Tea for One

In Tea for One, Alice Taylor celebrates the little moments that bring us joy

After many busy years raising a family and running a business, Alice is now living alone – with all the challenges and pleasures that brings.

From improving her painting to perfecting her garden, exploring family histories and reclaiming her mother's art of tea-making, Alice celebrates the small acts that fill her days and make her happy.



Alice Taylor lives in the village of Innishannon in County Cork, in a house attached to the local supermarket and post office. To School Through the Fields was published in May 1988. It was an immediate success, and quickly became the biggest selling book ever published in Ireland. Alice has written nearly twenty books since then, large exploring her village of Inishannon, and the way of life in rural Ireland. She has also written poetry and fiction: her first novel, The Woman of the House, was an immediate bestseller in Ireland, topping the paperback fiction lists for many weeks.

One of Ireland's most popular authors, her most recent book is Tea for One.

Contents

Learning from the Elders page 9


As Time Goes By 11

Solitude 21


Let's Have a Cup of Tea 23


The Gift of a Book 29


My Beloved Comforter 39


Catch Your Hare 47


A Gaggle of Geese 55


History in Our Heads 63


Written in Stone 73

Gardening 83


A Little Bit of Heaven 85


Fake or Real? 91


The Scent of a Rose 101

Gatherings 109


And God Made Sunday 111


Separate Tables 121


Sign of the Times 129


Going the Distance 137

Challenges in Isolation 145


Grounded! 147


Storm in a Teacup 151


Not Now! 157

Changing Seasons 165


Goodbye, Goodbye to Summer 167


Flower Power 173


And Here Comes Christmas 181


The Highway to Santa 191


Releasing Happy Hormones 199


Baby, It's Cold Outside 205


Hope Springs Eternal 215


Roots 223

Afterword 233