“There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea” Henry James, The Portrait Of A Lady.
Afternoon tea offers a variety of rich, creamy cakes and sweet pastries. Ribbon sandwiches are sometimes served with savoury nibbles but the ubiquitous tea, scones, crumpets and homemade preserves are still in evidence.
The British aristocracy conceived Afternoon Tea a long time before their working classes began to consume High Tea in the evening. Traditionally afternoon tea is lighter than high tea, the latter consisting of heavier food like meats and fish which possibly morphed into dinner. Who knows? I’m only going on what I’ve read.
Australia was founded by the British so, up until recently, a fair amount of our eating habits were ever-so-English and afternoon Tea For Two was practiced both domestically and in cafés until the advance of a more universal drink – coffee. Most people are lucky if they get afternoon tea now, e.g. in my experience people have a break at ‘morning tea’ time.
My grandmother’s hand-stitched tablecloth and serviettes were linen and a deliciously laden 3-tiered cake stand was placed in the centre of the table on a crocheted doily. A posy of fresh flowers was discreetly positioned beside the teapot, milk jug and sugar bowl. The cutlery was usually a knife, for spreading strawberry jam and cream, and a spoon for stirring your tea.
The crockery set was china or hand-painted porcelain and generally both cups and saucers displayed dainty flowers. I learned to tell the difference between a teapot and a coffee pot by the position of the spout. Not many people remember the design reason for this! Sometimes during pouring, a small tea strainer was used. I won’t go into the variety of teas available but traditionally alcohol was not served.
“Happiness for me is largely a matter of digestion” said writer Lin Yutang and added“There is something in the nature of tea that leads us into a world of quiet contemplation of life” ― Lin Yutang, The Importance of Living.
These are my thoughts becoming words and not necessarily historical facts; just how I remember it when I visited my grandmother in Melbourne, Victoria. As a child, in the homes of my friends, a serving of apple pie with ice-cream was just as good. Friday evening fish and chips were a treat, and when the first pizza was taken from the pizzeria oven, we were not sure how to pronounce it let alone eat it.
I have a pot of leaf tea with my breakfast and use a tea cosy. Teapots come in all shapes and sizes, and tea cosies, once the staple of the twentieth century Australian woman’s knitting repertoire, covered the pot and kept it warm. While the tea leaves brewed, a colourful and creative tea cosy added to the charm of many an afternoon tea table.
NOTE : Afternoon tea images may induce hunger pangs!
In between writing and not being published, I attempt to draw, which defaults to my basic doodle setting. My mind slips out of gear when doodling. I drew a curlicue doodle which ended up with a small snail at the end of it. Significant?
Is there a better chance of being published if you illustrate your own bookcover? Nope. Even with children’s picture books, there’s no guarantee it will be snatched off the slush pile because of the synchronicity of your fresh-faced pictures and curlicued words. In fact, in Australia the editors prefer to nominate an artist so forget that plan. Still, I can’t stop myself doodling. What use is it? (A) tension release, (B) learning aid, (C) mind clearer, (D) mind-wanderer, or who knows what. Ah ha, light bulb moment! I will research the experts and see what they have to say on the subject of Doodling 101.
Prepare to be bored, please doodle among yourselves – preferably with a real pen or pencil.
First up are the good news listicles and powerful headings:
4 Benefits of Doodling | Examined Existence
5 Big Benefits Of Being A Doodler | HuffPost – Huffington Post
7 Ways Doodling & Colouring Benefit Your Brain | Care2 Healthy Living
7 Benefits of Doodling and How to Get Started – Daring to Live Fully
Doodling Your Way to a More Mindful Life | Psychology Today
How Doodling Benefits Your Brain – Kendal at Home
How Doodling Makes You Smarter | Reader’s Digest
Study: Doodling Helps You Pay Attention – TIME
Science: Doodling Has Real Benefits For The Brain – Fast Co. Design
The Power of the Doodle: Improve Your Focus and Memory – WSJ
The Cognitive Benefits of Doodling – The Atlantic
The “Thinking” Benefits of Doodling – Harvard Health Blog …..
….. had enough?
You can’t get out of it that easily!
Here’s what JournalWeek had to say in a non-scientific way: “Doodling comes from the word doodle – a habit of unfocused or unconscious drawing a person makes while his attention is actually occupied by something else. Doodles are generally simple and sometimes nonsense drawing that may have definite representational meaning.
Today, doodling is fondly considered a ‘national’ pastime mainly because it is done by a lot of people in different settings, but mostly in classrooms and offices. <Using a pen, or more recently using laptop, tablet or smart phone apps> Some examples of doodling are found in school notebooks, mostly in the margins, caused by a student who is either lacking interest in the class or day dreaming. Another example is when someone is having a long telephone conversation while a pen and paper are within range.
What’s interesting about it? For many people, it’s just a typical way of occupying themselves. Not a lot of them realise that doing it does actually provide some benefits. Let’s find out how…
Memory Link: Admit it – you doodle perhaps in most instances where there is a chance to. Most of us could not deny it because we have developed the habit as students. What you remember and what sticks in your mind are usually the things you doodle. For instance, it can be trees you always see outside your bedroom window, logo of your favourite team, or the name of your favourite band, singer or celebrity.
