Well, it's 4.30 am over here and since I have to be up and about very early today, I just thought I'd say a quick "hello". Coffee on the boil and cigarettes at the ready so if you're up and about, come and join me!

Seriously, have a great day! Or evening/night, as the case may be.

Welcome aboard! Great easy-to-use site, lovely sincere people! Enjoy your stay.

Sadly. no.

Welcome to the site - hope you'll be very happy here, and nice to meet you.

Hello from England, and a very warm welcome to the site. Lovely to meet you.

Although it's now afternoon over here, good morning to you! Have a lovely day

Salvador Dali, actually.

You are right, old habits do indeed die hard! When tea was first introduced over here, it was believed to have strong medicinal and curative properties. I suppose that, if it makes you feel good, it has, to some extent, even today. I do know that is it relaxing.

Absolutely correct! Over here, having a cup of tea was a sure sign that you had grown up. And I am impressed that you call your evening meal "tea". Over here, we call it that in the north, whereas in the south they refer to it as "dinner". In the north, dinner was always the lunchtime meal. The English were never easy to understand, lol. A dinner invitation is actually "tea" invitation in northern England.

And "brekky" - we call it that too.

How right you are! Morning without coffee and nicotine would not be morning at all - it would be absolute hell! How else could one possibly even think about starting the day?

I am sure most of you will have heard of Mr. Quentin Crisp,the infamous raconteur who often described himself as "the stately homo of England". Many many years ago, before he decided to move over to New York, he was invited for an interview at the American Embassy in Grosvenor Square, London.

Upon being asked by an official if he was a practising homosexual, Mr. Crisp replied "Practising? I'm perfect!"

And yet my favourite Crispian quote just has to be "Don't waste your money keeping up with the Joneses - bring them down to your level: it's cheaper".

Of course you are not unpolished - absolutely not!

Coffee is the only thing which is capable of raising me from my pit every single morning. With, of course, the usual nicotine fix.

You are absolutely right. Coffee over here is an instant kick-start, as you so rightly say, whereas tea is meant to be sipped slowly, enjoyed thoroughly, and relaxed over.

An interesting fact about tea! When it was first introduced to our shores it was an extremely valuable commodity, so much so that the lady of the house kept it in a locked caddy and dispensed it when required. This was to guard against theft of same by the servants, amazing though that might sound today.

"Afternoon tea" is still enjoyed by some sections of society even today. This consists of the finest quality tea (of course!) accompanied by bread (both white and brown) with the edges trimmed on all sides, butter, jam (often referred to as "preserves"), cucumber sandwiches (once again, with all sides trimmed, and cut into quarters) and a selection of cream cakes. Loose tea, rather than tea bags, is used and is served in china. And no afternoon tea is complete without a fresh scone.

How right you are! Tea should always be drunk from china cups. I agree with your fascinating comparison, too.

Well, in England everything supposedly stops for tea, especially in the afternoon. Tea, quality tea, that is, is our national drink but, to be honest, there's nothing quite like a cup of good coffee.

In that case we will stick with the Earl Grey! It's now 11.20 am over here and I have just made a fresh pot. Only to be served in china cups, of course, just as they do at Buckingham Palace.

English gentlemen - true English gentlemen - still do that. Or if they don't at least they should!

A neighbourhood bar, forsooth! A brilliant idea. I like it!

Or perhaps Jack Daniels on the rocks- or even Glenmorangie - after all, it is night where you are.