Sitting on the train on our way back from a weekend in Spain, my mate Taylor directed my attention to an article in the Metro about a woman who saves the tea bags from each cup of tea she drinks. Eleven years in, and her collection is in excess of 32,000 tea bags.
You should have tea with her my girlfriend exclaimed!
That was on Monday. On Thursday afternooon, Kiwi and I were on a train from London to Portsmouth to meet with Patti Gaal-Holmes.
Patti is a PhD Student in Portsmouth - and while her project might seem a little zestful - it begins to make a lot more sense when you look at it from an artistic perspective. Patti is not simply a 'nutter' who collects tea bags - she has found a visual, and more tangible way to keep track of her past.
What I think Patti feels, and it's definitely something that falls in line with our own tea project, is that each cup of tea is something more than just the consumption of a hot beverage. A cup of tea represents something much more than that. A cup of tea is conversion. It is learning and sharing. It is personal reflection. It is therapy. It is time spent with old friends. And now, time spent with new ones... Each tea bag is a reminder of these things. And in a world that is moving further and further away from human contact and communication, and closer to automation and isolation - I can't think of a better thing to collect.
If you want to know more about Patti and her work - here are a few links for you to check out!
Patti also spoke fondly of a friend of hers, a musician originally from Australia, who might be interested in meeting us for tea. That may be our first cup as a result a personal reference!
And now, we go in search of cup number 3. Where will tea take us next?
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