Who doesn’t love afternoon tea? Exactly! Sadly I have to be rather more careful since most afternoon teas are chock full of dairy which is now strictly verboten. However, I have found that many hotels (pictured above) can pull off a vegan afternoon tea with a bit of notice. Alternatively, I can DIY (do it myself – pictured below).
When I first moved into my current apartment, I used to hold physical tea parties for some of the very elderly residents who’d befriended me. They used to love coming round but it wasn’t for the food, it was for the company and a chance to have a chat. I much enjoyed these as the ladies – sadly none of whom are still with us – had all lived such interesting lives.
Consequently, I’m re-joining The Little Mermaid’s monthly tea party. This one unfortunately doesn’t include scones with strawberry jam and cream unless, of course, you provide your own. No, the whole point is to encourage an affable exchange of dialogue among the invitees because blogging is more enjoyable when done interactively.
The Little Mermaid’s tea party is the ideal occasion for socialising and making, as well as maintaining the acquaintance of those in the blogosphere. It’s a chance to truly relax and to take some time to recharge one’s batteries by engaging in light-hearted conversation, to be with friends and simply delight in one another’s company.
While her first tea party was open-ended, subsequent ones have been topical and this month’s theme is SPORTS – hurrah! What could be better for a dedicated sports’ fan like moi?
Here’s The Little Mermaid’s Questions and my Responses
1. Do you play any sports?
Is the Pope a Catholic? In truth, I don’t play as much sport as I used to but I still ride, jog, work out and do some yoga on a regular basis. I no longer play any team sports, these are all largely solitary activities.
2. Do you like to watch sports on TV?
Sure, though I prefer to watch sport live. I watch MotoGP, cricket, football, tennis, cycling, athletics, ice skating and swimming on the television.
3. What is your favorite sports team and why?
My first love was football. As a youngster, my father moved to the Midlands to play for Aston Villa’s Youth Squad. AVFC is my football team but, since moving to Nice, I have embraced our local team OGC Nice.
4. What does it take to be a great athlete?
Talent, attitude, focus, ability to withstand lots of pain, fear of losing and, of course, lots of training.
5. Who IMHO is the greatest athlete of all time?
This is tricky as there are so many sports. Greatest lists tend to be dominated by US athletes but here goes for my four favourite sports:-
MotoGP – Valentino Rossi
Tennis – Rafa Nadal
Cycling – Eddie Merkx
Football – Lionel Messi
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The September 2019 tea party runs until the end of the month, so why don’t you join in? If you’re quick you can beat the deadline.
But before you do, don’t forget to check out The Little Mermaid’s tea party etiquette:
-Etiquette Number 1- Introduce yourself.
Introduce yourself, your blog or even your latest post to the community in such a way that it encourages others to converse with you. Avoid posting just a link as a comment which looks rude and spammy. Be polite.
-Etiquette Number 2- Mix and mingle.
Tea is a communal experience and there it requires that you meet and greet at least some of the other wonderful people in attendance. Participate by actively reading others’ comments and visiting their links/sites.
-Etiquette Number 3- Share & reblog the most recent tea party.
The purpose of the event is to create a platform where everyone benefits from real diversity of thought; and for that we need to find people who genuinely hold different views and invite them into the conversation. So, please spread the word in the blogosphere through reblogs.
That’s not too difficult is it?
So, drag up a chair, pour yourself a cuppa, help yourself to some cake and introduce yourself. There, what could be nicer?