The products of doodling are the images and words coming out of your subconscious mind. Although they seem to be of no significance, they can actually be helping you in learning and grasping knowledge.
One health benefit of the habit: According to the Applied Cognitive Psychology study, doodling allows us to be able to effectively recall information hidden within our subconscious. The same research found out that the people subjected to the experiment that filled in shapes while listening to the phone had a better memory retention or recall percentage. The different is about thirty percent compared to those people who did not doodle.
Being Productive: Although not yet proven, the hypothesis is that the habit itself is effective in minimising and combating daydreaming and absentmindedness. But the power of doodling is not limited within the bounds of memory and recall alone. There is a widespread belief that it, in fact, corresponds to empowering one’s intellectual prowess. As it appears, someone who’s doodling seems to be distracted or plainly unfocused.
However, this is an activity that gives the brain an awkward but beneficial exercise of engagement and processing of complicated thoughts and ideas. Likewise, those who rely on their talents of creativity also use doodling to unlock that artistry and creativity in them.Not convinced? Read about some of the most notable people in history who themselves admit that the habit has in fact helped them focus, recall, and literally make use of their brains. The list includes the likes of Leonardo DaVinci, Sylvia Plath, Presidents Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan and Thomas Jefferson, as well as poet John Keats, mathematician Stanislaw Ulaw, Franz Kafka and Mark Twain.
Therefore, if you have issues about paying attention and focus, doodling will help you deal with those issues. There’s really nothing wrong or you won’t lose anything if you start to developing the habit.” <And maybe gain a small work of art>
Most of this blog post was brought to you by JournalWeek!
“Our aim and mission is to provide our readers articles on interesting facts”
http://journalweek.com/interesting-facts-about-the-power-of-doodling/
I think the saddest doodle belongs to Jorge Luis Borges, writer, essayist and poet, who drew a self-portrait after he had gone blind.
Jorge Luis Borges self portrait when blind
“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library”
– Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986)
Find out interesting things like events, history, medal tally, for the Commonwealth Games . . .
First, browsing through my Australian Stamp Bulletin, I saw that commemorative issue postage stamps will coincide with the start of XXI Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The Games sporting competitions commence 4 April 2018 and continue over 12 days until closing ceremony 15 April 2018.
I am more into literature than sporting pursuits but it’s going to be quite an event! It appears that the blue surfing koala mascot Borobi (which means ‘koala’ in the indigenous language) is on postcards but not included on the stamps so I’ve added him further down the page.
Game on! This is the second time Queensland has hosted The Games. The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane City from 30 September to 9 October 1982 and I actually attended. Below, I have written a little bit of Games history to bore you with facts and figures.
A brief history of the Commonwealth Games
In 1891, John Astley Cooper first wrote about a sporting competition that would bring together members of the British Empire, but it wasn’t until 1911, at the coronation of King George V, that an ‘Inter-Empire Championships’ was held. This event included teams from Australasia, Canada, South Africa and the United Kingdom.
The first official Commonwealth Games (called the British Empire Games) were held in 1930 in Hamilton, Canada. Four hundred athletes from 11 countries competed in 59 events across 6 Core sports. The Core sports have increased: athletics, boxing, lawn bowls, rowing, hockey, badminton, squash, weightlifting, rugby, aquatics (swimming and diving) and wrestling. In the past women only competed in swimming events. That’s all changed and now there’s something for everyone. Gold Coast 21st Commonwealth Games will include 18 events.
In addition to the 10 Core sports there will be:
Basketball
Beach volleyball
Cycling (road, mountain bike and track)
Gymnastics (rhythmic and artistic)
Para power lifting
Shooting
Table tennis
Triathlon
Since 1930, the Games have taken place every four years, except in 1942 and 1946 (due to World War II), and had a few name changes. Although there are 53 members of the Commonwealth of Nations, 71 teams participate in the Commonwealth Games, as a number of dependent territories compete under their own flags. The four Home Nations of the United Kingdom—England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland—also send separate teams.
Australia is the overall champion of the Commonwealth, having won 2218 medals in total, 852 in Gold. England is second with 2008 and Canada is third with 1473.
(See below for new figures 2018)
The 2018 host city – Gold Coast
The host city for the 2018 Commonwealth Games is Gold Coast, Queensland, located just north of the Queensland/New South Wales border, and about 66 kilometres south of Brisbane. The Gold Coast is a coastal city on the Pacific Ocean with a population of around 640,000 people. It is the sixth-largest city in Australia (the largest non-capital city) and the second largest in Queensland (after Brisbane).
The Gold Coast is one of Australia’s major tourist destinations with its sunny sub-tropical climate, beautiful surfing beaches, theme parks and rainforest hinterland. More than 10 million people visit the Gold Coast every year, including around one million international visitors. It is also a film production hub with movies such as Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and Thor: Ragnarok being filmed there.
