Tea Bag Troubles

In the townland of Cornameelta, just outside Boyle, Co Roscommon, there lived three siblings in a quaint cottage with a thatched roof and a cosy hearth. It was the 1950s, and like everyone in the country at that time, they loved their tea and drank it morning, noon and night. The routine of brewing tea leaves in a pot and letting them steep by the open fire was as much a part of their lives as the air they breathed.

John, the only brother, was usually given the task of going to Boyle for the weekly shop. His sisters, Mary and Nuala, stayed back, keeping the fire going and making sure the animals were looked after. One fine Friday, John set off as usual with a list in his pocket and a spring in his step, while Mary and Nuala prepared for another day of work and chatter.

Like he always did, John dropped off the groceries and, with a grin, told his sisters he was off to the local for a pint. “Don’t wait up, it might be a long one,” he chuckled. The sisters rolled their eyes but waved him off.

Hours later, John staggered back to the cottage, full of stories and stout. He was greeted by an unusual sight when he went into the kitchen: Mary and Nuala were at the table, faces flushed with frustration, surrounded by piles of tea and two tea tins.

“What are you pair doing?” John asked.

Mary spun around with force, a pair of scissors in hand and she said, “John, don’t ever bring that kind of tea into this house again! Myself and Nuala have spent hours emptying the tea into the tin. Where the hell did you get those things?”

John burst out laughing, the kind that starts deep in the belly and gets more uncontrollable as time goes on. The sisters stared at him, their annoyance growing with every grunt he made.

“Oh, Mary, Nuala,” John finally managed to say, wiping a tear from his eye. “Those things, my dear sisters, are supposed to replace tea leaves as we know them. You just drop a couple into the pot and pour the water over them. They’re called tea bags.”

The sisters looked at each other. “Tea bags?” Nuala said slowly, as if the words were in a foreign language.

“Yes, tea bags,” John answered. “Kitty at the shop told me all about them. No need to empty them out. They’re already measured out for you.”

Mary held up one of the tea bags at eye level, staring at it with a mix of suspicion and curiosity. “So, you’re telling me we’ve been cutting these open for nothing?”

John nodded, still grinning. “That’s exactly what I’m telling you!!! Now boil some water and we’ll test them out!!”

ABOUT “BOYLE ANECDOTES”:

We’ve heard countless stories that made us laugh out loud since starting this podcast but we haven’t been able to share them as they always start with…”I’ve a great story to tell you now but we won’t include this in the podcast!”

We LOVE hearing these tales of times gone by and we’re so happy to finally share some of these with you! With the permission of the original storytellers…we’ve taken some inspiration from their stories and we’ve changed some details, the names and the locations to bring you the premise of what happened without telling the real story.

So this series…Boyle Anecdotes…features lighthearted stories that are loosely based on tales that have been shared with us over the past 2 years!

We hope you enjoy them! If you do, we’ve set up a Ko-Fi page where you can support the show. We appreciate your support and listenership so much!