Spices Chai at Coffee #1

Sometimes, we visit the town of  Wallingford. This is what we did last weekend. It has a lot of lovely places to stop by, but my wife and I have a special spot for Coffee #1. Like other cafés, they have their seasonal menu available, so of course we stopped there to order something. Pushed by my wife and even though I don't like milk in tea, I decided to try their Spiced Chai. I suspect it was because she wanted a sip or two. Even though my wife is not a tea drinker, she loves a chai latte, especially if it's spiced. It was too sweet and it had too much milk for my taste, but I did enjoy it, if only because it tasted autumnal. I guess I can take it off my bucket list.

United Dairies Milk Tank

I took this picture at the National Railway Museum in York. My favourite museum ever. I share it today because, while I have seen many cargo trains in my life, I don't think I have ever seen a milk tank like this one. I mean, not on a train. I have seen similar things in the back of a truck, but never elsewhere. I wonder if they still transport milk by train. Anyway, I also share this picture to remind myself that trains are still used to transport goods. I mostly think of them as public transport.

8 Pints of Milk

Here is a little anecdote for you. I had to buy eight pints of milk for the school's fayre last Saturday. To pour in coffee and tea (patently absurd in tea, but I digress). I thought it was too much milk for what we needed, but since I was tasked to do it, I did it. So I stopped at the local Sainsbury's in the morning. They were out of semi-skimmed milk bottles of the right size. So I asked one of the employees there. He asked me to give him less than five minutes and in the meantime, he told me where the find the other bits and bots I had to buy. A really helpful guy. I thought he would come back late telling me they were completely out of stock, but no. Within five minutes, on the dot, he was walking with the milk bottles. As I always like to show my gratitude for helpful staff, I told him he was a man of his word. he replied: "If I was not a man of my word, what kind of man would I be?" Which I think deserves to be a new great unknown line. I might use it in my writing one day, in any case I thought I'd share it on the blog. But yes, eight pints of milk was way too much.

Evil Milk

I have been wanting to share this meme for a while now and thought, why not today. Now, I have only watched one movie of thee four featured here. It is, of course, A Clockwork Orange, my favourite film and based on a novel by my favourite author, Anthony Burgess. In both book and movie, milk represents purity, innocence and a certain barbarism, if not downright bestial savagery. My reflection on milk in fiction can befound in this post from 2010. So this meme is not new to me, but it's still worth sharing.

Train Tea Mug

Everyone has a favourite mug. Tea or coffee mug, in my case it's a tea mug. And I sometimes used it to drink milk too, although never with tea. Tea is never, ever drunk with milk in it, it spoils the flavour and weakens it. So this is my favourite tea mug. I blogged about it before. I'm presenting its other side today. My wife bought it for me in the online shop of the National Railway Museum in York. It brings together two of my favourite things: tea and trains. And it states that I am no second class tea maker.

A Perfect Cup of Tea (according to Anthony Burgess)

If you have been following Vraie Fiction for a while, you probably know that Anthony Burgess is my favourite writer. I recently read a post from the Anthony Burgess Foundation about his opinions on how to make a perfect cup of tea. For any tea drinker, tea making is serious business. And I was shocked to say that this is one area where Burgess and I have different opinions. Because not only does he think one should add milk (jfrom what I understand just a bit of it, as he had his tea very strong), but he also thinks one should add sugar. That is borderline heresy for me. Nevertheless, I do agree that loose leaf tea is far better than teabags. And it is always interesting to read Burgess' talk about cultural staples such as tea, because of his wide knowledge on the subject (or, it seems, any subject he talks about). Anyway, my idea of a perfect cup of tea is the following: pour bpiling water into loose leaf tea, let it infuse for two or three minutes, according to your taste, let it cool down a bit, but not too much, the drink by itself or with something sweet (that's all the sugar you will need). What's your idea on the perfect cuppa?

