The English desire for Tea

I dont think there is anyone on this planet who adores a hot cup of tea more than us English!


Wether it be sugary and strong, black or milky morning tea we love it. It's one of the things that, no matter what the situation tea will always help you to relax. But lets look further back than just a packet on a supermarkets shelf.


Tea first appeared as a beverage in England in the 17th Century. But it was Anna, 7th Duchess of Bedford who, in the early 1800's launched the idea of having tea in the late afternoon to bridge the gap between luncheon and dinner, which in fashionable circles might not be served until 8 o'clock at night. This fashionable custom soon evolved into high tea among the working classes, where this late afternoon repast became the main meal of the day.


The problem was it took so long to get to England from the Far east so the East India Company was given a monopoly on the tea trade in 1832,. They realized the need to cut the time of this journey. The Americans actually designed the first "clippers", or streamlined, tall-masted vessels, but the British were close behind. These clippers sped along at nearly 18 knots by contemporary accounts - nearly as fast as a modern ocean liner.


So great was the race for speed that an annual competition was begun for clippers to race from the Canton River to the London Docks. The first ship to unload its cargo won the captain and crew a hefty bonus. The most famous of the clipper ships was the Cutty Sark, built in 1868. It only made the tea run eight times, but for its era it was a remarkable ship. The Cutty Sark is now on exhibition at Greenwich.


So we now know how it arrived here but where abouts exactly in the East was it coming from.


India of course. India is one of the largest producer of Tea. Indulging the workforce of more than 2 millions, Tea production in India constitutes a major building block of Indian economy. The rich greenery and natural surroundings prevailing all over in East, North-East and South region of the country nourish plenty of lush green tea plantation area. Assam Tea Gardens Assam, Darjeeling and Nilgiri, the three Tea growing region, are world famous for its quality of Tea as well as the natural beauty of its Tea plantation area.


And it is one tea estate in particular which is of significant interest to us.

Back in 1955 the Far Eastern Expedition wrote to the managing director or Brooke Bond Tea, who at the time were acting as a paralell government in India. They explained their need to camp some where near to the Burmese border so they could lighten their loads before tackling the un-known Ledo Road. Brooke bond wrote back and said they would be very welcome to stay at their main tea estate in Assam, the Dhekiajuli estate.

So just after New Years in 1956, 6 chilly students rode up outside the main gates and entered into the grand gardens. They were shown to a spacious, quiet spot which had been espically chosen for them.


This picture was taken at the estate and was titled 'Far Eastern Expedition, last seen in Assam preparing for Burma'.

Today Tata has invested heavily into the Tea trade and owns a great deal of estates.



Our interest lies with the original estate and it just so happens that this estate today is run by Tata, details of which can be seen here. http://www.tatatea.com/nipd.htm



Our aim is to re-create this photo on the same tea estate using similar kit.

We hope that with a little persuasion we will be invited to stay here so we too can relax and drink plenty of hot tea before we tackle the Ledo Road fifty-five years on.



Will it even still exist ?????



This image reflects the number of estates Tata own today.

Modern - Period Kit

The expedition kit list is as would be expected - very basic.

Because our Land Rovers are small short wheel base versions we only have a small ammount of space to spare. As would be expected though we are taking more kit than the original team did, mainly because back in 1955 the students and all done national service so if you like were 'used to roughing it abit'. We however like our creature comforts, its amazing what differance it can have on peoples patients by just having say a small fan blowing on you in +100 heat. Small items like this, which are pratical we see as 'must have'

You must bare in mind in 1955 'in car' fans would have been unheard of along with such items like Lorry grade air horns and solar showers.

We are however doing some things in style.

These cookers and lamps for instance http://www.hurricanelamps.co.uk/ are brand new period items and will no doubt be able to stand up to the heights of modern technology. These lamps are small, handy and no different to the modern camping 'primus' stoves like you so often see in ex-army stores, its just they look cute.

