Like Taking Coals to Newcastle

Prior to every significant trip (i.e. international trip) , I ferret out my template “Items to Take” List and modify it to suit my needs (which included replacing “sunscreen” with “small umbrella” for my upcoming UK Trip). This list then grows and evolves and I read and reread – think and rethink what I want to take and balance that against what I can fit in.

I was reading though my list of things to take on my upcoming UK trip and nestled between "Pillow" and "Clothesline" in my Misc Gear section was "Tea Bags". Then a thought occurred to me…

Can I take teabags to the UK?

I know legally there isn’t any issue with doing so; unlike going to New Zealand where they are really strict on what you bring in – as evidenced by the thorough going over (by a very cute, but very dedicated and focused beagle) our carry-on luggage got as we waited at the luggage carousel for our main bags (which, I imagine, were getting a thorough sniffing by another committed canine before being sent out to us).

So I’m not worried about being fingered by a dog at the airport (can you be fingered by something that lack fingers?) but I am worried that if anyone discovered my Ziploc bag full of teabags that I would be kicked out of the UK for offending their Commonwealth Culture.

For after all, what is more British than a nice hot strong cup of tea? It ranks right up there with rainy weather, red double-decker busses and red phone boxes as part of the ubiquitous UK. – Though I am fairly certain that the red phone box has gone the way of the blue Police Box (well, excepting one exceptional blue Police Box) and the dodo (and yes, there were never any dodo’s in the UK, except maybe in Parliament) – oh how I digress; my point being that in my mind’s eye – nothing is more linked to England (and the rest of the UK) than tea.

So if I can’t get a good cup of tea in the UK, where can I? I needed my own tea bags in Peru (I think it was almost an insult to drink tea in Peru instead of coffee) where the tea tasted like someone bought 5 year-old tea bags from some discount market and then boiled the crap out of it! But London is not Lima.

Though I don’t consider myself a tea snob, I do like what I like and, since I don’t drink coffee, a good cup (or three) of tea in the morning is essential.

So I sit here pondering my list and my assumptions. Since most of my impressions of the UK are based on firstly, vague memories of being there when I was a kid and touring about visiting distant relatives and being inundated with cups of tea and cakes (which consisted of both cookies, squares and mini sandwiches) of which I consumed far too much T&C that I ended up needing some TLC.

Secondly my impressions are based on British TV shows – “Rebus” & “Hamish Macbeth” for Scotland; “Dalziel & Pascoe” & “Heartbeat” for Yorkshire; “MI5” for London; “Midsomer Murders” & “Inspector Lynley” for the villages & countryside I hope see in the region around Bath and Chester; “Inspector Morse” & “Lewis” for Oxford and of course “Torchwood” for Cardiff – I think I can be forgiven if my assumptions are a bit skewed (heck, if I TRULY based my expectations on these TV shows, I would anticipate murder & mayhem – not to mention aliens – around every corner).

Though having watched all these shows over the years I have a better comprehension of the accents and a greater love for the countryside (as idyllic as the shows may portray it – according to “Heartbeat” it rarely rains in Yorkshire).

I am looking forward to my UK trip; I am ready to see the real UK and to forge some new memories.

I may take a Ziploc bag full of teabags, just in case, but I will also take an empty Ziploc bag or two in the hopes that I discover a UK tea that I enjoy and bring it back with me.

Hmm, maybe I’d better have another look at my “Items to Take” list – I think I need to leave room for new discoveries!

Which, really, is always a good idea!