Years ago I read a book called “Makes of Distinction”. The book dealt with those skilled in the arts of hand making expensive things. Such as shoes ..Lobbs of London or Berlutti of Paris. Or hats …Lockes of London was a name I remember and I suppose it is now Prada of Rome? Anyway to this list of august makers of distinction we can add the name “Rocky of Houston”.

Rocky is a bootmaker.

Not an ordinary boot maker but a cowboy-boot maker who has crafted boots for a long line of Presidents. Presidents Reagan, Clinton, and both Bushes have all had their cowboy boots made by Rocky. Rocky has flown on Air force One and attended a number of Presidential inaugurations as a guest of Bush Sr. and then Bush Jr.

On every occasion a President asked for a boot to be made Rocky would make a duplicate and here I am holding the duplicate made of Bush Juniors second term and you and clearly see the Presidential seal on the front of the boot. Rockys place is chaotic. Actually that is not a fair description. It is beyond chaotic, it is boot mayhem! But you don’t go to Rockys by accident, you have to know someone who can introduce you. My old rugby days in Texas produced many long lasting friendships and it only took one phone call to an old friend to lead me to Rockys place. To own a pair of Rockys boots is to stand tall.

I have ordered a pair…

Late last year I made the second of two round the world trips looking at the tea gardens and checking up things generally. Sounds like fun doesn’t it? Actually being on the estates, breathing that wonderful fresh air, touching the tea and talking about the forthcoming crops and quality we can expect really is fun. The travel …UGH!!..the jet lag…really UGH.!! In more refined times it took 3 weeks to get out “East” on a ’steamer’ that chugged its way across the ocean. Now you lock yourself into a long metal tube. Fasten a seat belt and 17 hours later you are among the tea bushes with an old friend that you have known for more than 40 years….I would not change a moment of my life, the good, the bad and the ugly is all a part of my life. But on reflection, if there was one element I could ADD to, it would be spending more time among the tea bushes and on the tea estates. I just love that part of the business. So even after a 17 hour flight I still look pretty happy…………..

I have always believed you should never take life too seriously and when faced with a “downside moment” take the opportunity to laugh at life in general and the occasional ridiculousness of it all. Put another way…the glass is always half full….

I was raised in the highlands of Kenya, at 5,500 feet above sea level on the equator. Add those pieces of information together and you get the earths nearest point to the sun, a lot of sun, and a lot of time out in the sun.

Skin cancer comes in many forms…I was lucky to have a mild form…and the fact that it was near the end of my nose and the resulting pressure bandage make me look like Rudolph (I should have colored it red) is a chance to laugh at the other immaculate imagery of my bronze sculptor…..

Laugh at life and others will laugh with you…cry and you cry alone….

I am all for laughing ……but skin cancer is no laughing matter so if you have an unexplained bump or lump get it checked out……its worth the time even if you do end up looking like a lost reindeer….

The sun set on the British Empire some time ago….and Hong Kong was one of the last “jewels in the crown” so to speak.  In the “old” days it had a piratical air to it…a sense of raucous fun as well as a palpable sense of danger if you strayed off the beaten path.  Not so today….as the sun sets over HK it sets over a secure, vibrant, safe and business savvy city.  It is still an exciting place to be because you sense that you are on the frontier of growth and intrepid expansion.  I walked around the “old “part of town and it was full of bars catering to young upwardly mobile professionals…..not sailors looking for a good time.  Nowadays the container ships unload and turn around in less than 10 hours…hardly time for a modern day Matelot to slip ashore to make merry. 

as the sun sets over HK it sets over a secure, vibrant, safe and business savvy city.

I was recently in China….actually Hong Kong, but that is China now….

It is amazing to me how the cultures of nations define buildings and there is no mistaking a Feng Shui structure.  I am told it is a Chinese art and science developed over 3,000 years ago that shows how to balance the energies of any given space to assure the good health and good fortune for people who live in the building.  Apparently the large spaces you see are for the dragons to fly through the buildings unhindered, and not disturb the Chi or energy of the building….

Whatever the explanation…it does make for in interesting shot….personally, I would prefer to live in the smaller buildings in front of the high rises…but then again they don’t have holes in them so how do they cope with the Dragons?

Mind the Dragons, a photo by CooperTeaMaster on Flickr.

I have received comments that my blogs are being missed….!  Well thank you kind readers…we shall resume, perhaps not as frequently as before but certainly more often than the last 6/ 9 months….!

So where to start?  In my world TASTE is EVERYTHING.  I make my living by tasting, and tea tasting is a passion for me, and the sensory joy of flavors and aromas literally “make my day”.

Thus I resume my blog with this extraordinary taste sensation. It was prepared in Naples, it was delicious, savory, aromatic, chewy yet fresh, laden with goodness and at this point I am beginning to feel hungry just describing the emotions I experienced consuming this dish.

You at least dear reader can enjoy the picture!!!!

A Delectable Treat, a photo by CooperTeaMaster on Flickr.

]]> http://www.cooperteablog.com/2011/a-delectable-treat/feed/ http://www.cooperteablog.com/2011/5k-pajama-jog/ http://www.cooperteablog.com/2011/5k-pajama-jog/#comments Mon, 01 Aug 2011 17:44:18 +0000 Barry Uncategorized http://www.cooperteablog.com/2011/5k-pajama-jog/
5k Pajama Jog!, a photo by CooperTeaMaster on Flickr.

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Here I am with the artist, creator & visionary behind the bronze which so stunningly sits next to me.

A schoolboy friend, and by that I mean someone that I went to school with when I was 9 years old in Kenya, has taken up sculpting in his retirement.  Talents he certainly never showed at school have emerged!  A group of old school friends got together through the miracle of the web and over the past few years we have made sure that we meet up regularly.

This year Rob came to the Masters Golf tournament along with “the gang” and asked if he could do a bust in bronze of me.  I accepted!  (I mean how often does one get an offer like that?)  Much debate was then entered into among my friends as to whether the bronze should include my hat!  At first Rob was against the idea but he finally agreed that it probably was part of my persona.  Sculpting a hat in bronze is an art in itself it turns out.  The result of Robs labors were unveiled this week while Sandy and I were in England. 

The likeness is startling to me.  Rob has captured me in my opinion..and you can judge for yourself in these pictures….in the long and winding road that is one’s life, you just never know what the next corner will bring.  Thank you Rob, my heirs will know me, a rare gift to be able to pass on to generations yet unborn……..

They must manage risk to the best of their ‘educated’ ability, but I think the resilience towards risk lives beyond the office.

Risk is an idea - similar in operation to fear, and to those who follow their passion they do not get held back by mere ideas.

Exemplified by the amount of categories in the E&Y Judging Criteria, Entrepreneurs must manage so much risk that to be kept up at night may prove fatal to the business.