In a letter written to Cassandra on Saturday 5th March 1814 from Henrietta Street, amongst gossip about the theatre, mending a petticoat, [her brother] Henry having a cold, going out for walks and meeting people, Jane writes,
"I am sorry to hear that there has been a rise in tea. I do not mean to pay Twining till later in the day, when we may 0rder a fresh supply." - London Calling, A Cup of Tea With Jane Austen
It is a sad state of affairs when an august and venerable firm such as Twinings decides to pull up shop and outsource its tea production from England to Poland and China by September 2011 as part of "an efficiency drive." Worse, the powers that be have decided in their almighty wisdom (and lack of empathy) that the British employers about to be laid off will have to train their replacements. Nice touch that.
In addition, "the firm applied for £10m worth of EU aid to help it open a new factory just weeks after announcing plans to close down production in North Shields." At the very least, the firm should be stripped of its royal warrant, which apparently isn't going to happen. Rub salt in the wound much?
My thought is this: Jane Austen should never have paid her bill.
(All opinions expressed in this folly piece are Vic's, who is biased.)
- Twinings site: No hint of desertion here.
- Twinings to Leave Britain for Poland
