Winter Is Coming!

Right, so I know most of you won’t care about this but I just have to share my excitement. It’s an itsy bitsy but oh so tantalising teaser trailer for the upcoming Game of Thrones series by HBO. In fact it’s so short that it’s impossible to make any kind of judgement on what the show will actually be like. I hold super high hopes for it though- not only is it from the makers of one of my most favouritest TV series ever (Rome), but it’s based on the first novel in one of my top five fantasy sagas of all time ('A Song of Ice and Fire' by George RR Martin). The only problem I have with it so far is that it won’t be finished till 2011. That’s an eternity!

As I said, I do realise that only geeky dragon crack addicts like myself will actually care about a vague twenty second trailer for a show that won’t be aired for another year or so. Which leads me to wonder what the point of this post actually is…hmm. Well I suppose I can make this recommendation: if you haven’t watched Rome then watch it and if you haven’t read the Ice and Fire books then read them. Do this and weeks of pure escapist joy will be your reward.

Serious Furniture

Do you ever notice the way designers and architect types always go gaga over chairs? Well, in my experience they tend to anyway. Take the undeniably beautiful creation by Scott Garcia above. It is, in fact, probably one of the most wonderful chairs I’ve ever seen. Though I do have a little trouble taking it as seriously as the designer does in his descriptive blurb:

It’s not like I disagree with his philosophy- god love him, his heart’s in the right place- but come on, it’s only a chair! A pretty darn funky one, I admit, but why can’t it be just left at that? Why does it need a bloody narrative? And if it does then why can we not just be left figure it out for ourselves? Ah, maybe I’m just in one of those moods today. Anyway, I really do love Mr Garcia’s designs. Check out these concrete, yes I said concrete, tables. The second one is embedded with antique lace. How lovely!

Probably The Best Thing Orwell Ever Wrote

 Image source

I’ve been a busy little bee the past few days, hence the lack of blogging. I wish I could report on some exciting adventure or what not but unfortunately it’s just been your average monotony sucking up my time. I like being busy though, no matter what it is I’m occupied with. It makes that cup of tea (or ten) at the end of the day all the more heavenly.

I don’t drink tea when I’m out usually, I stick to the coffee. It continually baffles me the way cafes and restaurants always invest so much in their coffee making facilities yet totally neglect the needs of us poor tea lovers. They seem to think we’ll be grand with a cheap cash and carry teabag in a creeky old pot. I’m telling you now, I’d rather drink dishwater. At least in this part of the world it comes in a pot, I suppose. I remember being in the States some years back and in a fit of desperation I chanced ordering what was billed as ‘hot tea’. What I got was a mug of lukewarm water with a teabag at the side. Sacrilege. I’m sorry to all my American blog buddies- it’s a fine nation you’ve got over there but the art of tea is certainly not one of your strong points!

So why is it so hard to get a good cup of tea? And what can be done about it? Well, I propose the following article be written into law or at least set as essential reading for caterers of the world: ‘A Nice Cup of Tea’ George Orwell, The Evening Standard, January 12 1946. Only ever so slightly outdated, it is a manifesto for the brew loving masses. A guide to the perfect cuppa, if you will. Ah Orwell, I have a new respect for him. He sure knew how to make tea! Here’s just a few of his oh so pertinent points:

 Image: A Cup of Chai

"The water should be actually boiling at the moment of impact... Some people add that one should only use water that has been freshly brought to the boil, but I have never noticed that it makes any difference."

"One should pour tea into the cup first. This is one of the most controversial points of all… but I maintain that my own argument is unanswerable. This is that, by putting the tea in first and stirring as one pours, one can exactly regulate the amount of milk whereas one is liable to put in too much milk if one does it the other way round."

"[Tea] should be drunk without sugar... how can you call yourself a true tea-lover if you destroy the flavour of your tea by putting sugar in it? It would be equally reasonable to put in pepper or salt. Tea is meant to be bitter, just as beer is meant to be bitter. If you sweeten it, you are no longer tasting the tea, you are merely tasting the sugar; you could make a very similar drink by dissolving sugar in plain hot water."

Hear hear Mr Orwell!