We’re gonna make it after aaaaalllllll….

As a very young child I recall watching the Mary Tyler Moore Show.

I must have been about 8 or maybe 10, and it was one of my mother’s favourite shows.

Mum ruled the TV roost in my house as a kid, and not much has changed, she is quite capable of walking into a house where she is a guest and putting on the TV. During cricket season, all TV’s are her property via some sort of obscure law.

Anyway, the shows Mum loved always got to be on, and whilst I can remember some of them by name only – Mission Impossible, Randall and Hopkirk – there are some I remember watching and enjoying, such as The Professionals and some excellent British comedies. And just one US show, the aformentioned Mary Tyler Moore show.

Here’s an aside – I’m convinced chorus of the ELO song “Last Train To London” owes a lot to the MTMS theme. Time to examine your conscience, Jeff Lynn.

Anyway, the theory of the MTMS was that the eponymous Mary, who was called Mary in the show, but with a different surname – moved to ‘The Big City’ to pursue a dream. Or find one and then pursue it.

I’ve heard people talk about the show and suggest she moved to New York, whereas in the show it was actually Minneapolis.

And other shows of the era, such as “Good Times” did paint a picture of New York that did not exactly have the “find your dream” vibe.

But that “Find Your Dream in New York ” vibe persists. Even as recently as the last scene of the last season of ‘Glee’ with the original cast, we see Rachel arriving in New York and disappearing into the crowded throng.

When I grew up, in a  steelworking town, I had mostly friends who were from England, Scotland, Wales. Or at least their parents were, courtesy of several waves of British migration to the steel works and the shipyards, which closed before I really noticed they were there.

And they all wanted to leave.

They wanted to follow a hierarchy. “I want to go to Adelaide, then on to Sydney”. “I want to go to Manchester, and then onto London”. “I want to go to Melbourne, and then onto America”. And some of them did, though the majority are actually still there.

Not me. I planned on being happy in the town where I was born. Sure, I had plans on being an international rock star, but I could still live where I was familiar.

Anyway, as I’ve said elsewhere, I moved to the ‘big smoke’ for a year’s Sound Engineering course. Just for one year, mind you.

In 1983.

Ok, so I’m still here. And I’ve been happy here. But lately, I’ve felt the pull of far flung climes, and one day, I’d like for Lady Devotea and I to live somewhere else for a while. We will be living in London for about a month as part of our upcoming trip, but I don’t mean that. It’s a start, but I mean for a year or two. And to follow a dream; because I’ve come to understand that a dream does not have to be specific – it can be a feeling, a vibe. And again, visions of New York come into view.

It is THE metaphor, isn’t it? Aside from Hollywood, and that’s only if you can act, and I think we all know from my videos I can’t.

I must, of course, consider that there are a dozen places I have always wanted to live awhile ahead of New York. Mumbai or New Delhi. Istanbul. London. The rest of the list changes daily.

And I must also concede that Lady Devotea will have the final say in this, as nothing is more important to me than her happiness. So even if it appeals to me; she might well veto a move if the bathroom if not up to standard and the return address on our mail is embarrassing, so a year living in a broken down castle in Pisser Clough, West Yorkshire is most likely out.

And experience shows she is always right about these things. But let’s move away from metaphor and into reality.

The fact is, we have made it to New York.

So go there. Have a cup (stocks should arrive in a few days form now, I”ll post a message below when they do). Take photos rate the place on Steepster, on Foursquare. Blog about your trip here on Tea Trade.

You’ll need your evidence to tell your grandchildren: “I was there when The Devotea teas first started being served over the counter in New York City”. Preferably a photo with @jopj in it, as it was her who wandered into The Chipped Cup and flew our flag, for which I think at the very least a Congressional Medal of Honour should be forthcoming.