CARLTON FIGG Tribute

Tea time was a bit of a ritual in our house. Tea had to be served at 3 O'Clock every day or dad would yell out "it's Tea O'Clock!'. Of course whether he got his tea on time or not depended on mum's mood, so he had to be on his best behaviour! After many years of mum serving him his tea, dad finally learned to make his own cup of chai. And then the tables were turned - mum got served her tea instead. Dad loved making tea and insisted that it be soaked for exactly three minutes and not boiled like 'dhaba chai'. He's pour the hot water over the tea leaves in the tea pot and let it soak for exactly three minutes, before serving up with milk and sugar. I never had a cup of his tea as I'd already left home and was working in Dubai when he took to the kitchen, but mum, who always filled me in on what dad was up to, swears he made a jolly good cuppa.