So who's going to put the kettle on 1st......

Breaking News -

A passenger train has de-railed in Eastern India killing many on its passengers.

So far the body count is up to 65 with 200 more seriously injured and this number is still rising

The crash happened 90 miles west of Kolkata (Calcutta, Bengal state) and is believed to have had maoists involvment as there was evidance the tracks had been cut, this has not been prooved yet as correct.

The train was enroute to the Mumbai (Bombay) suburb of Kurla when 13 rail cars derailed. A cargo train then slammed into three of the cars from the opposite direction.

All drivers (train) have been ordered to pass slowley through the region advising them to keep an eye out for sabotaged tracks or bombs, in part so the effects of a crash are lessend if a train does de-rail.


In other news its 20 years to the day that the Burmese National League for Democracy won an overwhelming number of seats in the 1990 elections.
The military regime refused to transfer power and the country is today still run by the ruling Junta.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the parties front lady has been imprisioned for 14 of the last 20 years, she was due to be released in May 2010 however after an Americian man (John Yettaw) swam across the lake to her home she is being held for inviting a stranger into her home,. Many believe this was a set up to keep her shut away and out of citizens minds.

The military supremo Snr Gen Than Shwe has since announed that in October this year (2010) the first crediable elections will be held since 1990.
Asean, the UN, the USA and the Burma Campaign have all called for the electons to be "Free and Fair", if they are not the results will not be recognised and the genuine political dialogue cannot and will not begin.

Charitable Aims

First Overland 2010 has a 3 part plan

The first part of our plan is obvious, we are to follow in the 1955 expeditions footsteps.

The second part of of plan will span the vast area between Iran and Thailand. We will be distributing a number of specially designed glasses for the third world. These glasses have been specially designed with retractable lenses. This means they can be adjusted to suit each individuals needs and the best part is that they can be adjusted by the user with no need of a pediatrician. We will be carrying out research for Professor Silver, the glasses inventor, to see how viable these glasses are in Asia and to see how people take to them. www.vdw.ox.ac.uk

The third part of our plan involves the Futuresence charity. www.futuresence.co.uk/ourCharity.aspx
We have merged our expedition in with the Future Sence foundation so that whislt we are in India, the country we intend to carry out a 6 week study into the glasses, we will be able to work under an already established circle of people offering help, the Future Sence charity has a basecamp in the North East. We are looking at basing this study in the North East as its a part of India often forgotten about and we feel needs some assistance. Merging our expedition with the foundation has enabled us to gain Charitable Status and it also means that any donations we recieve, fifty percent will go directly to the foundation enabling them to futher their projects such like the one in India.

We have set up a donation page where people can pledge money to help us achieve our goals. www.justgiving.com/firstoverland2010

The OxCam First Overland 2010 Team

Mr Ratan Tata Coming to Cambridge

The expedition has been informed that Mr Ratan Tata is coming to Cambridge on June 21st. This puts us just under a month away from his visit.

We are pulling out all the stops to get to meet this gentleman.

We have already been to the Cambridge Expedition Counsil and explained the importance, we feel to have Tata involved with this expedition i.e our Glasses project incorporated into the Tata Social Entrepreneurship Scheme set up by Helen Haugh of the Judge Business School, Cambridge, this would just put the icing on our cake as it were.

To have Tata on board would also make our charity project in North East India more feesable as we would hopefully be able to stay at the Tata Tea estate in Dibrugarah where we will set our selves up a sort of home from home and get prepared for the next leg. BURMA.

More on the Tata Scheme can be read here: http://www.india.jbs.cam.ac.uk/engagement/tises/projects.html

What's Buzzin, Cuzzin?

What might things have sounded like in 1955?

With a bit of research, I have dug up the two Number One singles in the weeks that the 1955 First Overland Expedition both departed, and arrived home.

