Tea

Tea is a wonderful thing.

A good cup of tea on a rainy day can make the world just a little bit brighter.

Whenever I travel, wherever I am in the world, a good cup of tea can bring me back home, even just for a few minutes.

Tea can mend broken bodies at the end of a hard day, and broken hearts at the end of a relationship.

What more do you need at the weekend than a friend, a plate of biscuits and a good cup of tea?

Tea may be the real nectar of the gods.

So when my cup of tea let me down, I'm sure you can understand my devastation.

This is my story.

Mornings can be a dangerous  time in my house if I've not yet had a cup of tea. 

It was a Thursday morning. A particularly perilous day as I rush to get ready for a counseling session (not something to look forward to first thing in the morning) followed by a day at work and my return to aquafit (dangerous at the best of times, but no less if you haven't done any exercise for 3 months)‎.

Ten minutes late getting out of bed. Off to a bad start. I can't find my swimming kit. This is unhelpful, but I'm going to have to stop looking and accept defeat. No exercise for another week.

Finally, my morning cup of tea. Ingredients: A large, white pint mug, caringly 'acquired' for me by a university friend (he flirted with the coffee guy)‎. PG tips. Soya milk. Hot water. In that order.

I settle down on the sofa to check my emails, laptop carefully balanced on one knee, cup of tea cradled lovingly in my lap.

All of a sudden, I feel a pain in my leg. There is tea everywhere, burning through my pyjamas, scalding me for not paying it the attention it rightfully deserves.

And before I acknowledge the pain, I notice my laptop. Drowning. Suddenly, my cup of tea is the enemy. My loyalty is torn. 

Slowly, carefully, I lower the offending item to the floor and carefully wipe milky tea from the keyboard, praying to the gods of technology that it will survive this traumatising ordeal. What will I do with no access to Facebook, emails, the outside world?!‎

My cup of tea has failed me. My laptop still functions, but only just. As long as I don't need the letters m, v or b. Or the space bar. 

So dear reader, take heed of my advice. A cup of tea can save your life. But it should not be combined with the morning rush and your laptop.