Kimberley Verburg ([info]sierra_le_oli) wrote,
@ 2008-10-07 12:23:00
Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:london, museum, photos, uk

Tea Technology
The Science Museum held its first ever late night opening a couple of weeks ago. There was live music, robot races and plenty of opportunity to try out the displays without having to elbow aside small children.

The first thing we visited was an exhibition on the development of technology in post-war Britain. Although the first part seemed to be so much about design that we wished sshi were there. The exhibition really brought home to me how long rationing had gone on for (into the 50's) and how much shortages had influenced design in that period.

Now, I'm not normally given to squee, but...

box with clock and small jug
Goblin Teasmade (1966)

A device that wakes you up in the morning with a cup of tea. Only here. :-D

(Post a new comment)


[info]clanwilliam
2008-10-07 11:39 am UTC (link)
*cough*

It's not as cute as your current teamaker, though.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]sierra_le_oli
2008-10-07 01:53 pm UTC (link)
For one confused moment I thought [info]gmh was about to be slandered ;-)

I saw another one in John Lewis and the design is so bland, isn't it? No fun at all.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]clanwilliam
2008-10-07 02:01 pm UTC (link)
No, I have a coffee maker, you have a tea maker.

And they're both beautifully designed...

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]bellinghman
2008-10-07 11:45 am UTC (link)
We had one of them when I was young. The biggest problem is the British tendency to drink tea with milk - leaving the milk out on the bedside table is not advised.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]mrscosmopilite
2008-10-07 12:25 pm UTC (link)
of course one could use one of these
http://www.lakeland.co.uk/the-little-vacuum-flask/F/keyword/flask/product/10638
to keep the milk cool overnight- just sayin', not that I might have considered it, honest!

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]bellinghman
2008-10-07 12:29 pm UTC (link)
Damn, why weren't those around 40 years ago.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]sierra_le_oli
2008-10-07 01:56 pm UTC (link)
That flask looks fairly cat-proof...

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]sierra_le_oli
2008-10-07 01:56 pm UTC (link)
I totally forgot about having to add milk - I have sadly failed to integrate in that respect. :-)

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]bellinghman
2008-10-07 02:01 pm UTC (link)
*tsk*!

(Takes another sip from his mug of green tea.)

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]megabitch
2008-10-07 11:59 am UTC (link)
http://www.teasmade.com/

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]daibhid_c
2008-10-07 12:56 pm UTC (link)
Hey, cool. They've got my gran's. (The Goblin 870, with the clock radio). When I was a kid I thought it was the coolest thing ever and wanted one. Unfortunately, my parents didn't believe me and boling water were a good combination, especially if I was half asleep.

I'm sure Leonard of Quirm has a contraption very similar to the pre-electric versions next to the Making Coffee Quickly Device.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]sierra_le_oli
2008-10-07 01:58 pm UTC (link)
Wow, they're not even that expensive! I think when Wingnut gets back in a week's time, he's going to find he's been replaced.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]ailbhe
2008-10-07 12:53 pm UTC (link)
My mum had one. I bought something similar a few years ago but unlike my mother's one it didn't really make the tea with BOILING water, just with VERY HOT water, so it was better at coffee.

My mother's one broke in the early 1980s.

I thought it was called a Teasmaid but it might have been Teasmade.

(Reply to this)


[info]aquarionical
2008-10-07 01:00 pm UTC (link)
I used to have one of these - my mum bought it for when my dad was at sea and would not therefore make tea every morning, and I inherited it some 25 years later - which had the down side of waking me up as it turned the heating element on, leaving me the choice of waiting patiently while it boiled the water, or getting up and getting a shower while it made me tea.

I should get a new one. It was great. Especially with the lakeland thing mentioned above.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]sierra_le_oli
2008-10-07 02:07 pm UTC (link)
The noise of the element does seem to be a downside. I was envisaging waking up to the sound of boiling water going down the spout (there are few better sounds in the world than the promise of tea).

As it happens, the reason I'm wisting over this is because my regular tea maker has run off to sea (well, for a week). :-)

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]mrscosmopilite
2008-10-07 03:53 pm UTC (link)
we have actually vaguely talked of getting one, now himself is up and out so early he doesn't get chance to get a morning cuppa before leaving and having it ready as he gets up would solve that. It's not a problem for me though, my tea-maker works perfectly...

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]yoodi
2008-10-07 04:32 pm UTC (link)
Hm, nice. =^-^=

(Reply to this)


[info]bonnie_j
2008-10-07 09:18 pm UTC (link)
My coffee maker requires further training. There's a prioritisation circuit that just doesn't work.

I saw a film a few months back - The Red Balloon, filmed in Paris in 1956. The poverty and dilapidation of the city at that stage is striking, even ten years after the war was over.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]sierra_le_oli
2008-10-08 07:14 pm UTC (link)
I've heard of the Red Balloon but hadn't realised it was that old.

Btw, have you seen Persepolis?

(Reply to this) (Parent)

Create an Account
Forgot your login or password?
Login w/ OpenID
English • Español • Deutsch • Русский…