THE JOYS OF AFTERNOON TEA
Another reason I like it is the opportunity for a snack. By three, lunch was so long ago that I barely remember it. It seems like an eon until dinner. Afternoon tea is just what I need. I’ll have a steaming hot cuppa with a mandarin, or a block of chocolate, or a microwavable cup of rice. Today it’s a slice of bread with butter and marmalade. As I eat and drink, I’m struck with a strange feeling. I’m not
ZOE KEEGHAN It’s three in the afternoon, and I’m watching curls of steam rise from my cup of tea. It’s almost spring, but a winter chill lingers in the air. Wrapping my hands around the warm mug is comforting, and
sure if it’s the combination of tea and bread, but suddenly what I’m doing feels… old. I’m picturing ladies wearing puffy dresses sipping tea and eating marmalade sandwiches with the crusts cut off. As it turns out, I’m not entirely wrong.
not just because of the heat. This has become something of a ritual for me; one cup of tea after breakfast, another for afternoon tea, and one (non-caffeinated) after dinner. My favourite is always this one, the one at a time when my concentration has started to waver. This tea break is just what I need to rejuvenate my energy, a welcome respite from the weekly tasks and university assignments that always seem to pile up.
Anna Maria Russell is often credited with the invention of afternoon tea. She was the Duchess of Bedford from 1839 until her death in 1857, and was supposedly a close friend of Queen Victoria. The part of her tale we’re interested in occurred sometime in the 1840s, when she went to visit the Duke of Rutland at Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire. I imagine it went something like this.
| PAGE 08
