Saturday 12 November 2016

Time for Tea

A tea pot from about 1834-40 is on display in the Harris Museum, Preston, a piece of the towns history, for this is where the teetotal movement was started by Joseph Livesey in 1833.  At first it only promoted the abstinence from spirits but eventually the members of the movement took 'The Pledge' to abstain from all alcohol, 'except as medicine'. It became a mass working class movement linked to radical politics, non conformist religion and the quest for women's suffrage. They couldn't meet in pubs so they built Temperance Halls, hotels and bars which served things like ginger beer and sarsaparilla.  By the 1930s it was all over, although a lot of the buildings survive and are now put to other uses but surprisingly there are still a scattering of temperance bars around the country.

Tea drinking boomed in the 19th Century Britain and we have never looked back since. So whats your tipple?  Here is one of Martin Wiscombe's retro cards
 I can't resist including William Cowper's most famous lines from his poem The Task evoking a winter's evening.
 
Now stir the fire, and close the shutters fast,
Let fall the curtains, wheel the sofa round,
And, while the bubbling and loud-hissing urn
Throws up a steamy column, and the cups,
That cheer but not inebriate, wait on each,
So let us welcome peaceful evening in.

'Postcards for the Weekend' is enjoying Coffee Tea and Pastries at Connections to the World 

7 comments:

Maria said...

Thanks for linking up and sharing these cards, Joy! Such an informative write up to go with the cards :) Love the prose, a cup of tea never fails to make way for a peaceful evening for me.

Heleen said...

The history is new to me, as tea and coffee seems so 'normal' I never had thought about how tea/coffee was considered in the past. Nice postcards, too. Thank you for sharing!

Helen said...

Lovely cards! I'm not even sure that I can pick a favourite since I love teapot cards and the mugs/cups of tea.

MY POSTCARD-PAGE said...

I always do love blog posts with and interesting and informative story...Thanks for sharing!

DawnTreader said...

There's nothing like a nice cup of tea... :)

John's Island said...

Hi Joy, Very nice postcards for the tea theme! I'm enjoying your postcards! Your interesting story about the tea pot reminded me that Winston Churchill visited the USA one time with a doctor's prescription for alcohol to get around Prohibition existing at the time. You can see the Rx at this site http://vinepair.com/wine-blog/winston-churchill-received-a-prescription-for-alcohol-to-get-around-american-prohibition/ Wishing you a fine weekend!

Mail Adventures said...

I had to check my album of Martin Wiscombe's postcards to be sure if I had sent or received that postcard... I sent it form England, but I've got a similar one!