When we grow up we don’t really shed childhood. It is tucked away inside us, nice and quiet, suppressed by what we perceive as Adult Behaviour. Until something triggers that child-proof gate. Our sillies jump out! Irrepressible, childlike joy will spring into our hearts, gleam in our eyes and beam from our faces. Oldies will smile benignly at us but a child will shriek with delight because they understand.
♦
Anything can trigger your past. A puppy, red shoes, a TV show, theatre tickets, sweets, that winning point, a favourite song, splashing in a puddle with a clear plastic umbrella, er, wait, what was that? “A clear plastic umbrella?” said Adult Voice. Yes, when I was young, the most coveted accessory for primary school students was a clear plastic umbrella. The plastic was plain, you could see the metal spokes through it and the handle was white.
♦
It was enthralling to watch raindrops falling on a see-through umbrella held over your friend’s head, water trickling off and dripping onto the ground while she stayed dry. If you were really fancy (or your father had enough money for kids fripperies) you could buy them with ladybirds or slices of fruit and suchlike imprinted on them. If you were really rich (and more of a teenager) you teamed it with a short skirt, beehive hairdo and white vinyl go-go boots with lipstick to match. Trés chic.
♦
I haven’t researched this but I’m pretty sure one or two models would have slinked down the catwalk twisting a clear plastic umbrella shaped like a mushroom. Or, shock horror, wearing a clear plastic raincoat! “Personally I think you would sweat horribly inside one of those,” said Adult Voice. Anyhow, here comes the sad part. I was not one of the groovy girls, I never owned a clear plastic umbrella.
♦
Somehow I managed to survive the ignominy of having a pale blue nylon umbrella. Its saving grace was a real bamboo handle and it lasted for years. Once I left it on the bus and my parents tracked it down in the city council’s lost property office. Hard to believe now, but there it was in all its pale blue opaque glory. I have since owned a stylish British brolly, frilly French parapluie, Winnie-the-Pooh bear parasol and various brands in various colours mainly used as sunshades.
♦
Until last week, drum roll please, when I came across a clear plastic umbrella hanging on a sale rack. It was the standard shape, with the usual opening and closing action and it was only a couple of dollars. Sold! I actually whooped with excitement. Finally, a dream come true. “Pity it’s a clear sunny day,” said Adult Voice. I brushed this aside. Once I was out of crowd eye-range, I shook it out. So clear, so transparent, so useless in the glare of a hot day. “Be quiet,” I snapped at Adult Voice. I pushed the umbrella open and twirled it wildly above my head. I’d made it. I had joined the Groovy Girls. My childish delight brimmed over! And delight brings recollections.
♦
Myvery own CPU has flourished several times in light rain,occasionally the plastic will stick together, but that doesn’t stop me opening it just to marvel at the concept. Truly, an umbrella worth waiting for. Now I’m thinking about those white vinyl go-go boots...♥Gretchen Bernet-Ward
More umbrellashttps://thoughtsbecomewords.com/2018/04/21/hrh-queen-elizabeth-ii-birthday/
A highly charged and deeply honest memoir, ‘Reckoning’ combines research into the life of assassin and Polish World War II survivor Zbigniew Szubanski , father of Australian actress Magda Szubanski, and Magda herself as she struggles to come to terms with her father’s legacy and forge her own career within the world of television and movies. This absorbing, eloquently written book contains remarkable revelations of wartime espionage, emotional family ties and facing the truth, and I was enthralled to the very last page.
First published in 2016, ‘Reckoning’ is Magda’s debut novel, and courageously written. I must admit my initial thoughts were ‘Wow, she’s brave putting that in writing’ but it made me love this book even more. Definitely a five-star read! Magda relates one of those true stories from childhood to adulthood which hits the right cord with just about everyone. We’ve had similar feelings and domestic issues and career changes and sexuality debates and, yes, sadly, the father we got to understand a little too late.
‘Reckoning’ has gone on to bigger things but here’s the first results: Winner Nielsen BookData Booksellers Choice Award, 2016 Winner Book of the Year, Australian Book Industry Awards, 2016 Winner Biography of the Year, Australian Book Industry Awards, 2016 Winner Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction, NSW Premier’s Literary Awards, 2016 Winner Indie Award for Non-Fiction, 2016 Winner Victorian Community History Award Judges’ Special Prize, 2016 Shortlisted Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year, Australian Book Industry Awards, 2016 Shortlisted Dobbie Literary Award, 2016 Shortlisted National Biography Award, 2016
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Magda Szubanski is one of Australia’s best known comedy performers. She lives in Melbourne and began her career in university revues before writing and appearing in a number of comedy shows. Magda created the iconic character of Sharon Strzelecki in ABC-TV series ‘Kath and Kim’. She performs in theatre productions and has acted in movies – notably ‘Babe’ and ‘Babe Pig in the City’ – and currently ‘Three Summers’ directed by Ben Elton and ‘The BBQ’ directed by Stephen Amis.
Thoughts Become Words 