Tools of the Trade

Tools of the Trade, originally uploaded by Mr Atrocity.

Booda Baby tagged me with a meme. Having looked up the words "meme" and "tagged" I believe I have been invited to respond to the small challenge listed below and to write a six word memoir. It is a small challenge in terms of the amount of copy it requires me to write, it is somewhat more onerous when one considers what needs to be fitted into those six words. I have actually given this some serious thought and most of my better ideas came in at an irritatingly, just too chubby, seven words. You may, if you wish, read my answer below. The rules are also listed below. I have issues with authority so I am only going to address parts 1, 2 and 3. If anyone else wishes to play along then please feel free but I wouldn't want to impose.

Here are the rules:

1. Write your own six-word memoir.
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you'd like.
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post.
4. Tag five more blogs with links.
5. And don't forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.

Here is my 6 word memoir:

Always knows where his tea is.

This I think says a good deal about my character and my attitudes. I have always been a fairly measured person, I don't get ruffled easily and I have only lost my temper a couple of times that I can remember. Knowing where one's tea is helps with this. There are very few situations that cannot be defused with a cup of tea and a moment of quiet reflection.

I am also a very English person in many ways. I love cricket, tweed, films with David Niven or Terry-Thomas in them, warm beer, and of course tea. A life without tea would scarcely be worth living. The gentle stimulation of the mind that it affords allows one to dream and to think beautiful thoughts. Or it can act as a powerful restorative after a day's exertion. My point is that tea, and the ideas and emotions with which it is associated, are deeply integrated into my psyche. I am a tea person. I like coffee, but I am a tea person. A tea and cake person. A tea and cake served on a nice piece of Staffordshire china person.

There is also a pseudish and snobby element to tea. What sort of tea to drink? How to prepare it? These are the kinds of questions that appeal to the snob/connoisseur in me. I like the ritual of brewing loose leaf tea. I delight in warming the teapot, measuring out the tea, pouring in the water, setting out the cups (or mugs) and those few quiet moments of contemplation while the tea brews just enough ease the troubled mind. It's the same pleasure I take in putting on a suit, or cleaning shoes or shaving. There is a sense of ritual, a process which cannot be rushed; it will take as long as it needs. I think as I am inclined to race around during the day because I always feel the need to achieve, I equally need these pauses that brewing up a pot of tea affords to keep me level-headed and sane.

So there you have it. Tea defines who I am and aids me in remaining that way. It is a crutch and a facilitator. And thus Atrocity always knows where his tea is.