Boxing day

Anne had her Christmas lunch with her three sons at a very upmarket Italian osteria (hostelry) in Yeronga where everything went well.  But they did not finish up until 5pm so by that time she was fit only to go home to bed.

So on Boxing day evening Anne came over and we had our special dinner: Sydney rock oysters followed by lamb cutlets. Anne cooked the cutlets just right and we had them with plenty of salt and a salad so they were delicious.  For dessert, we had some of George's Christmas cake which went down well

After dinner I did the traditional British tea ceremony -- with leaf tea in my traditional teapot, an ornate teaset (cups and saucers, not mugs), an ornate tea strainer and an ornate milk jug.  I also own an ornate glass sugar bowl but neither Anne nor I take sugar so it was not deployed.

A British tea ceremony is just as complex as a Japanese tea ceremony.  Tea demands it.  I must confess that I did leave out two elements of the traditional ceremony:  I did not add the tea with one teaspoonful for the pot and one teaspoon for each cup.  The English like their tea very strong but I go for the much milder Scottish version, with just one teaspoon for the pot. For the same reason I did not turn the pot around once the boiling water had been poured.

Anne said it was "a good cup of tea".  She was still very tired so she went to bed early that night.