There I was, drinking a quite beautiful cup of tea. But then it vanished.
Not vanished, as in I drank it. Vanished, as in the contents of my giant mug suddenly disappeared.
I went to the kitchen to make another tea. But there were no tea bags or tea leaves. Gone.
I went to the shop downstairs.
"No tea."
I went to the supermarket.
"No tea."
I went to the café.
"No tea. What's tea?"
Oh no, this is serious. How will the nation cope? We'll all be dehydrated by the end of the day
I went to see my best friend
"There's no tea anywhere. What are we going to do?"
"What is tea?" replied my closest friend.
This is really serious.
"I'll ring the Queen. Everyone knows she loves tea. But how do I contact the Queen? I'll ring the operator."
"I'll put you straight through."
This day is getting stranger. It shouldn't be this easy.
"Good morning, your majesty."
"Please stay where you are. Someone will pick you up shortly."
One minute later, a black cab appears. The back door opens
"Get in."
"Where is this car taking me?"
"Buckingham Palace."
Before I knew it, I was about to share an afternoon tea with the Queen, minus the actual tea.
"The tea has all vanished," said the Queen. "In fact, people have forgotten that it actually existed."
"How can that be?" I asked
"I think that your best friend is involved. We believe that he might have gone back in time and made sure that tea wasn't discovered."
"I saw him earlier," I replied. "He told me that he'd never heard of tea."
"Of course, he wouldn't have," said the Queen. "He's an idiot."
"What can we do?" I asked.
"We have to believe in the tea. That's why some people still know that it exists."
"How do I start?" I asked.
"Here, grab a mug," said the Queen. "Let's have tea."
The Queen was holding a box of Twinings Earl Grey tea.
"Thank you, your majesty. But I have one question. Why a mug? I thought you would have had some classy porcelain cups."
"What is a cup?" asked the Queen.
How do I answer that?
I took the Queen's advice. I believed in the tea and I believed in the cup.
I held out my hand.
"Here," I said. "This is a cup and saucer."
"Beautiful," said the Queen.
"How about cake?" I asked.
The Queen looked blankly at me for a few seconds. Then I realised….
"You're pulling my leg, your highness."
The Queen laughed and we enjoyed an afternoon of tea and cake.
