Fancy a cup of tea, mate?

Throughout my life, people have offered me tea, at times forcibly. We moved to the Deep South when I was 13, and an old family friend insisted on pouring me a cold glass of the ubiquitous Southern sweet tea. Protests that I didn't like tea brought a laugh and a glass pushed into my hand, as though I'd made a little joke, because who doesn't like sweet tea? To me it looked like rusty water and didn't taste much better. I grimaced and left it on the table.

People went on offering sweet tea and shaking their heads in bemused amazement while muttering about "Yankees" when I turned it down time and again. By my early 30s, I was still a staunch tea-loather when an English boyfriend convinced me it was quite good hot if brewed properly. I wasn't totally convinced, but he was cute and I'm easily swayed. I started drinking hot tea now and then, mainly if I was freezing in an arctic workplace and wanted something with less calories than hot cocoa. (Why are offices kept cold enough to cryogenically freeze the staff, anyway?) I'm pretty sure I wasn't preparing it properly, but at least I was willing to give it a go.

Fast-forward several years and I'm living in England, the land where tea is so popular that many even call the evening meal "tea." It took me quite awhile to figure out that when someone said they were having company for tea, they actually meant dinner and not cups of tea served with scones and jam. And wonder of wonder, no one forces tea on me here.

But as of last week, they don't have to, I actually want it. Thanks to a little glass teapot I bought at Poundland (care to guess the price?), I love making tea, watching it change color, and pouring it out into a big mug. It even seems to taste better than ever before.

The hangup for me was always how to actually make the tea. I knew how to hang a teabag out of a cup of boiled water, but I couldn't figure out those ceramic teapots. Did people put those on the stove to heat the water? That didn't seem right. Did you pour boiling water into it (bingo!), and if so, where did the tea go (would you just leave loose leaves inside, or what?) Turns out there are various methods to deal with that (here's a nice tutorial for other tea numbskulls like me).

However, my magical little cheapie teapot comes with a built-in infuser (a little strainer that fits inside). I can put a teabag or leaves in there. It's especially lovely because the one time I always loved tea was if I went to a restaurant that brought my own small teapot to the table -- I'm totally charmed by that concept, like having my own little tea party. And now I have my own cute teapot and even know how to use it. I've even found a few teas I like, such as white tea and a specialty blend of blueberry and yogurt.

Now if I can only figure out the appeal of dry, dusty scones...

A little funny business

Just a heads up for comedy fans in Reading: the outrageously funny Tanyalee
Davis will be in town during the Reading Comedy Festival! I don't know if her show is part of the official festival, but hey, they coincide, so enjoy one with the other.

The Canadian-born comic will be at Jongleurs on Friar Street (located above Bar Risa) on 9 and 10 October. If you plan ahead, you can save mucho £££s by buying tickets in advance with the help of a discount code. Using the code found here, you can get 3 tickets for the price of 1 -- if you order by 28 September. You can place orders for later on, presumably as far ahead as the Jongleurs' calendar listings go.

Tanyalee is a little person who brings big laughs. I've seen her perform several times, and she's always funny and full of energy. Here's a brief intro to the world of TLee:




John Pinette

Another must-see act during the Comedy Festival is American comic John Pinette. He's hilarious; I still sometimes use his catchphrase "You go now!" Want to see what the fuss is about? Check it out here.

Church chat

The sights in Reading include some very beautiful, very old churches. I visited a few during last weekend's Heritage Open Days.

The oldest on my tour (in fact the oldest church in Reading) was Reading Minster of St Mary the Virgin (it's in an area called St. Mary's Butts, and I can't help thinking of that as the name of the church, lol). It dates from AD 979, and of the churches I saw, it seemed to be one of two that remained ancient inside and out. Some others incorporated contemporary features inside (like the flooring and seating and very modern touches), but this one was all beautiful old church through and through. The large, tranquil churchyard includes walking paths (often used as shortcuts by many) and crypts. Many people go there to eat lunch on benches or on a monument with steps. While we were there early Saturday afternoon, the grounds also featured a man drinking from a 40-ounce beer can and yelling to passing women. Classy.









The final, exterior picture was actually taken in 2008. The rest were from last weekend. I'll post more from other churches later. :)

I have a winner, part deux

The winner of the original draw for the book"Britannia in Brief" never got in touch, so I drew again and have a new winner: Tiffany S. come on down! Congrats!

American Style Hand Car Wash?

This business recently opened in the Kings Point building on King's Road. I don't know what it means, either. What exactly is an American-style car wash??? Note the broken glass in one window below, and boarded windows in another. It had been a vacant building ever since I've been here.

We have a winner!

I'm sorry to be late announcing the winner -- my computer got "sick" on Monday and has been getting treatment since Tuesday, and in the flap of laptop woes, I honestly forgot it was already time to pick a winner! I'm borrowing a laptop now to go ahead and end the suspense, so drumroll, please:

Congrats to: Sharon Parramore of Tuscaloosa, Alabama! Please email me at groovy.yank@gmail.com with your address and I'll get the book in the post!

Dipping into Water Fest

The River Kennet bustled with brightly colored canal boats and the occasional bellow of a steam whistle Saturday during one of my favorite local events -- Water Fest.

People crowded the walk along Blake's Wharf and up through the abbey ruins, browsing booths and jockeying for a spot to watch the activity on the water. I really love the canal boats -- the long, lean craft are designed to go through narrow passages and to be somewhat homey. Many have flowers and other homey touches, and the insides of at least some had stoves and places to sleep. I'd rather like a long cruise on one. If there are decent facilities for when nature calls that don't require some gross tank-cleaning procedure, that is.

The booths included fairly professional stalls offering food, clothes and crafts, to flea-market type stands run for various charities. Many of these offered several tickets for a quid to try and win a variety of items -- mostly also flea-market type stuff, but it was still fun to play. I won a bottle of chardonnay that my husband thought was awful yet drank anyway, a tiny teddy bear, and a couple of kid's toys I left for the next winner to take. There were also a few costumed people making the rounds, including the two women on stilts that "swam" through the crowd.



We also took a ride on a little boat with a green pavilion on top. I don't know what you'd call it, as it wasn't a canal boat and just held a few passengers. I loved the view of familiar sights from the water, and noticed a few things I'd never seen before.

All in all, it was a fun day that I wish came more than once a year.