30 years ago an 8lb baby girl was born with a coned shaped head. The mother of this baby reminisces about being woken in the early hours of the night by a whispering midwife with a cup of tea and informed that her baby needed feeding. This tea was in a big mug; it had been made in a pot and quenched the new Mummy’s thirst as in turn she refreshed her daughter. There was no plastic cup, no long life milk, and no limit on the amount. This was proper tea at the beginning of a new chapter in a family’s life, the very first page in the story of my life.
And the teas kept coming. The best cup I’ve ever drunk in my life was the brew I downed in the delivery suite after the arrival of my very own daughter. The worst was a lukewarm machine made cuppa sipped whilst waiting to hear if my sister had made it through brain surgery. At my wedding a champers reception was replaced with a brew!
Keep the tea coming. It’s important, small but important. It gently improves the quality of one’s life. Like a random act of kindness a good cup of tea, an unexpected offer of brewing up or a cuppa brought to you in bed can warm you inside and improve your day dramatically.
Now I am leaving my baby girl at home to brew up for Edinburgh. The Fringe is the Premiership for theatre makers. Northern Stage is showcasing 17 pieces of work from the North of England. I will be there for 5 days; 4 shows, and 36 tea bags. I am taking my tea pot. But this is not a show just about tea drinking.
Tea is an Evening Meal
Edinburgh Fringe
Northern Stage at St Stephens
Tues 7th till Fri 10th August
14.40pm daily
http://www.northernstage.co.uk/st-stephens/whats-on/tea-is-an-evening-meal
Faye Draper - Playful Performance 