A Nice Cup of Tea

I am feeling quite blurry-eyed this morning, definitely a bit frazzled, but a cup of tea will soon fix that. Trouble is, that means making a decision . . . whether to have a cup of golden Assam with a splash of milk, or Chinese green leaf with jasmine flowers, sipped from one of those dinky little cups, without milk . . . and I am not very good at making decisions until I have had my morning 'cuppa'!

The song ringing around my tiny brain doesn't help, either, but just makes me more anxious . . .

. . ." I like a nice cup of tea in the morning,
for to start the day, you see.
And at half past eleven,
Well, my idea of heaven is
A nice cup of tea . . ."

A pretty little ditty, which I first heard in 1937, the Coronation year of King George VI , sung by Binnie Hale, one of the most successful revue artists of the era on the London stage. The lyrics were by A.P. Herbert, popular man-about-town and Member of Parliament, for the show Home and Beauty but I only heard it 'on the wireless'. It has since been revived and revised many times by a wide range of popular artists but it is the original version that I still hear in my mind whenever I am in need of a 'pick-me-up' and, in the words of the song . . .

. . . "When it's time for bed, there's a lot to be said
For a nice cup of tea."

OK, I've made my mind up now . . . I think I'll have coffee instead. That'll wake me up!