Show of hands, please. Do any of you tea friends play a musical instrument? I know that my friend Joy is an organist, and I took piano lessons in my youth (and occasionally played at church if they were desperate), but I haven't tickled the ivories for years. I wish I had, though, because I found the coolest thing on the Library of Congress website, this
Tea-Set Composed for the Piano by F. W. Ratcliffe, Louisville, Kentucky. Note that it includes "Tea Polka, "Young Hyson Waltz," "Bohea Schottische" (schottische means "slow polka"; I had to look it up),"Gunpowder Imperial March," "Sugar and Cream Waltz," "The Nameless Schottische," and "Clearing Away Galop."
The Library of Congress has included the two pages of the "Tea Polka," so if you play the piano and give it a whirl sometime, I'd love to know what you think of the tune. (Please note the dedication too. It's fun!)
