Members of the Cambridge Society of London have been learning all about some of Britain’s favourite drinking pastimes, going on a Virtual Tour of Historic Pubs on the River Thames and learning all about the British Love Affair with Tea! Blue Badge Tourist Guide Caroline Piper took attendees on a virtual Thames pub crawl, from the Isle of Dogs to the Dove in Hammersmith, a perfect place to watch the Oxford-Cambridge boat race in normal times. Highlights included the Anthony Gormley life-size statue of a man standing in the river Thames outside The Grapes in Limehouse, which gets partially submerged to his ankles as the tide comes in, and the stunning art nouveau decoration at The Blackfriar pub in the City, in homage to the inn of the old blackfriars friary which used to stand on the site.
She continued with a virtual talk exploring the British Love Affair with Tea, learning where tea came from and how it first arrived in Britain, and then how and why it grew in popularity. Particularly striking was the changing moral attitude to tea, from a dangerous substance causing nervous disorders and undermining the strength of the working classes in the 18th century, to hero of the temperance movement in the 19th century. She explained how tea is grown and made and how this creates the 6 main types of tea, then attendees enjoyed tasting different teas at home and sharing tasting notes with each other. Attendees left with a better understanding of, and the knowledge to experiment with, new varieties of tea!
Photos include; The Dove in Hammersmith / decoration from The Blackfriar in the City of London / the plaque celebrating the tea trade in St Katherine’s Docks / Twinings shop on the Strand, established in 1706