In the Pink - at the Bramah Tea and Coffee Museum

In the Pink - at the Bramah Tea and Coffee Museum

8.5" x 11.5", pen and ink and coloured pencil in sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I had tea in the Bramah Tea and Coffee Museum on Saturday afternoon. I'd walked from the SOFA exhibition at the Llewellyn Alexander Gallery in Waterloo to the Menier Gallery in Southwark Street, near London Bridge. The SGFA exhibition closed at midday and I was picking up my unsold artwork.

The afternoon has suddenly got very warm and I was in need of a cup of tea - and right across the road from the Menier Gallery is the Bramah Tea and Coffee Museum at 40 Southwark Street.

The museum is apparently the first one in the world to be devoted to telling the story of tea and coffee. It certainly seem to attract visitors from all over the globe. While I sat in the Tea Room a party of ladies arrived to take tea and I mentally christened them 'the russian ladies'. They seemed to enjoy their full English Afternoon Tea - that's cucumber sandwiches, hot crumpet, tea cake, cake and choice of tea!

The Tea Room has the most amazing pink walls. I was rather tired and, sat in the tea room, I was very much inclined to draw just whatever I could see. My first drawing at the top is of a very small sample of the various teapots, tea caddies and tea on the pink shelves on the pink wall of the Tea Room and my second drawing is of the party of 'russian ladies' having tea.

I had a peek at the museum at the rear of the tea room and it looks very extenstive - lots of interesting things to draw!

Links:

• Bramah Tea and Coffee Museum
• Location of the museum