Saturday 9 January 2010

The rampage of the tea-aholics


Now hot water I can do without. Heating I can do without (just). But the one thing guaranteed to put me in a strop is being deprived of my cup of tea. Not having one to start off the day just feels all wrong and trying to write without tea in my system, well...
And tea for me requires milk.
Unfortunately by the time we got out of our snowed-in village we found panic buyers have emptied shop shelves of every single drop of milk, even the skimmed and UHT stuff I've never known anyone to like.
Combine that with tankers being unable to access dairy farms and you have total and utter chaos among the tea-aholics. I'd used some of our last precious reserves for my husband's emergency flask (as advised by every single news broadcast I've seen) as he set off in the snow to see a client. Said client spied the flask and leapt upon it (well he hadn't had a cuppa for two days so I do sympathize). Then he and the husband shared the contents closeted in the office where the other staff wouldn't see them.
Anyone who's ever worked in a British office knows if the kettle ceases to the work the workers begin to revolt. I fear if milk deliveries don't resume we will have a national crisis on our hands.
You have been warned. Expect reports of cow rustling soon...

13 comments:

Caroline said...

What no tea! I can feel myself rebelling now just *thinking* about it! Hope the weather improves and you get your milk soon. Take care. Caroline x

Judy Jarvie said...

Shock Horror and Commiserations. You poor thing!
It gives me a nice idea for an invention though...the tea cube! Just add water and an emergency milky tea for one. Anyone want to start up research and develpment on it with me? I may well fail as a writer but I could just succeed as an inventor/entrepreneur!
jx
P.S. Then there's the hot choc cube, the champagne cube. Oh yus, potential.

Aideen said...

Lorraine,

Never have I felt such a desire to sympathise. I cannot live without my tea. I drink a minimum 8 mugs a day, some days I manage well up to 15. I kid you not, I don't function without it. Last year I decided I was going to get up every morning at 5.30am, that way I could get an average of two hours writing done a day, without any interruption from the crazy boys I'm rearing! One morning, got up, dressed, ate a banana, boiled the kettle. NO milk. Nearest shop not open until 8am. No way, because by then the boys would be up, demanding this and that and everything else. My youngest is two years old and still loves his bottle of Cow & Gate follow on milk for toddlers, so...yep, I used that for my first three mugs of tea that morning. It wasn't fab, but it was tea. And I could, quite literally, die without that precious beverage, especially first thing in the morning.

Poor you, I really hope those tanks get busy soon. Otherwise, go to a few local restaurants/diners and steal all their thumb size cartons. They fit so easily into your pockets!!

All the best,
Aideen.

Sally Clements said...

Oh no, Lorraine! No milk! Black tea (urgh) Hope you get an emergency supply through soon. Really feeling for you. I can't stand the thought of life without tea.

Lucy King said...

We don't get much fresh milk here in Spain so have had to get used to the UHT stuff. I feel your pain...

Suzanne Ross Jones said...

Poor you. Next time put Heinz tomato soup in hubby's flast and keep the milk for your tea.

My daughter's a bit of a tea addict. She drinks tea out a pint jug - with a straw - and becomes aggressive if supplies are cut off. Luckily, the local co-op is still getting deliveries of milk. I'd post you some if I could.

XX

Lacey Devlin said...

Haha! I love Suzanne's idea! It's every man, woman and child for themselves :P

Lorraine said...

Thanks Caroline we do now have some milk but more snow on the way today apparently.

Brilliant idea Judy - inventing, writing, it's the same creative impulse really :-)

Hi Aideen, LOL re. the follow on! I detect a fellow addict and true sympathizer. I try not to count how many cups I have a day and if anyone says anything I mutter about anti-oxidants!

I know Sally, it doesn't bear thinking about. Are your supplies in Ireland okay then?

Hi Lucy. I sympathize re. having to get used to UHT. Mind you, at my low point I would have grabbed anything :-)

Good idea Suzanne. I should put something in it he doesn't like and then he really would save it for an emergency!

And as for Lacey's point I do have to admit when we finally saw the white stuff available I may have bought a tad more than usual. Not panic buying you understand ;-)

Think there might be a verb conjugation in there actually:

I stock up
You panic buy
He/she selfishly hoards
We are being sensible
They are being irresponsible...

Well. You get the drift ;-)

Joanne Coles said...

Oh no! Glad to hear you got some milk eventually.

My kids would revolt without milk ... in a morning, in an evening, on their breakfast. Life would come to a swift halt.

I drink herbal tea, so can manage without milk myself. But unhappy kids = stressed out me.

Romy Sommer said...

You make me so glad I'm in South Africa where we don't get snowed in. No Milk?!

Like Joanne, I wouldn't be able to survive milk-less kids, let alone tea (which I'm also addicted to).

Sally Clements said...

Fingers crossed the milk supplies keep coming, Lorraine. Then the words can! Bit of a thaw on here, thank god!

Jackie Ashenden said...

I get very grumpy without milk so I feel your pain.
Hope you're keeping warm. Brought you back some Kiwi sun. Sending it....now!

Sally Clements said...

Hi Lorraine! I have just nominated you for a Kreativ Bloggers Award. Enjoy!