HELLO FROM JOE ELLIS

Well, it has finally happened….my English Tea Room Guide and I am so very excited that the website is now live and operational.

I had wanted to upload all the tea room data before I actually made the site live, so I have included some reviews and will upload more and more every week, as I still have ton loads to upload. If I had wanted to wait until all the data has been uploaded then a further six months would have lapsed before actually going live and I did not want to wait any longer!

Tea rooms are a part of English tradition and we must keep them alive. They are closing down at an alarming rate each week so I aim to provide public awareness about the existence of English tea rooms and the importance they play in the community and the enjoyment that everyone could experience inside an English Tea Room.

Note that I am writing about English tea rooms. I am English and have no desire to review tea rooms in Wales, Scotland or Ireland as they are not English and the tea room is an English invention, so let’s keep it that way. However, I will upload my review shortly about a tea room that is called Tea and Sympathy which is run by a London couple in New York City, USA which I visit each time I visit New York City.

Some people say I am obsessive about English Tea Rooms, here’s more….

The first obsession and most important to me is hygiene in the house. We have four toilets, one kitchen and one utility room in our house and Sandra gets really annoyed with me as I am obsessive about hygiene and cleanness in all of these rooms and cannot stand the thought of dirt, germs or disease lurking around our home. Some people think Sandra had a good catch getting me - a husband who cleans kitchens, toilets and utility rooms obsessively. Good catch? Probably bugs the hell at out of her! (Sandra’s note: he never touches the floors though!)

Second obsession is the collecting of enamel based, silver EPS topped sugar shakers, mainly hand painted ones. While some admire art and oil paintings, sugar shakers with hand painted designs are just as nice, if not better. I have some very rare and collectable ones.

Third obsession is Oliver Cromwell and the study of him and the English Civil War. I have been fascinated with Cromwell since childhood and Sandra’s anniversary present to me some years ago was membership to the Cromwell Association. The recent AGM was held in Naseby with Lord Naseby in attendance and a tour around the battle ground. It was a very exciting time for all members that attended.

Fourth obsession of collecting keys, any sort really but the older the better. Some of my nice keys consist of old church keys and these also form a part of English tradition.

So please enjoy this website and come back regularly as the site will expand with further tea room reviews and also some other little things that will keep you smiling and happy.

Finally - I will have my book published sometime in the near future entitled; ‘Joe Ellis Tea Room Guide | A Guide to English Tea Rooms. I’ll keep you informed of progress!

07 July 2009