The heartbreak of finding an empty teacup when you thought there was one gulp to go. – Rob Temple, @SoVeryBritish (Very British Problems: Making Life Awkward for Ourse

…creases like the leathern boot of Tartar horsemen, curl like the dewlap of a mighty bullock, unfold like a mist rising out of a ravine, gleam like a lake touched by a zephyr, and be wet and soft like a forest floor newly swept by rain. – Luwuh, Chaking, regarding selection of the best quality tea leaves

If she speaks, it will only be a pleasant word or two; should she have anything important to say, the moment will be after tea, not before it; this she knows by instinct. – George Gissing, The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft, 1903 (of the housekeeper b

“Would you like an adventure now…. or would you like to have your tea first?” Wendy said “tea first” quickly, and Michael pressed her hand in gratitude…. – J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan