FERS Medical Retirement from the OPM: That cup of tea
It is the symbol of a quieter life; of a pastoral time of past remembrances, where the slower pace accorded a tranquility now lost forever. It is referred to in many of William Trevor’s short stories — of that time in England when people still sat around and had “that cup of tea”. For, somehow, the notion of fine china, the curling wisps of winding steam and the aroma of warmth and comfort retain a resonance of civility, quietude and the sentiment of calmer times. […]