British Invasion
My mom has had tea every day for as long as I can remember. From a young age, I have a memory of helping to restock her tin, house-shaped tea holder with Lipton. When I was in elementary school, I was brought on board as well, as my mom and I started our annual holiday tea trip to the town's historical society. We would put on festive clothing and sit down for an afternoon of sugar cubes, finger sandwiches and cup after cup of tea. My mom had Earl Grey and I had Constant Comment. It's a tradition we carry on to this day, but now I drink tea on more than just special occasions. As the weather in DC finally chills, I've warmed to the touch of a cup of tea on an autumn afternoon, a mug full of chamomile in the evening or my fancy British tea that my boyfriend brought back from his trip across the pond. As I began to compose this week's newsletter, I realized everything I wanted to write about had a British flair, and there's certainly nothing that screams England more than a piping hot cup of tea.
Growing up, my brother and I probably watched the 1964 classic Mary Poppins upwards of 100 times. While my favorite scene was and always will be Step in Time, we have to give a special shout-out to I Love to Laugh, where the Banks children, Bert, Mary and Uncle Albert float to the ceiling for a tea party in the air, filled with laughter.
In a more sophisticated display, the Downton Abbey group is literally always drinking tea. I searched for images of the characters drinking tea and had my pick from dozens of choices. I opted for one featuring the incomparable Maggie Smith, who plays Dowager Countess of Grantham, because an image of British sophistication wouldn't be complete without her. In the show she's proper, proud and always quick to give an unamused stare to pretty much everyone.
If I were to make a list of British icons, Colin Firth would definitely be high on the list. He's in everything British, which is why I still can't believe that he's not in The Crown. I guess we'll have to settle for his role in The King's Speech aka basically a prequel to The Crown. Before either of these premiered, Colin Firth was starring in the BBC miniseries of Pride and Prejudice. As the uptight and misunderstood Mr. Darcy, Colin Firth is walking around, with his head held high, drinking lots of tea. Can you blame Elizabeth for falling for him?
While Sherlock Holmes has many eccentric behaviors, he still drinks tea like everywhere else. In the latest interpretation of the character, Benedict Cumberbatch plays the elusive Holmes. I think everything you need to know about his reading of the character can be encapsulated in the below gif.
Now, the phrases "spill the tea" and "sipping tea" have found new life on the internet, in the form of memes and gifs related to sharing gossip and silently judging. After looking at the images above, I think the Brits have been gossiping over tea for a long, long time.
As Seen on Screen
My boyfriend and I are slowly binging our way through Netflix's The Crown, and so far the reactions have been mixed. As we enter the midway point of season two, I've finally taken the time to compile by thoughts in newsletter format. The Crown premiered on the streaming network back in 2016 and the second season came out last December. Since then, the show has picked up several Golden Globe and Emmy awards, mainly for the stellar acting and direction of the series. The show, which starts at the beginning of Queen Elizabeth II's reign, will span approximately six seasons, with different actors and actresses portraying the royal family through time. Right now, it's hard to imagine the series without Claire Foy, who does an incredible job as the Queen. You can see her processing every single thing that happens around her with just a small shift in expression. It's a shame, therefore, that the series does not spend more time on the inner workings of Queen Elizabeth herself. My first clue should have been the title of the series. By calling itself The Crown, instead of say The Queen or The Royal Family, the show cements its decision to focus on how the events of the world impact the power of "The Crown" and not just the life of "The Queen." But since "The Crown" has been held by the same person from the start of the show to present day, it's surprising that the series spends a disproportionate amount of time with Queen Elizabeth, and how she grows as a leader. Instead, these are just aspects of the series, often splitting time with other characters or relegated to the B-plot of stories. The episodes jump through time fairly quickly, focusing on arcs within an episode, rather than ongoing arcs throughout the seasons.
