Lathams News: TEA COSIES - BRIGHT, HAPPY AND CHEERFUL...

I love being creative...
I can appreciate other people's creativity, therefore these tea cosies this evening have made me feel very appreciative of other's ability to create.
There are definitely some very talented people about....
I thought I would do a little research on the humble tea cosy and this is what I came up with

A tea cosy is essentially a hat for your tea pot to keep the warmth in. How simple is that?

Several cultures and countries are tied to inventing the tea cosies but the object’s documented roots rest with the British (at least from what I could find). The tea cosy dates back to the 19th century, when Anna Russel, Duchess of Bedford, popularized afternoon tea as a light meal before dinner and an activity to occupy the time of affluent women. Afternoon tea was often served in a garden where someone “mother” was tasked with pouring guests tea. You know what happens when things get rolling at a tea party and attention diverts from pouring tea- tea gets cold. With all the networking, chatting and gossiping going on, a cold pot of tea was surely a party killer. Partly out of the desire to keep tea/tea pots warmer longer (function) and the Victorian time period/custom of decorating and covering objects (fashion), the tea cosy was thrust into the limelight and became a part of afternoon tea drinking society.

Tea cosies come in all sorts of designs, colours, patterns and materials: The making of a great conversation piece- Not only do some people cherish and inherit tea cosies as family heirlooms (with plenty of stories attached), but also, tea cosies can simply add colour, design and new flare to a table, over and above the function of keeping your tea pot warm.

Now for a photo overload of the humble tea cosy...

The tea cosies that started all of this....

What started my interest in tea cosies tonight...
Believe it or not I spied these tea cosies on Facebook tonight and throught they were rather colourful and cute....
I then did a Pinterest search and found the rest of these amazing tea cosies...

And there are still more.....

I did a bit more research and found out that there is actually a Tea Cosy Festival and it is held right here in Australia.... Entries for this event come from all over the World..

The Fish Creek Tea Cosy Festival is held in Fish Creek, Victoria, every two years.
The Festival showcases the town's character and reinvents a cultural icon of country kitchens along the way.

Held in Fish Creek Victoria in May 2016

Throughout the Festival visitors can enjoy an abundance of creativity and hospitality as well as fun-packed family events.

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This year their teapot got a new coat from residents of their community.....

Fish Creek Tea Cosy Festival

The other side of the teapot....

The Festival is a unique and quirky event which is held only once every two years.
Fish Creek is approximately 165 kms from Melbourne, around 2 hours drive through the rolling green hills of Gippsland.

ThE first two years of the Fish Creek Tea Cosy Festival were an unexpected success.
Hand crafted tea cosies came in from as far as South Africa, the US and UK to the tiny South Gippsland community.
Up to 2500 people have visited the town for each year’s week-long celebration of tea pots and tea brewing, with all profits distributed among local charities.
And creative crafters have concocted the quirkiest of potty designs from hollowed out tree logs, to a royal crown, a koala, a cosy made from a Driza-Bone, and another from a bra (called “one cup or two”).

Given the first two years’ success, preparations were under way for the third festival, to be held next month, when the creator of the festival, Deidre Granger, died suddenly last October. Locals were left bereft, not only losing a cherished resident, but also the festival co-ordinator.
“We realised when she died it was the end of the tea cosy festival,” says friend and fellow festival organiser Heather Gibson.
“But then we all realised we can’t not do it. We owe it to her to hold the next festival.”
Fellow friend and festival organiser Jocelyn Meyer nods.

Organisers of this year's Tea Cosy Festival

“One of the reasons Deidre and her husband came to Fish Creek was because she had been looking for a place to hold a tea cosy festival and she thought this town was perfect,” Jocelyn says, adding that Deidre had been “brewing the idea” for a tea cosy festival seven years prior to arriving in town about four years ago to run the post office.
“Deidre had given up cigarettes and coffee but was sick of going to cafes and getting a cup of hot water with a tea bag on the side,” she says.
“She thought more homage should be paid to tea.
“She was annoyed that coffee was getting such a grand show and tea drinkers got a pathetic bag on the side of a lacklustre cup.
“Deidre loved the idea of a tea cosy reflecting the idea of a warm community and that ideas get exchanged over a cup of tea — of how country a cup of tea and a tea cosy is.”
And so, given their affection for Deidre and her devotion to the town, Heather, Jocelyn and three others got together over the past five months to ensure this year’s festival is as successful as the past two.

This year’s event was held on May 14 with the opening of the exhibition in the local hall and the announcement of winners.
Other events included Devonshire teas, family pancake-making workshops, and a fair day on May 21, before the exhibition closed the following day.
Tea cosy entries were divided into four categories: traditional, aquatic (in keeping with the fish theme), men by men for men, and exuberant whimsy. Within each category there are three age groups: junior, open and pensioner, with winners in each category and age group awarded up to $150 prize money. This year, a new prize will be awarded — the “D cup” — in honour of Deidre.
Heather, who runs a beef farm on 20ha, and Jocelyn, who has a 40ha farm, admitted that pulling together the festival without Deidre was a real feat.
“It was hard, not just in getting the event together — so much of it was in Deidre’s head and on her computer, but also it’s was emotionally hard,” Heather says.
“The Fish Creek community is indebted to this amazing woman.”
Jocelyn agrees: “This year’s festival is a tribute to Deidre.
“She put Fish Creek on the international map and she deserved to have this festival go ahead.”

I think that I am going to have to put this festival on my list of places to visit in the future...
Loved some of the unusual entries from the festival especially the entries by some of the men...