The Milk Tank

You may remember (or probably not), back in 2022, when I saw a truck carrying a milk tank. I had never seen anything like this before, except in comic books, and I was sort of impressed. Well, I have seen it again a few days ago, again during the school run. I gave it the dramatic name of the milk tank, which might sound silly, but it's fitting. First, because that's what it is, a tank that carries milk. Second, because there is something badass and barbaric about milk, as I explained in this blog post, so it has some kind of sense to give it a military sounding name.

Oat Milk in Tea?

For a few months now, my wife has switched from milk to, well, oat milk and various vegan alternatives. But it is mostly oat milk. Not so much for ethical reasons as because it's meant to be healthier. Now, she does not drink milk by itself anyway, but she pours oat milk in her coffee and in her cereals. You know how I feel about milk substitutes. Read this post for more details. Well anyway, I noticed something on one of the oat milk bottles sh bought. The brand is Oatly, if you are curious. Something that shocked me and left me speechless. On one of its sides, it says: "It works in tea". And no. Just no. Hell no. This is a lie. Oat milk does NOT work in tea. Real, proper milk does not work in tea. Tea and milk don't work together. Tea stands on its own. Milk, or any milk substitute, poured in tea, is barbaric.

First Class Tea Mug

 Okay, this is one of the very last time I will blog about Christmas until next year. And this may be my last post of the year too. I had to share another great present that my wife got from the online shop of the National Railway Museum in York. Not directly related to trains, but sort of. This tea mug. My new favourite tea mug and one I may say is very much me. I like to consider myself a first class tea maker. And, for the record, any use of milk with tea is improper milk usage.

The Milkman

It was the end of the afternoon/early evening yesterday, when somebody knocked at the door. I first dreaded it was one of my pesky neigubours, but no. It was a young Asian man who said he was our local milkman. Well, that was not quite true, he works for Milk & More, and was promoting the services. I first quickly dismissed him, saying thank but no thanks, then I kind of felt bad. For two reasons: because he was enthusiastic and full of energy late in the day, because I love to encourage local businesses rather than big chains. So I went out, hailed him and asked him to give me his pitch. Which he did, again with energy and enthusiasm. Turns out they don't merely deliver milk, but all other groceries. And they are offering a discount. It's limited time only, provided by him, etc. I told him I'd think about it. I don't think I will go through with it, but I do like the age old tradition of milk delivery at the door. So yes, I wish Milk & More every luck for their business venture and who knows. I might actually require their service one day.

An observation about full fat milk

A couple of days ago, we made a food order. We rarely o to the shops anymore for groceries, except for quick top ups. My wife buys stuff online, it gets delivered to us, that's it. And we started doing it way before the pandemic. We just did it more often once the pandemic happened. Anyway, in the order, there was a substitute we did not notice: full fat milk instead of sem-skimmed milk. My wife only drinks semi-skimmed, but we kept it anyway, because I am okay to drink full fat milk. ButI hadn't done for a few years. So when I tried it again, it came as a shock. It really tastes of cream. So that was my observation. I drank full fat milk and really, it is like drinking cream, isn't it? Your thoughts in the comments.

Beignes de Noël classiques

Mon frère PJ a partagé cette photo, son dessert d'hier soir chez mes parents. Des beignes de Noël classiques, dans le sucre en poudre, avec verre de lait. C'est le dessert typique des Fêtes chez nous, de même que dans bien des familles au Québec. Mon frère les préfère à la bûche. Moi, je n'en suis pas si certain, mas ça dépend de mon humeur et de mes appétits. Tout de même, petit loup trouve ça dommage qu'il ne puisse pas en manger cette année.

Nouvelle tasse de l'Halloween

Il y a quelques semaines, j'ai acheté cette tasse. J'ai déjà des tasses pleins les armoires, mais j'ai décidé de faire une exception et de l'acheter. Parce que c'est une tasse de l'Halloween, parce qu'elle est délicieusement macabre. Elle est en métal avec le col recourbé, alors pas très pratique. Jusqu'ici, je n'y ai bu que du lait. Je l'utiliserai peut-être avec des soupes? Dans tous les cas, c'est ma toute nouvelle tasse de l'Halloween et je l'aime beaucoup.

