high tea by candlelight

contrary to popular perception high tea does not bear aristocratic roots. the poor working class of yesteryear could only afford one solid meal per day which was lunch. after crawling back home late at night from the coal mines, factories etc they were obviously hungry.

the kettle would go on, tea would be brewed and what scraps could be gathered and assembled into a snack of sorts supplemented by never-ending cups of tea. it would seem that the institution of english drinking copious amounts of tea is a many headed beast. in far flung colonial outposts the aristocracy would be drinking tea under the mobile shade of their coolies as a symbol of class superiority whilst back home the comfort it provided the poor industrialised peasants was arguably equivalent if not greater. emotional, physical and psychological sustenance is hard to beat.

as standards of living gradually increased then so did the quality and quantity of accompanying tea foodstuffs until eventually the now antiquated english expression "tea" was born. and still they incessantly drink the vile stuff in delicately patterned porcelain cups. i mean even lady gaga does it [this makes me think of my south australian friend dave].

cut to every other thursday. in a semblage of eclectic worlde bric a brac & dark sombre tulle walls surrounded by the odd what not, a wonderful underground movement has been born sprung from the humble building which gave us the original [recently relocated] 505. this is high tea.

last visit we [claire & yours truly] were delighted to find ourselves in a small world filled with strangers punctuated by friends. the wonderful kent eastwood [who was my 13th hour live pianist for my "explorations into the sound mind" installation at the successful punk monk collaborative "multiple personalities exhibition"] was a special guest performer. with renny field. a delightful & unexpected treat. fine company indeed.

high tea is a pseudo secret movement for artisans & lovers of intimacy where unplugged sets are experienced up close with a cup of tea in hand or a bottle of bagged wine. i'm not that traditional & nor is claire, so we float on the periphery of the caste system with lips stained red not black or blue. no china required here.

but RSVP quick.