Helga Raesfeldt-Mings Valencia

Valencia

The ebb and flow of warm waters through ancient cairns and wedge tombs. Down by Dohilla A few million years before did glean a fossil trackway. And the gems off the Skelligs Between Knightstown and Hearts Content. History will tell of the First signals sent. But wait!...from the Fogher Rocks To the Geokauns Did you hear the mystical Mug Ruith call in the ancient ruin.

Helga Raesfeldt-Mings

Tea – One of Life’s Great Pleasures.

On any list of pleasures of life, one would surely include tea, the most popular beverage enjoyed by the Irish and English people. What can compare with the first cup in the morning, freshly made and piping hot, a tonic for body and soul? Arriving home tired and irritable from an exhausting journey, the cup of tea will sooth the mind and restore the spirits. Someone getting back on food after an illness will begin with tea and toast. All social occasions are enhanced, by the serving of tea. People relax and conversation flows more freely. During the Second World War, when rationing was in place, one of the great privations suffered by people was the scarcity of tea and there was a brisk trade on the black market. In my family, the extra allowance for us children was saved for my grandmother, tea being one of the comforts of her old age. The growing of tea began in China many centuries ago, spreading from thereto Japan and later to India. A thriving trade developed as ships transported the precious commodity to England and America. From the seventeenth century, tea was served at coffee houses in London, soon becoming the post popular drink. Afternoon tea in silver tea services with cakes was presided over by the ladies of great houses in the 18th and 19th centuries. The expensive grain was stored in ornate caddies and packed away out of reach of servants. The now indispensable tea bag originated in America, when a merchant named Sullivan sent samples to customers in silk bags. At first considered inferior to leaf tea, over time the tea bag became widely used. Before then, tea came in wooden chests, from which the grocer filled quarter and half pound amounts in strong paper bags. Nowadays, all the tea is packed in boxes, brightly labeled by various suppliers, each vying for shelf space. Whether we use leaves or bags, tea deserves to be made with care. A tea bag in a mug may be suitable for a traveller breaking a journey, but it is only second best. Ideally, a teapot should be used, heated first, boiling water added, a tea cosy and brewing time. Perhaps now and then, for a special treat, take out the heirloom china. The Zen Buddhists tell us, for calm and contentment, tea should be drunk slowly, enjoying every sip.