Rationné

  Selon le site du UK Tea & Infusions Association, http://www.tea.co.uk/a-social-history#war

Tea in the First and Second World Wars

By the beginning of the twentieth century, there could be no doubt about the importance of tea to the British people. This was acknowledged by the government during the First World War. Tea was not initially rationed, but tea prices began to rise as a result of ships being sunk by German submarines, and so the government took over the importation of tea and controlled prices. During the Second World War, the government took even more drastic action to safeguard this essential morale-booster. Just two days after war broke out, it took control of all tea stocks, and ordered that the vast reserves then stored in London must be dispersed to warehouses outside the capital in case of bombing. When during 1940 enemy blockades prevented ships from getting through, the Minstry of Food introduced a ration of 2oz of tea per person per week for those over the age of five. This was not a lot, enough for two or three cups a day of rather weak tea. But there was extra tea for those in the armed forces, and on the domestic front for those in vital jobs such as firemen and steel workers. Tea was also sent in Red Cross parcels to British prisoners of war abroad.

Je note que toute personne de plus de 5 ans d'âge avait droit à la même ration hebdomadaire de 2 onces à partir de juillet 1940, juste assez pour 2-3 tasses quotidiennes de thé plutôt faible. Alors qu'au Canada, le rationnement a débuté 2 ans plus tard: le thé était limité à 1 once par 2 semaines pour les 12 ans et plus.

Ce qui signifie une seule tasse de thé faible par jour. En ce jour anniversaire, c'est ce que je vais boire pour honorer les victimes des guerres passées et actuelles.

Brusquement, après cet assassinat, des nuages noirs s'amoncelèrent à l'horizon. Des rumeurs extraordinaires se mirent à circuler. Le mot fantastique de « guerre » fut prononcé. Ce n'était qu'un racontar de journalistes, pensions-nous, aucune nation civilisée ne voulait la guerre. Nous étions au XXe siècle, que diable! Il n'y avait pas eu de guerre depuis des années. Il n'y en aurait probablement plus jamais. (texte français de Marie-Louise Navarro 1980 Librairie des Champs-Elysées)

Swiftly, after that assassination, what seemed like incredible storm clouds appeared on the horizon. Extraordinary rumours got about, rumours of that fantastic thing – War! But of course that was only the newspapers, No civilised nations went to war. There hadn't been any wars for years; there probably never would be again.

Agatha Christie (1890-1976) Autobiography 1977