I got really, really into it. I get a monthly subscription box with 4 uncommon and expensive teas, 2 light and 2 dark per box. I have a whole tea battle station in my living room (my mother’s ercol cabinet that no longer fits in her house) with all the tea and excess equipment inside and tea making facilities on top!

I have two different tea categories. A normal cuppa or brew serves a very differs purpose to ‘fancy’ tea. So I have two answers.

For a cuppa my go-to is 1 bag of twinings english breakfast and 1 bag of twinings earl grey made in a teapot. Its kind of just what I really associate with that kind of tea as it is how my mother made it when I was young. I’ll happily throw a bag of Yorkshire tea in a mug but its not my favourite way of doing it.

Fancy tea… I very much came down on green teas as my favourite but lighter oolongs and sheng (raw) pu erhs are up there too. I’d be hard pushed for a firm favourite but I have a wonderfully sweet and creamy gyokuro karigane japanese ‘twig’ tea and a chinese ‘yun wu ming qian cloud mist’ that was light, sweet and utterly delicious.

I go for a cuppa as a caffeine hit or just something nice in the morning or a drink when doing stuff but a fancy tea during the day as something a little more ritualistic as a nice break from work.

You are going to be disappointed I’m afraid

TEA! I got really into tea over covid. I have loads of paraphernalia, a monthly tea subscription and strong opinions on what is good tea.

Its more often rhinoviruses rather than coronaviruses or other families

A word used a lot here as a humorous stand in for colds etc - https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/lurgy

Yeah but the main benefit is everyone else wearing them to prevent the spread in the first place.

I wish wearing masks on public transport remained normalised

Third day of rush hour public transport. I just know im about to come down with the lurgy

The state of the UK and world politics with an emboldened right wing trying to undo years of progress with their misguided bigotry of all forms. Im genuinely scared that reform might get into power one day.

If you are a pessimist you are either always right or pleasantly surprised.

Not much we could do but we made sure to acknowledge it at least.

It was my first friend anniversary with mine today!

I don’t mind flowers but for the kind of price and gift that it is I would prefer something like a nice candle or a diffuser.

Its really fun, love it.

We still use it in our stuff, I guess its easier for the corporate world to hire DBAs with official qualifications and have the option of oracle support when something goes tits up.

Sorting out the immersion heater, an annoying leak in the porch, selling a car thats not been driven in 2 years, a ton of stuff for work, tidying the kitchen, reorganising all my stuff upstairs. I think its easier to list what I’m not putting off

I was looking after my sister’s pupper whilst she was on holiday and decided to make her a simple collar so I could practice making the buckle portion. I think it came out ok and my sister was happy with it as a little present. A few days later I sliced my thumb open on a new strap cutter so I’ve had to down tools for a bit…

I played trumpet as a child but desparately craved to learn something else as my musical tastes didn’t really match it - its hard to be interested in playing an instrument when you don’t really like the music you are learning.

Later in life I bought an emotional support bass but I never really found the time or motivation to learn anything more complex than the famous riff from The Chain.

I never really had a single true BFF until last year. She unfortunately lives half way up the country now so its not easy for us to meet up too often (maybe that is better for the sake of the society) but she has become such an important part of my life I can’t really imagine it without her now.