I was about to start writing a post about The Great Escape Festival, but as I was writing I kinda got into a bit of a rant about tea. So I’ve chopped and changed it about a bit. Great Escape to follow, I promise.
Lets begin at the beginning. It was a Thursday, it was overcast. I was tired and hungover. I’m lucky that I can get a direct train to Brighton, no faffing about changing in London or any of that crap, just a straight line there, sitting on the train for two hours, which turned into three because it was raining and apparently it was the wrong kind of rain. Before I even got on the train I was a little bit put out because… OK, let me explain.
Every time I get a train I stop at the little kiosk on Platform 4 to get a cup of Darjeeling. Now I’m not just saying Darjeeling as some do to mean tea I mean Darjeeling. Now I don’t use the train very often, so every time there is a new person working behind the counter and every time I have to go through the rigmarole of trying to explain to them what I mean by this strange statement of “a cup of Darjeeling, please”, especially as this time the girl behind the counter tried to palm me off with an Orangina.
I don’t mind that she doesn’t know what darjeeling is, a lot of people don’t, but when there is a box of the stuff right by your left ear (it was in a box at head height) you would have thought she could put two and two together, wouldn’t you? And wouldn’t you have thought the manager would familairised the staff with what products there is in their outlet? And even so, don’t you think Darjeeling and Orangina sound different enough to question the order? I am aware that both words have a j sound in them but so does Gerbil!
After we all figured out what everyone wanted, I wanted a hot drink and she wanted £1.30, we did have quite a pleasant chat about tea in its various forms, and she did say she would give the Darjeeling a go. Perhaps a convert to the “Champagne of teas”, possibly.
I’d like to say I may sound overly aggressive in this post but that it is because I’m shouting here and now to vent, not at the girl, who clearly had no idea.