An excerpt from my life:
I watched a Harry Potter movie last week. I’m not from England. And I’ve never been much of a tea drinker.
So. Where do I begin?
Let’s start with today’s date. It was on November 22, 1830, that Charles Grey, the 2nd Earl Grey, became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Now, as I mentioned, I am not from England, and truth be told, I do not follow their politics all that much. I only seem to notice this facet of them when they are disgusted with America. This happened a lot while Donald Trump was president. They thought we were complete idiots for electing him. I won’t comment any further where that is concerned.
Anyway. I don’t keep track of how England works with all the parties and leaders. I’m not even sure how the Prime Minister is chosen, other than his/her party has the most seats in the House of Commons, I think. Whatever that is. Maybe like our goofball House of Representatives.
Back to history and the 2nd Earl Grey. I could blather on about his life and his long political career. He was from a wealthy class and went to good schools. He was in the thick of England’s political world from the time he was in his little British diapers.
But this is where the amazement with Harry Potter comes in. I am astonished at how J.K. Rowling could come up with all these clever names and establishments. Everything seems so otherworldly in the terminology she uses. Yet, it has a charm to it. A familiarity. It isn’t as if she uses crazy words like “Zooyerxemohener.” No. The places and things have names like Ravenclaw. Or Butterbeer.
Yet, when I read about Charles Grey this morning, I was met by phrases such as this:
“He became the second Earl Grey, Viscount Howick, and Baron Grey of Howick upon the death of his father. Upon the death of his uncle, he became the third Baronet Grey of Howick. “
Or this:
“In 1806, Grey, by then Lord Howick owing to his father’s elevation to the peerage as Earl Grey, became a part of the Ministry of All the Talents (a coalition of Foxite Whigs, Grenvillites, and Addingtonites) as First Lord of the Admiralty.”
It all sounds very Harry Potter-ish to me. Perhaps old J.K. Rowlings didn’t work quite as hard as we thought she did. Any of this could be an episode from Harry Potter and Secrets of Howick. Or Harry Potter and the Ministry of All the Talents.
Getting on with things. You may be wondering why I mentioned my aversion to tea. Well. Even I know that Earl Grey tea is the world’s favorite flavored tea. Yes. Even coffee drinkers know this. But few people are aware that the tea is named after our Charles, that 2nd Earl Grey.
The original recipe simply calls for black tea with the addition of oil of Bergamot, squeezed right in.
There are plenty of stories about the origin of the blend.
One account says the recipe was given in thanks to a British diplomat. Apparently, he saved the life of Mandarin while in China on a mission for the Prime Minister. Another rendition claims it was Earl Grey himself who saved the diplomat. However, there’s no actual proof.
But Bergamot in the tea? Bergamot is a fruit from a spiny tree called the citrus bergamia that originated in the tropical region of South East Asia. They say this fruit was chosen for the tea to offset the crappy water in London, all full of limescale.
Regardless. There it all is. The tea. Harry Potter. England.
It just goes to show us, once again, how things in this big, big place connect. At least in my mind. And this can have us saying, time and time again, what a small world this is.
And now I am wondering about my Maxwell House. Could it be somewhere near Hogwarts?
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“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”
― Roald Dahl
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“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”
― Rumi
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I am a citizen of the world.”
― Sylvia Beach
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Potter. England. Bergamont. Small, small world.
