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Did the Dinosaurs drink tea, or maybe were wiped out by some sort of tea related catastrophe?

A NiceCupOfTeaAndASitDown special report

Dinosaurs as we all know ruled the earth for about 270 million years, and although we can't be sure and despite there being no evidence it is now believed that they might have enjoyed a nice cup of tea and a sit down.

A dinosaur thinking about having a nice cuppa, and maybe some kind of primitive biscuit Fullsize image

So what are the flimsy lines of reasoning behind this astounding new theory? Well there are two main reasons. It is now believed that dinosaurs evolved into birds so if birds like tea and sitting down then its a fair bet their ancestors, the dinosaurs, did as well. So look no further than the household budgie or the common garden sparrow both of which spend much of the day sitting or 'pearching' and would probably like tea if they were offered it. As for biscuits well they love them especially digestives. Secondly 270 million years is a long time to go without a cuppa and a sit down. It simply doesn't make sense that they would have gone all that time with out one. Ooo I just thought of another one, it could of helped them get up in the mornings. We all like a cuppa first thing so dinosaurs being that much bigger were bound to.

As for being wiped out at the end of the Cretaceous period this could simply be a matter of tea, the plant that is, not having yet evolved. The dinosaurs were so dismayed at the thought of having to wait several million years for tea to evolve that they all just upped and dropped dead. This was a pity as they could of probably made so sort of wonky tea out of cycads, horsetails and ferns if they had tried. Yes, I know this second theory is at odds with the first one, so one of them must be correct.

Nice News

Well the big news is we just had our 100,000 hit and so we've decided to celebrate by opening a NEWS part of the site dedicated to serious business of tea and sit downs. So if the BBC, Sky or CNN start having tea and sit down correspondents and reports, you'll know where they got the idea. The other big news this week is that I've read a book, something that I very rarely get round to doing, and its all about toast. Want to know more? Then read go read the Nice News.

Welsh Tea Tour

All this week NiceCupOfTeaAndASitDown has been on tour in Wales in the second of this years Celtic tea tours. We have had a lovely time, and had a very nice cup of tea and a slice of Bara Brith at Pontsticill Station over look the Taf Fechan reservoir on the Brecon Mountain Railway.

Bara Brith is a traditional Welsh bread made with fruit, and served as a tea time treat. It used to made with fruit that had been steeped in tea, and would keep well for up a week. The fruit was then kneaded into bread dough along with some thing to sweeten it like honey, or more recently sugar. The very best Bara Brith we are aware of, is baked fresh each day at the Museum of Welsh Life at St Fagans just outside Cardiff, where they will very sensibly let you buy a nice cup of tea, to have with it whilst sitting down on the picnic benches provided.

We also had a few Welsh cakes, delicious fruited little flat round cake which can be bought all over Wales, but most especially in the old Markets such as Pontypridd, Cardiff, Bridgend, Swansea, Llanelli or Camarthen. Welsh cakes were traditionally cooked on the hot hearth stones next to the fire, a couple of minutes each side, but can also be made on a griddle, a big flat stone which can be heated on your cooker.

Traditional Welsh tea time fayre, Welsh Cakes and Bara Brith Fullsize image

Lovely views from the Taff trail above Tal-y-bont on Usk Quicktime Panorama