Thé noir dilué

 Hier, nous sommes allés à la fête d'un ami de notre petit loup. On nous a offert à boire et comme il n'y avait pas d'alcool (je m'en suis discrètement enquéri), j'ai demandé du thé. J'ai précisé que je le voulais noir et... Ben, il semblerait que noir c'est noir avec du lait. J'imagine que c'est du thé noir dilué. L'horreur, l'horreur. Ce n'est pas aussi pire que ce que j'ai reçu dans d'autres célébrations, mais je me dis quand même parfois que je dois être le dindon de la farce anglaise.

Vache à lait

Lors de notre dernière visite dans un zoo pour enfants pas loin de chez nous, nous avons pu assister à la traite d'une vache. Je sais pas pourquoi, je me sentais mal à l'aise, un peu comme si on regardait une mère allaiter sur scène. Je me sens même un peu coupable de partager cette photo, c'est vous dire. Peut-être que les arguments des vegans ont fini par m'influencer, je sais pas. Dans tous les cas, je serai toujours reconnaissant envers la vache de nous donner du lait, parce que je suis un grand consommateur de lait et de produits laitiers.

The Milk Run

Yesterday during the morning school run, the roads were jam packed due to road work. It was horrible, we had to take back routes to get there on time and even they were busy. It took ages to finally arrive to school. But the run was not without its interesting moments. At some point, right ahead of us, there was a milk truck, or a milk tank, whatever you call it. I mean a truck with a tank full of milk. I think it is the very first time I have seen one of them. Some milk was even dripping from the tank. I took a quick picture. Literally, it turned Wolfie's school run into a milk run.

Vanille

Petit loup s'est depuis peu découvert un goût pour le milkshake. Bon, c'est pas ce qui a de plus santé, mais au moins c'est une source de protéines. Enfin bref, lors de notre dernière visite au petit café indépendant pas loin de chez nous, c'est ce qu'il a eu comme breuvage. Il n'a pas eu faim pour un dessert. Il n'a pas eu très faim pour son sandwich non plus, d'ailleurs. Non, mais ce qui m'a étonné, c'est qu'il n'a pas demandé de milkshake au chocolat, aux fraises, au caramel ou autre chose, mais à la vanille. En fait, je crois que c'est sa saveur préférée. Allez savoir pourquoi. Peut-être que, même si c'est sucré, il ne prend pas ça comme un dessert?

Wofie et "le truc"

Nouvel exemple du franglais de Wolfie, durant son déjeuner il y a quelques jours: "I had forgotten that truc." (Le truc étant de pencher son bol de céréales pour mettre le plus de lait possible dans ta cuillère quand t'as tout mangé tes céréales.) J'ai trouvé ça bien mignon. Toujours est-il qu'il a tout bu le lait grâce au truc.

Tea with barbaric milk

This weekend, we went to a child's birthday party. The parents offered us adults a cuppa tea, being in England and all. My wife did not want any, since she does not like tea, but I do, so I was happy to oblige. But I stupidly forgot to specify that I wanted mine black. Adding milk to tea is the default serving protocol in this country, a remnant of this island's barbaric past. Still, I drank it without complaining. But it's very much against my principles. I have created a bit of a stir with my British friends on Facebook sharing this picture. It's a very controversial topic it seems, but for me, adding milk to tea is as primitive and uncivilised as killing a horse to appease the gods and bathing yourself in its blood. It should belong to the past.

Proper Tea

Like I said yesterday, last weekend we went to our first family gathering (on my wife's side) since lockdown. It was nice to see everyone again. Of course, this being a (mostly) English family, we had tea in the grandparents' garden. My mother-in-law knows me well, so she served me tea as I prefer it and as it should be done: no barbaric milk, no sugar, brewed juuust dark enoughto be strong but not bitter. I call this sort of tea Proper Tea. Which mean it is not done the English way.