. All these things arrayed with as much love and care as I can pour into them.

Hopefully, fit for a Queen.

* I mean paying for it, I do not plan to actually pilot a plane personally, And believe me, that’s for the best