Tetley Tea

In fact, I think I mentioned to you a while ago that, uh, I, uh, I finished up...

I fished the, the Tetleys and I finished third in the Tetleys match-

Yeah

... which was 1,100 pegs at the time because-

... on the Welland, they had, they had, uh, permanent pegs.

And I think there was something like, was it 790 or 850? Anyway, it was a, it was a big number, and it used to finish above, uh, um, Trolling Bridge.

But with the big matches, the Stones, the Tetleys, the w- the Club Championships, et cetera, they used to peg between pegs.

No.

Yeah, yeah.

What you know about grow up on ganja tea? Not no Lipton, no Earl Grey, no Tetley.

Not no Cersei, we talking sensi, where you haffi pluck off the stalk off of the tree.

When I was little, my father gave me.

Irie, pop, pop, people get down.

That's how we do it inna Kingston town.

Give me the light, give me the light, give me the- What you know about grow up on ganja tea? Not no Lipton, no Earl Grey, no Tetley.

Not no Zesta, we talking sensi.

Yeah

... and the preparation with the temperature of the water and everything was there, then you're like, "Okay, now there's some work and some care, and also the tea costs 100 times more than a, a bag of Tetley does."

Yeah.

"So I'm willing to pay the extra money." But, um, that's not gonna happen, obviously.

And incredible work and effort and time was put into every single detail of this show in a way [laughs] that, like, gave me goosebumps as I was watching.

There's even a moment early on when, uh, the kids are all home, and they're in the kitchen kind of scavenging around, and they're looking for coffee and looking for tea, which is just so realistic to, like, when you come home and you- you've, like, lived in the city for a while, and you're used to having, like, great coffee around you, and you go home, and all there is is Tetley.

And if you know, you know.

I am not a Tetley tea drinker.

I'm a Red Rose drinker, and a lot of us have opinions [laughs] about that on the East Coast.

But even all those little nuances of our culture are written into the script, and I'm just so happy for everyone that worked on this show for being able to do such exquisite, important work.

Because I used to remember like I wanted to have products that I wanted.

Like, I know that sounds really strange, right? But it's like when you come here you still have in your mind your home- Like I want Tetley teabags, or I want PJ Tips.

Like, do you know what I mean? Like-

Yeah

[laughs]

... and a Tetley decaf tea, 'cause I'm a bit weird and I have them both in the garden.

Well, we had tea.

We had tea...

I put my phone back in my pocket and bring the package inside.

I brew a cup of Tetley's herbal tea called Clarity, and with my steaming hot mug, I sit with the envelope unopened for a few minutes, gazing at the maples.

Then I peel back the flap, slide out the papers, and keep them stacked on the table in front of me.

A Polaroid photo of me at age six, freckled cheeks, smiling with one tooth missing, falls onto the floor." I look at it and see a stark similarity to my youngest daughter, and I shudder.