I have a passport that says I have never been to India. However, standing in a confusion of sounds and sights that suggested otherwise, we soaked up music, dialects, scents, the sound of blaring car horns and parping motorbike horns, rows of saree shops and grocers with spices piled high. Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam all combine to […]
It is obligatory, when travelling, to enjoy an afternoon tea. Admittedly, it’s not always easy. If you’re in London, it’s easy to find. The Australian Antarctic Territory, not so. Most places are somewhere in between, and Penang certainly is. The afternoon tea to be had in Georgetown is that at the ‘1885’ tea room at […]
The image at the top of this post is a swimming pool we spent some time in and around yesterday, and during the day, a theme for today’s post coalesced in my mind. Too bad, it will have to wait, because life had other plans. A day of relaxing and local wandering involved a lot […]
Well, here we are in Penang, Malaysia, and I spent yesterday drinking plenty of tea. My Lady and I had decided to get a good night’s sleep (you can translate that as ‘arrived near comatose’ if you like) and so my first tea -a Finbarr’s Revenge from our own supply- got things cracking for me […]
ACT 1: IN WHICH ONE RESPONDS TO SOGGY DESPERATION In one long dark teatime of the soul*, I stared into the abyss, pondered the hell hole that was my surroundings, and wondered at the inhumanity of it all. Yes, I was in Melbourne Airport. In late February, 2008 I blogged about a trip interstate. At […]
I am bewildered. In the next little while, we will be travelling 1384 kilometres to Sydney, and while we are there, amongst other things, we will have some tea. We will be having that tea with a dear friend who is traveling 14474 kilometres to get there. So, having travelled a combined distance of >17,000 […]
I was all set to write a post on international relations this week, and then a discussion on ABC24 Breakfast TV caught my eye and ear. I have not managed to find the original source, but apparently, some well-known coffee identity has lashed out at Melbourne’s baristas, suggesting that they are way too laid back, […]
I’m not really one for bad tea puns, but the title of this blog wrote itself. I originally had a blog, where I ranted. And then I had a tea blog. And after about a dozen posts, I moved my blog to Tea Trade. I used to make videos regularly, and Jackie Davenport of Trade came […]
When deciding on your guest list, the only two criteria are people you like, and people who will like each other, which often reduces the number of family members getting an invitation. Unless you are holding out because you will receive a knighthood or Nobel prize, NOW is the occasion to use the best china, […]
I used to write a lot about different teas and about different places to enjoy tea, or not enjoy tea. But not so much any more. There are complex reasons. Firstly, since starting this blog, Lady Devotea and I have become vendors. For the last four years, every time I have thought about reviewing a […]