I was going to start by saying “regular readers will know”, but as I have published only three short, simple pieces in five weeks, I probably don’t have any left.
The last four months have been the most demanding of our lives, and this Thursday, the catalyst behind it all will come into being.
I’d like to say “burst” into being but I don’t have the energy.
Every waking moment (and there have been hardly any non-waking ones -four hours continuous sleep is luxury I don’t remember) has led inexorably to Thursday.
It’s hard to see one’s nearest and dearest actually fall over from exhaustion. To have to physically restrain someone from working any longer or virtually force a drink down their dehydrated throat is a highly emotive situation. All of which leads to Thursday
We’ve overseen the renovation of a pub and renovated living quarters that were so disgraceful I was surprised we didn’t find a documentary crew from “World’s Filthiest Tenants” who had got lost behind the rolls of smelly carpet on the fourth bedroom. We’ve bought a car and an overly cheerful SatNav so we can make endless trips to the paint and carpet shops.
All to get us to Thursday.
“Is something happening Thursday?”, I hear you ask.
Yes, something is.
On Thursday, The Devotea At The Oaklands will launch.
It’s a tea room / coffee house / family restaurant. It has its own menu and its own hours which are different to the pub, yet you can visit both at the same time as they are under one roof.
Lady Devotea has done an amazing job selecting fabrics with which to recover a collection of old chairs which have been bought and refurbished.
So, from Thursday The Devotea teas will be available in the UK once more, along with a resurrection of some of our coffee blends, cakes, scones of course, muffins and more.
I’d write more about it, but we’ve got menus to finish, teas and coffees to blend. We’ve got a new logo for The Devotea to unveil, and a new logo for The Devotea At The Oaklands. We’ve got a counter to finish off, some painting, some machinery relocation, some plumbing, some baking. Some training to provide for staff. Some teaware and servingware to purchase.
I’ll probably see you on the other side of Thursday. Either online, or at Notley Green, Great Notley, Essex, UK CM77 7US, The Devotea At The Oaklands.
Wonderful! You both have done an amazing job. Everything looks lovely and those chairs are beautiful. I think I see one with my name on it awaiting my visit 🙂
On Thursday I will celebrate along with you both raising a cup to your success.
So exciting but I feel for you both, what an incredibly exhausting time. I know that moving house is one of the most stressful things one can do, but your new venture is like moving house for days on end. And then what will be when it’s up and running? I hope your staff will enable you to take some time off, or at least an hour or two here and there to nap. The pics look wonderful, what little I can see your new place is fabulous. Post more pics! What an amazing adventure you two are on. Proud of you two. Well done!
Wow, catching up on two months of blogs to see the world completely turned upside down. (pun intended)
Congratulations and welcome to Europe. May your tea pub become the success it should become. And may I have the opportunity to cross the channel in the near future to see it with my own eyes.
Congratulations to you both! This is very exciting and I can’t wait to visit! Well done!
Adding Essex to my shortlist of “must-stops” if I ever make it to the UK.
Warning: I may come with a sleeping bag.
Sleep? With al that tea… 😉
Congratulations.
Now I have a place to visit in England.