I love this place, it is so quiet and peaceful, and it should be with the title 'World Peace Cafe'

It is neatly located within the Tara Kadampa Meditation Centre at Ashe Hall in Etwall, Derbyshire. The atmosphere is very tranquil with soothing background music which nearly launched me into meditation in mid brew, yes I was that relaxed.

The grounds are very inviting for a leisurely walk if you fancy. On a nice sunny day it is a great place to spend a moment in the gardens and taking a seat on one of the many benches there and just get away from it all. 

In the cafe they offer a menu with very reasonably priced light refreshments and snacks such as sandwiches, jacket potatoes and cakes. I had a very nice pot of tea, accompanied by a gluten free apple pie complete with a caramel topping, it just jumped on a plate and sat beside me so I just had to eat it, would have been rude not to and it was delicious. I wasn't being greedy and having two sittings, my friend came along with me and had a hot chocolate and cake. The cakes are actually pictured the wrong way around or my friend was trying to steal my apple pie!! 

On some days they do offer a free meditation session from 12.30pm - 12.50pm which I think is a just an added bonus for total relaxation. There is a shop within the cafe as well which has various books about Buddhism, postcards, statues and information events and festivals.

The main building at Ashe Hall is home to The Tara Kadampa Meditation Centre and is open to anyone interested in learning to meditate or study Buddhism. It has been established for 30 years and  has a big meditation room with a large Buddhist shrine.

So whatever you go along for whether it be just a cuppa, a walk or a further education in to meditation and Buddhism you will be made to feel very welcome as we were. A very friendly atmosphere that made me feel a bit guilty to even think about getting my mobile phone out as it just feels so chilled, you could actually, and I'm going to say it switch the phone off and lose yourself' I know!! A brew without any tecky technology and concentrating on a full conversation. There are no restrictions honestly and no one is going to scowl at you if you do need a Facebook moment, it really is that chilled. 

For more information on the Cafe, the Centre and it's many classes and retreats go to www.tarakmc.org it is worth a visit.

Thank you for reading and I will catch you for more tomorrow.

Every day seems to be a World, National or International day of something at the moment. I suppose its been like that for a long time as these 'days' have been established for many years, we maybe just haven't been aware.

Alexa keeps telling me that it's 'such and such day' That Amazon Dot knows quite a bit of stuff. I tried to tricking her the other day by adding a dinosaur to my shopping list. Stupidly I thought she may question it and say 'why am I adding a dinosaur to your shopping list?' or 'Are you sure you would like a dinosaur adding to your shopping list?' But no she just calmly confirmed 'Right I have got it, I am adding a dinosaur to your shopping list'. I am positive she was laughing when she said it, as if to say 'yeah ya daft woman', I am sometimes I admit it. I like a laugh.

So what day was it today I hear you ask?

Well it was World Poetry Day.

What does that have to do with tea you may also ask, well all will be revealed. 

World Poetry Day was declared by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) in 1999. It is a day  to promote the reading, writing, publishing and teaching of poetry throughout the world. I love a bit of poetry, I was always given a book about poetry when I was younger and my great grandfather was a great poet. I suppose you could definitely say that I grew up on it. It takes many forms, it may rhyme or not, be romantic, strong, passionate, deep but most of all it is very personal and comes from the heart.

I have fond memories of Pam Ayres, I know I should say Keats or Byron but I loved the quirky, funny content about life's little moments. Her accent would complete her work when she recited masterpieces like 'Oh I Wish I'd Looked After My Teeth'. That particular poem was voted into the top 10 of the 100 favourite comic poems, poll which was run by the BBC. Just a genius, love her. 

Poetry is everywhere, in songs, nursery rhymes, and famous quotes we may use as part of wedding ceremonies or a funeral. At some point we have all experienced some kind of poetry in some form. Some people can be put off by reading poetry, you may not have read any since taking an English exam at school and found it a bit taxing or not relevant. My son is working towards his GCSE English and is starting to experiment with poetry, I love that it's still included within the curriculum and children still learn about it. I also like that these days we have raise awareness and rekindle our love for certain subjects, its always very educational. I always say 'every days a school day' 

So I thought as it is a special day for poetry, I thought I would write one. It's not brilliant or would I consider it a masterpiece but it's my contribution. I sat, thought about it and made the effort to write something. It's my little work of art and to be honest I found it quite amusing. I'm not sure how all these song writers go on though, massive respect goes out to people who do this every day and create such beautiful work. Here goes anyway.....it's of course on the subject of tea, and just for 'Teapot Tuesday' I give you........

Me and my Tea 

I have teabags in the cupboard
Teapots on the shelf
Am I making a brew for someone?
Or just making one for myself

The kettle is close to boiling
Anticipation inside me is high
The milk goes in, a sweetener
I wait for three minutes and sigh

Hurrah it's ready to drink
A mug of pure delight
It's warm and it's strong
I'm not moving, not without a fight

So I sip at first to get the taste
It's going to cool so I can devour the rest
I'm chilled, relaxed and
Finally I'm feeling I'm at my best

Oh no, it's all gone, finished, that's it
Until the next time, I can have some more
To the teapot and teabags I willingly call
Well come on guys what are you waiting for?


