Tea Sippers

The afternoon tea is an event that goes back some time in Great Britain. Over time the rules have varied as to what is proper to serve with the tea. As our source describes it, the afternoon tea had many more rules a hundred years ago than today. A hostess did wrong if she served “biscuits from a tin (common) or jam from a fancy dish (trying too hard).” But apparently it’s sort of an anything goes event these days.

However, one group has put the afternoon tea to work as a means of getting isolated and lonely elders, over 75, out for an afternoon of good food, socializing, and of course, tea. The charity is called “Contact the Elderly” where volunteers, mostly in their 20s, drive the elders to teas that are supported by the sales of Friendship Tea from the British company, Today was Fun. The requirements for hosting the teas, according to one tea hostess, is simply “…a kind heart, a loving teapot and a downstairs loo.”

As one who has delivered Meals on Wheels to housebound seniors, this is quite a lovely idea. Most of the recipients seemed to want the human contact and good conversation more than the food. Maybe this is an idea that could spread in the US for someone willing to take up the gauntlet.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/wine/main.jhtml?xml=/wine/2008/03/02/st_beewilson.xml