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Igravious, I like the idea of seeing - and tackling - new crosswords, but it's maybe just as well that it's in an Irish paper. I spend an awful lot of time on puzzles already!

Is everyone on a diet - no cake?

I saw a programme last night on how they package tea and they said one should let tea brew for five minutes to get all the benefits. Trouble is it starts to go cold then. I prefer it hot.

Orson, you need a tea cosy and a good old-fashioned teapot. Keeps the tea hot for ages. Not many people in the cafe - must be the social distancing.

My wife always makes a cup of tea first thing, then wanders off to do other things, so she drinks it cold. This gave me inspiration for a Christmas present for her - an insulated mug. Within three days she had come to the conclusion that she didn't actually like her tea hot!

Orson, tea definitely needs to be left to brew , so prewarming the pot is essential. I fill the teapot with boiling hot water while I'm waiting for the kettle to boil the next lot. I then leave it to brew, mash, steep, infuse … but never to stew.

ChrisE, I loved the story of your wife discovering the joy (or otherwise) of properly hot tea.

Cerasus, I've found 'staying alert' taking up so much of my time and energy, I've seldom had the chance to drop in to The Café.

A tea cosy? So that's what it is! I've been wearing it as a hat all these years.

My mother often used to say she would "mash" some tea. Her brother's wife, who was from Australia, thought that was a very odd thing to say. "You can mash potatoes but not tea," she said.

In an effort to enforce social distancing my 2 metre pike has, so far, been a great success, but ... now that people are forming `support bubbles` ... I see an accident waiting to happen.

Orson, I like 'mash' for 'infuse' -and I was surprised to see that Chambers says it's 'dialect', I've always thought of it as a real word.

The Australians have equally odd terminology, of course - they wear thongs on their feet!

Brewing tea for five minutes without it getting cold reminds me of resting meat.
All TV chefs say steak should be rested for 5 minutes. How can you do that without it getting lukewarm? Since I cook steak for 3-4 minutes, personally I don’t bother.

"5 minutes" is at the low end of recommended resting times, kenyatta. However if it's a roast, just put aluminium foil over it (shiny side in) and it will stay warm enough for at least 20 minutes.