I haven't written anything remotely poetic since school so I may be rusty. I'm not going to apologise because when it come to creativity I don't think anyone has to. It's your own creation and there's no right or wrong. That's why I love the arts and being creative, someone taught me recently that it's ok to forget the rules, colour outside the lines, do it your way and go for it.

For more information on Pam Ayres and to read that famous poem 
'Oh I Wish I'd Looked After My Teeth' and more please go to:
www.pamayres.com 

I'll be back tomorrow, thanks for reading, take care for now......

I was invited to attend a very exclusive restaurant and I felt so honoured to attend. The restaurant was run by some of the catering students at Lees Brook Skills Academy in Derby and my mum and myself were invited by my son who attends the academy. He illustrated the lovely poster above for us, I love his drawings, our family homes are plastered with them featuring all Disney Pixar characters, Thomas and Friends and Fireman Sam. He always adds lots of colour and big smiley faces and they are delight to have around. There is never an opportunity where he doesn't take advantage of a quick sneaky draw either, he is automatically drawn ( ha excuse the pun) to a wipe board where ever it may be. So if you have drawings like this that suddenly appear it's our boy, a Banksy in the making.

So all parents/carers were invited to the Lees Brook restaurant, we were greeted at the door and shown to our seat. the menu was offered to us which comprised of tea, coffee, squash, cheese on toast or a sandwich. We were asked how we preferred our brew's and on this occasion we were not eating but we were offered some biscuits to accompany our brew. We were served shortly after and I have to say it was the nicest cup of tea I have had for ages, better than I make myself but the best brew is always made by someone else. Chocolate digestives came along as well. We were truly spoilt. We all had lovely chat and our waiter came along and cleared away after we had finished. He wiped our table clean and asked us if there was anything else we would like, we declined and asked him very kindly for the bill. Very reasonably priced and fabulous service, we all had such a nice time. 

I now expect this sort of service at home all the time from my son, think I may be pushing my luck but hey you never know. Our children with additional needs just never cease to amaze us and the Academy are really bringing out their hidden talents and giving them confidence to succeed, it really is an amazing place with very supportive staff. Well done everyone, I know the students were very nervous and had a practice beforehand but when it came to the real thing they shone through. From me it's a:

​

If you are a parent/carer in the Derby area looking for Post 16 options and would like more information about the centre and the courses on offer please contact:
By telephone: 01332676479
By email: [email protected]
The Skills Academy is part of Lees Brook Community School and their website can be found at:
www.leesbrook.co.uk      

Thank you for reading......catch you tomorrow 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

I love anyone who calls a tea bag a 'temple'

They are my kind of people producing my kind of tea and it is great tea. I've noticed Teapigs tea crop up at various teashops as not only is it advertised but the beautiful little biodegradable (yes they save the rainforest too) temples seem to defuse the brew to perfection.

I know what some of you are thinking, they are the posh overpriced teabags on the top shelf of the supermarket and you will only buy them for a special occasion. No.... go and buy them anyway, right now! Yes they are a little pricier than other tea but you get what you pay for. This is the chance to have a good quality loose leaf tea conveniently in a bag especially if you are the type of person who doesn't want to mess around with the traditional way of using loose leaf with diffuser etc. I purchased the 'Darjeeling Earl Grey' from Tesco £3.50 for 15 temples but you can purchase a wider range of flavours and accessories at www.teapigs.co.uk

I love their website, it is so clear and user friendly especially the mood-o-meter. Yes you can just enter the mood you are in and it will recommend the correct brew. There are teapots galore and mugs to drink from, I feel I may have stumbled on teaporn! They also stock Matcha Green Tea which is the Japanese 100% super green tea. Tends to look a bit like you've liquidised the Incredible Hulk but is so good, the equivalent of drinking ten cups of regular  green tea. You can drink it as a green tea latte or in a smoothie and it is all about drinking the whole tea, not just the leaves, packed with flavonoids it is has many health benefits so go worth giving it a try.

While I was in Tesco I did also purchase their own Finest brand of teabags which do have a very similar bag to the Teapigs. They have a smaller but very nice variety of flavours including:

• Ginger & Lemongrass
• Peppermint
• Green Tea & Mint
• Forest Fruits
• Peppermint & Liquorice 
• Green Tea

I chose Green Tea and Jasmine which is a taste to be desired. I haven't really tried jasmine in my tea before and to be honest it wasn't for me but that's not to say it may suit you. They do come in a little cheaper at £2.89 for 15 bags. A nice alternative.

So have a look and see what you think.....go on 'make a brew' with a teapig.

Catch you for more tea next Tuesday but more regular brew-talk tomorrow.