I created Beasts of Brewdom five years ago.
The idea was that it was to be a place for out-there tea blogging, specifically by male tea bloggers. Yes, it’s a Gentleman’s Club.
Not in the sense of hugely expensive meals and saucy goings-on, but as a counter to the overt feminisation of tea and tea-drinkers. A place to write silly and have fun at our own expense. Oh, and at the expense of everyone else.
At many an afternoon tea, I find myself the only male, or if there are others there, they look apologetic. It’s a female domain, it seems. And the Internet is much the same.
SIDEBAR: Are you a young man looking for female company and capable of maths? If so, why aren’t you attending as many afternoon teas as you can? 99% female and often sadly focused on champagne rather than tea. Stop reading now, Sonny, you have a social diary to plan.
So, I created this space for three bloggers: Geoff, Ken and myself to be louder, more obnoxious, more testosterone fuelled than usual. I mean more than is usual for us, because we’re not exactly Charles Atlas types. more ‘read an atlas’ types.
I look back over 2014 and there’s a few sarcastic poems by me, one article by Geoff, none by Ken and a few by latecomer Johnny Teacup. That’s a bit rubbish, isn’t it?
So, should we let it quietly die? I SAY “NAY” in a strident, yet not equine, way.
I’ve just updated the background to a sort of gentlemanly wood panelled affair, after the Tea Trade crash that caused many of the photos to disappear.
And I’m issuing a challenge. AND BECAUSE WE ARE RUGGED, TOUGH MEN*, it’s a CHALLENGE of CHALLENGES.
I call on Geoffrey Norman, Ken Macbeth Knowles, Johnny Teacup and myself to take on this challenge. Further more, if other men are named in the challenge, I call on them to man up, not slink away like a gelded ferret.
So, Dear Readers, CHALLENGE US: Here’s how it works!
- Be the first to name one of the Beasts.
- Challenge that beast to write a post on Beast of Brewdom
- Select a title from this 92-page list of Mills and Boon Romance titles and assign it to them.
- Hassle them every day until they wrote a non-fiction BoB post with that title..
Men who are not authorised to post here can contact me on Facebook/Twitter and I’ll make it happen.
Add your challenge to the comments. I’ll be adding one straight away.
Buckle on your sword belt, Beasts, and let’s take this challenge down.
*More or less
March 9, 2015 at 6:11 am
I call on GARY D. ROBSON to take up the challenge. The Mills and Boon Title I select is: “The Dream and The Dancer”
March 9, 2015 at 11:30 am
Ah, well maybe you didn’t realize that I am actually a man. (Jackie, long for Jack) so I want to apply to become one of the beasts. I love this challenge, The Gentle Surgeon sounds like an intriguing title to me.
And yes, that @lahikmajoe should darn well scribble a line on here again. Every “Beast” should. It’s about time. Glad you’re beating on your chest to get this going again.
March 9, 2015 at 12:59 pm
Nice try. Not convinced. And you don’t get to set your own heading.
March 9, 2015 at 2:35 pm
Ah, pity. Being a man I didn’t understand your instruction. Well, not the first time anyway.
March 9, 2015 at 1:00 pm
From TeaHappiness on Twitter: ohh Beasts! I challenge @lahikmajoe to write with ‘My Beautiful Heathen’
And from Jo Johnson on Facebook: I challenge you Robert Godden to write with the title Sugar Island
March 9, 2015 at 2:28 pm
I nominate @lazyliteratus to write “Nurse Rita of the Recovery Room”. That should be fun. He might have to undertake some extensive research with nurses.
March 10, 2015 at 1:12 am
Robert how about you write on “The Captain’s Table”