A pot of tea solves most problems. First Australians enjoyed a herbal brew made from native plants. There was tea aboard the First Fleet. In 1882, Alfred Bushell opened the first tea shop in Queensland. His sons would form the Bushell’s Company in Sydney during 1899. Much loved Scottish Comedian, Billy Connolly recently offered in his lament, the melancholic television series, Made in Scotland, “But tea is the best substance in the world. Tea, I love tea. It makes me feel good. It makes me feel jolly. Tea is the substance,” he said. Connolly, like many working-class Brits, fell victim to the dreaded drink but is now considered a pin-up for teetotalism; a term used by the Preston Temperance Movement to demand abstinence from alcohol in the 1830’s. Kath & Kim stars and writers Gina Riley and Jane Turner created every episode at Turner’s house. They would drink coffee in the morning and tea in the afternoon to fuel and replenish their creative juices. In our family, tea is a...
My late father would often quote the famous saying “penny wise and pound foolish” coined by Mathematician, Oxford University Scholar, and vicar of St. Thomas’s Church, Robert Burton in his therapeutical memoir which became a medical textbook, The Anatomy of Melancholy first published in 1621. A person who is “penny wise and pound foolish” is said to be be careful with small amounts of money but wasteful with large sums. I am confident my dad was unaware of the saying’s origin, however that didn’t inhibit its regular use. And like many analogies and idioms and sayings we adapt meaning over time, in this case 400 years, to suit our own interpretation. He would most often refer to the saying when discussing suits. Ill-fitting clothing was his biggest gripe. Suits that “fell off the shoulders” or “were swimming on him” should be avoided at all costs. Dad followed with advice regarding preparedness to pay that little bit extra to ensure the wearer would not return to their chosen purv...