Perhaps it would have been the sweet sounds of Slim Whitman playing as the convoy rolled out of London. His 'Rose Marie' was not only Number One that week, it was also the biggest selling single of 1955:



And maybe, the tune that greeted the group as they returned would have been Doris Day's 'Que Sera Sera', which was top of the pops in August 1956 - what a blast!:

Stomach Bugs, Water filtration. 2010 vs 1955.

Tim Slessor's 'First Overland' tells of a remarkable feat: allegedly the First Overland team didn't lose a single day of their expedition due to poor health. Not one day in just under a year of travelling across some of the least developed parts of the world. The things I'd do to make our own expedition so lucky...

Luck, of course, had little to do with it. The First Overland team cooked most of their own meals, and though something of an inconvenience, such thrift probably insulated them from the nastier bugs that might otherwise have made themselves unwanted guests in the 'Oxford' and 'Cambridge' Land Rovers. Credit must also go to 'BB' for being a scrupulous guide to the expedition on all matters medical.

So the First Overland team boiled their own water, avoided raw fruit and vegetables like the plague, and were judiciously overseen by a chemistry graduate masquerading as a doctor. I have no doubt that Chao (our own, qualified, Doctor) will bring scientific rigour to the expedition's hygiene: but will this be enough in 2010? Though we hope to emulate the First Overland expedition in our route, our vehicles, and our 'principles', I can't help but think back to a recently (ruined) trip to Venice when I caught a nasty stomach bug that left me incapacitated for days. And I can barely leave Surrey without noticing a change in the water...

Marie-Claire has already offered some of her own advice on the matter: eat natural yoghurt. But I'm not convinced. That sounds a little too much like 1955 for my liking. I have a constitution of vastly inferior fortitude, and unpasteurised product of a cow (or yak, goat, sheep...) seems liable to induce illness rather than prevent it. Yoghurt seems a risky strategy in my book. So how can one turn the odds against the bugs?

Enter 2010. Enter technology. Enter the Steripen.

The Steripen is a technological marvel that (I hope...) will give us the upper hand against 99.999% viruses, bacteria, microbes and general nasties. As I'm not trying to turn this blog into an exercise in product placement (that is, of course, unless anyone would care to donate equipment or funds to our expedition...), I should mention there are several popular, award winning, innovative alternatives out there (e.g. the LifeSaver ). But I've decided to place myself under the UV care of the Steripen, and having seen the videos, read the reviews, and been given the sales pitch by a gap year student in an outdoor equipment store, I have high expectations for this minitature microbe-zapping light sabre. And if it doesn't perform as desired, I'll definitely be publishing my extended thoughts on the matter.

Being a total kit-geek, the Steripen is just one of the many marvels of the 21st century I plan to champion on this blog and on the expedition itself. But there's an important point to be found buried underneath this personal technology-kit-fetish.

If you're reading this blog post you almost certainly take good eyesight for granted. As we feel particularly strongly about vision, the First Overland 2010 team have chosen to partner with GV2020 and the Oxford Centre for Vision in the Developing World in promoting, testing and distributing their latest technology in self-adjustable eyeglasses. Focussing on the visual problems affecting the communities we pass through, we hope to champion their technological innovation - a product we believe will make a profound and lasting difference to the developing world. Though we look back to 1955 in preparing for our authentic re-trace, we are at heart a forward looking expedition - spreading the technology of 2010 in hope of a brighter future.

So how is this related to water, or to stomach bugs? Well if you're reading this blog post you probably take clean water for granted too. Just as is the case for visual refractive error, the lack of clean, safe drinking water constitutes a major and tragic impediment to development efforts worldwide. It is estimated that 1.1 Billion people lack good, clean water supplies. 2.7 Billion have no access to proper sanitation.

To me, the Steripen looks like a cool piece of kit - something that will hopefully save me from an having an uncomfortable time during our expedition to Singapore. But to that 1.1 billion people, technological innovations like the Lifesaver Jerrycan really can be life savers, and that's something worth remembering.