The Difference Between A Good Cup Of Tea And A Bad One...

This afternoon i was at Derek's house, a nice little two-bed semi just along the way. I sat down and he offered me a cup of tea. I would love one, i responded. It did not take long for the kettle to boil and there my tea was sitting in front of me, warm and inviting.
I took a sip........not Early Grey, not Twinings, but of course P.G. Tips...i raised this issue with Derek, who stated that a cup of tea is a cup of tea, and there is no difference in one or the other.
I took another sip and a sweet sugary taste met my lips and made me wince like i had just bit into a lemon. Did you stir this? i asked Derek. No, he replied.
I was not impressed, and for another ten minutes i had to suffer the mental, and physical torture of drinking a cup of tea that i could only describe as very very rubbish.
Later on while we were watching Midsomer Murders on VHS Derek asked me what was wrong with his tea. I responded by giving him a long list which roughly centred around its weakness, the lack of milk and the strength of the sugar, combined with the diminishing warmth of the tea as it got towards the end of the cup, even though I had drank it relatively quickly.
Apparently he initially poured cold water into the cup. That's not the way to make tea Derek. Making a cup of tea is an intricate art. It requires knowledge, timing, determination and the will to produce a little trinket of gold for you to enjoy in your own personal time.
Derek had lacked the timing, his knowledge could not be denied, but frankly put i think i have more determination than him in this circumstance.
When i left he seemed despondent, i was pleased that my barracking off him would have a positive effect in the future, and i could go ahead and look forward to tea at Derek's from now on.
I hope Rick Wakeman likes tea, i would judge him if he didn't.

James Bond

I was convinced by Derek to follow an old British tradition and go along and watch the latest James Bond film recently.
Long gone are the days when Sean Connery was marauding round our screens in the latest 1974 vintage Aston Martin, and drinking enough vodka martini to bring down a bull elephant.
The elephant will be feeling a lot more stable on his feet these days as i believe that James Bond has tamed somewhat in his last few outings.
His suits may be sharper, his cars maybe more powerful, but that sparkle in his eye is gone now. He is no longer the cheeky happy chappy he was once, now he relies on scorn and contempt to get through his films. He is also blonde, at what point in one's ageing process does their hair change from brown to blonde, and their eye colour brown to blue?
I liked James Bond, i liked him during Octopussy, i liked him during Live And Let Die, i liked him less in The World Is Not Enough but now i dislike him in his latest outing, Quality Soltan or something, I'm not entirely sure how much a sun tanning company paid to be advertised on the title of the film, but maybe that is why they filmed most of the film outside England, in places that show less English characteristic than Madagascar.
Ian Fleming would be turning in his grave at the latest installment of his famous story.
Rick Wakeman is not a fan either, i read it on his blog.
Bond is going to have to pull something out of the hat in a couple of years time.