Shall I be mother?
May 20th, 2007 by francis
(Photo thanks to Phil Moore)
While I will confess to not being the greatest fan of outgoing UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, just days from his retirement he has finally addressed one of the pressing issues of our time: how hard it is to get a decent cup of tea.
“It’s got to be properly strong, it’s got to have the right colour. The trouble is, not many people do it like that. That’s why I drink coffee when I’m in mainland Europe, because they just can’t make a cup of tea.”
Tea is very important to my personal sloth ethic. When I think about some of my favourite moments of relaxation, there’s generally a cup of tea to hand somewhere.
The sloth ethic is a universal moral constant, and I am aware that this post might be a little anglo-centric. So do find your own equivalent. It could be a coffee, some collection of fruit, twigs and bracken that masquerades under the name of tea, a glass of wine, a steaming hot chocolate, anything that encourages you just to slow down. Take a moment. Choose your favourite. Make it just right, just the way you want it. And sit back, and sip. Not doing anything else, not checking your email and instant messaging while the phone is cradled between your head and shoulder. Just chill out, and take the time it takes to drink your drink out of the day, time just for you. Watch the froth on your latte spin lazily round. See how the glass of Barolo catches the light. Take a drink. Take a breath. Take another. Let the world flow on around you, because right here, right now, your world has slowed almost to a stop.
And having been all ecumenical for a while, let me go back to being a tea evangelist. Because it really does work better than anything else, you know. Coffee’s just too…rushy. People who eat ‘power breakfasts’ drink coffee. Tea reduces stress, brings other health benefits, and goes very nice with a bit of cake or a sandwich.
So, explore the world of a nice cup of tea and a sit down, take advice from a literary great about how to make tea, and read discussion about the fraught debate over whether you should put the milk in first or last (well, I say debate, it isn’t really as the milk-first heretics are simply wrong).
So try your tea black, or oolong, or green, or white, from China, or from India or Sri Lanka...as well as drinking the stuff, you can waste precious hours when you ought to be doing something far more serious and productive, simply reading and dithering about what to buy next.
Go on, put the kettle on. Take a break. You deserve it.
Your post has all of us here at the International Institute of Not Doing Much (IINDM) in a state of justifiable consternation at the outrageous news that a good cup of tea is unavailable in London. The place is going to the dogs. Not only has SlowLondon.com disappeared from the internet, (without trace apparently), but now we hear that Mr. Blair himself has let this most revered tradition slide. Life without a good cup of tea is not worth living. Isn’t that what Socrates said so wisely?
Fortunately, there are those of us who do know how to make a good cup of tea. It requires patience, skill and the ability to savor.
Yours in slowness,
Christopher
PS. Your membership application to the IINDM can be found here.
Dear Christopher,
I believe Socrates did say something similar, and his experience with hemlock simply proved the wisdom of avoiding all these herbal ‘teas’ in favour of the real thing.
It is a shame that Slow London has apparently lapsed. I really enjoyed what they were doing with it. Mind, there is always a danger for all of us extolling the virtues of a slower life that geological epochs may pass between posts.