Queen Elizabeth rarely speaks to other women, which is, to be fair, partially the nature of her position, as a ruler among many other male politicians. Even when Queen Elizabeth does interact with other female characters, mainly her mother and her sister, these conversations are typically focused on the men in their lives, including the Queen's late father, her husband or her sister's boyfriend(s) at the time. According to most of what we know about Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret, the two sisters have a very close bond. In The Crown, unfortunately, most of their shared screen time is riddled with conflict and conversations about their respective romantic partners. In a review for The A.V. Club, Caroline Siede writes, "Do I believe Elizabeth and Margaret frequently had a tense relationship? Sure. Do I think they never had a single warm, friendly conversation in their entire young adult lives? Of course not. In only showing us scenes in which Elizabeth and Margaret snipe at each other, The Crown is cherry picking history just as much as a biopic that focuses solely on happy moments. And repeating the same cold, distant beats—as The Crown does for so many of its central relationships—makes it hard to root for any of these people." It also limits the scope of these female characters to focus on the men in their lives. In another episode, Queen Elizabeth employs a tutor to help supplement the education she received as a child (which mainly focused on Constitutional law and manners). It's an interesting examination of the Queen's insecurities and self-awareness; she knows that she's out of her league when it comes to talking with dignitaries and wants to be able to better understand the day-to-day politics of her job. After this episode, we never see her tutor again. While I understand the show's desire to move quickly from topic to topic, touches like these could help audiences better understand the Queen's journey and the confidence she's gaining in the role. The tutor's function in the singular episode was also flawed, as he had to explain every step that the Queen should take to deal with a diplomatic crisis she was dealing with at the time, even though it involved her area of expertise, Constitutional law. At the root of the problem, it's hard to ignore the fact that every single episode of the show's first season is written and directed by a man, which is likely contributing to the show's Queen Elizabeth problem. In the second season, series creator Peter Morgan discovers that woman can write! Just not all by themselves (it's pretty hard). A female co-writer takes part of the reigns for the fourth episode of season two, and a woman also directs the second season's fifth and sixth episodes. Notably, in the episode partially penned by a woman, the character of Princess Margaret is more thoroughly examined. While a large part of the story still focuses on her love life, audiences do get a glimpse behind her moody exterior to look at who she is outside of the royal family and how she wants to take a stand in her own life. It's also important to note that the episode only briefly focuses on the newest Prime Minister's marriage. Instead of splitting the screen time equally, the bulk of the episode is driven by Margaret. Would this have happened with or without a female writer? I'm can't say for sure, but I do know it's important to have female perspectives included in writers rooms in order to fully flesh out women on TV. If there were more women making decisions on The Crown, maybe the show would provide a more complicated portrayal of its female characters, especially its leading lady.
Haven't You Heard?
The delightful How to Find Love in a Bookshop novel is exactly what you should pick up, if you're looking for a cozy, heartwarming story about the importance of reading and connecting with people, all set in an adorable town in the Cotswolds. The book, written by Veronica Henry, was released a few years back but the new paperback version just came out and is being placed prominently bookshops everywhere. The product placement is working! I picked it up and was immediately charmed by the story of Emilia, who takes over Nightingale Books after her father passes away. In between reading about Emilia and her late father Julius, you also grow to love the book's supporting players, the locals who have become the people they are today because of Julius, the shop and the books they've read there. When I first picked up the story, I thought I was in for a You've Got Mail-type romance. But at its core, How to Find Love in a Bookshop is about more than romantic love, which takes a backseat to friendship love, familial love and self love. Julius really listened to and cared for everyone he encountered, and Emilia has those same qualities, which she's able to channel as she struggles to keep the bookstore going. One thing to note -- keep a snack with you when you're reading! I was not prepared for the amount of times Veronica Henry described food in the book, and you'll find yourself craving a tasty meal and a hot cup of tea to accompany you on your journey.
Required Reading
Earlier this month, Netflix launched the new four-episode series Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, hosted by Samin Nosrat, who also wrote the cookbook of the same name. While I stock up on snacks to accompany my viewing experience, I read a great Washington Post review of the series. In it, Maura Judkis writes "While these are endearing and charming characteristics for a food show, the thing that sets Nosrat’s show apart from others in the genre is who she is. She’s a Persian American hosting a show in a genre where, usually, the people who look like her show up to make food for the white host to learn about — if they appear in the show at all. As for the “stand and stir” instructional element of it, the people who host those types of shows usually have names like Martha, Paula, Rachael and Julia. To put it bluntly: Most travel food shows are about white male discovery. And most home cooking shows are about white female domesticity. Nosrat gently rejects all of that." I can't wait to dive in! A few years back, California Sunday Magazine published a profile on Samin Nosrat, back when the Netflix series was being "produced for a large premium network" that the author wasn't allowed to name. It's a great peek into Samin's fascinating journey to food.
