It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents* — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind* which swept up the streets (for it is in London* that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely* agitating the scanty flame* of the lamps that […]
I have a history of wanting to live in places that I go to. My first genuine overseas trip (Kangaroo Island not included) was to Fiji, Tonga and New Caledonia; but I was too teenaged, too grumpy, too fair-skinned and too much a country hick to really appreciate those hot places. As an adult, I […]
This week, we’ve lifted the lid on some new products. We decided we wanted to do a joint venture; and as we were adamant about how fussy we were about our partner in this, we actually founded the other party, bringing in business partners with the expertise we needed. So the owners of The Devotea […]
Reading some recent press reports, there’s a blockade in Darjeeling that might well affect the tea business. The guys behind it are Gorkhas, which is sometimes transliterated as Gurkhas. So, if the word seems familiar, it’s because Gurkha regiments have been part of the British Army for a long time. An indigenous people of Nepali […]
For those of you with sharp memories, there’s a line of dialogue in the six-part 1971 Dr Who story “Colony in Space” where someone asks Jon Pertwee as The Doctor “Are you some kind of scientist?” to which he replies: “I am every kind of scientist.” I was just reading about the somewhat controversial Nathan […]
There’s a blog about tea simmering away in my head. Usually they come to the boil within a day or two, but this one won’t, so I found myself simply searching through tea news for something to blog about. Searching through tea news? How does one do that? Obviously I read a bunch of blogs, […]
What with the fuss over stupid sports, I thought there was a few that had got it right. And there are plenty of stupid sports. Grown men driving cars in circles? Hardly a sport! Banging a ball about with a metal stick, which also doubles as a great way to smack up your husband’s car […]
There is nothing permanent except change. – Heraclitus If you’ve ever read one of my blog posts before, I assume it is fixed in your mind, like the day you met your soul mate or had your first cup of Darjeeling tea. So, you will have noticed, something’s changed. As I sit here with my standard […]
There was a classic series of TV ads in the 1970s in Australia, complete with jingle. It consisted of various scenarious where someone is enjoying themselves, only to be told that they suffer from offensive body odour. The solution? Palmolive Gold, a soap with built-in deodorant. The basic premise was that if you suffer from […]
There’s bad tea – it’s always cheap. Although if you buy it in certain circumstances – such as in a bus-shaped tin with “Souvenir of London” in it, then it’s not. OK, so bad tea isn’t always cheap. There’s good tea. That’s expensive. Right? Well, no. Mostly wrong. If you have a cup of Cola, […]