Day 25: Twinings 'The' Earl Grey

One of the teas Twinings was handing out yesterday at the royal wedding (it was a sample pack of two different teas, one being the royal wedding commemorative blend) was a packet of 'The' Earl Grey. 'Tea with the fragrant flavour of bergamot and lemon', the packet says.  'Some relationships are made to come and go, but some are made to last'.  The implication being, of course, that like Prince William and his Kate, this tea will last for hundreds of years.  Or, at least sixty or seventy.  (Incidentally, did you know the Queen has been married for 63 years? Impressive!)

So, I took this one for my tea today. Interestingly enough I did an entire blog post on a decaffeinated version of Earl Grey, waxing eloquent about putting lemon in it, etc.  Only to discover a few days ago that that was actually English Breakfast Tea. What strikes me especially funny is that no one else noticed, either. The photographed box (looking very posh in black and yellow) clearly proclaimed it an English Breakfast tea. I just didn't read it!  I may go back and change the title later, but the point is that I've only had Earl Grey once before, and that was in the loose leaf version.

I will say that nobody makes tea like Twinings.  I love that they make good old fashioned hundred-years-old tea, and yet are constantly coming out with new blends. (That royal wedding tea was something else. I swoon.) Earl Grey is a classic, and I still stand by my statement that it goes very, very well with lemon.  Cuts the bitterness, brings out the flavours, I've said all this before!

I went out for my walk/run this morning (late morning, I had a long lie to recuperate from my 4am start yesterday) and I had a great start - just as I passed the houses round the corner, I heard wild cheering and clapping.  I figured it was for me.  After the enthusiasm I've received on other days, why not imagine that a few people looked out their window and said, 'Ah! There's Karen, out for her daily walk! Well done, Karen! Press on! We are with you!'  On top of that, the weather is absolutely incredible today.  The sun is shining, there was a slight breeze, and best of all the little wind was strong enough to blow through all the pink and white blossomed trees so that everywhere I went, nature's confetti was strewn all over the ground. On the road in front of me, delicate pink leaves danced in circles and then zoomed across to the other side. White blossoms filled the air with their fragrance and joined the pink leaves in celebration.  It was that feeling you get of walking down streets after the party is over, but instead of sad, dirty, forlorn rubbish, it's still-beautiful pink and whiteness, lining the grass and dancing about with unbridled enthusiasm, playing with the wind and carrying on the good times of yesterday.  The royal wedding may be over, but the trees and the blossoms they carry are still in full festive spirit.

I passed a few rejoicers, as well.  One house with Prince William and Kate bunting stretched across the front, and little flags out in the back. Perhaps they had a back-garden tea party.  Another house with a huge flag flying proudly, and another with more bunting on the fence.  It was a happy walk, this morning. One of the things that made me the happiest was that I not only had the energy to walk, but ran further than I had any other time, too.  I thought from such a long day yesterday I might barely want to walk. Another reason for having a blog like this: laziness is not an option.  I think a few years ago I would have really struggled to know whether it is laziness or inability, but I'm learning that even on my worst days I can still walk some. And the only way to find out how much that 'some' is, is to start off.  Sometimes it surprises you.  Today, I surprised myself. 

Walk/run length: 30 minutes