Tuesday Tea and Tomes: Where the Sky Begins (a story of reslience, makeshift tearooms and 1940's London)

Where the Sky Begins: a story of tearooms, London and country homes in wartime England

"Where the Sky Begins" is a story that is filled with some of my favorite things -  tearooms, London and country manor homes - but not the highly polished, glamorous-only side.  Woven in the backdrop of World War II England, this is a tale of resilience, acceptance and going beyond some of the arbitrary limits that society tries to impose.  "Where the Sky Begins" by Rhys Bowen, was recommended to me by my cousin, Dianne. She had recently read it and thought with the tearoom element, I'd enjoy it. While serving up tea in unlikely places lured me in, the story of Josie Bank's unexpected and incredible journeys - geographically and personally - kept me interested to the very last page.

A young, cockney girl, Josie, stood out from her family early in both appearance and aspirations. Her exoctic looks -  dark coloring, high cheekbones and "interesting green eyes" - attributed to a past ancestor of gypsy-blood, set her apart at birth from her light-haired, round-faced siblings. She was a clever student that teachers took notice of and recommended her for teacher training.  However, life events intervened and took Josie on another not-so-promising path.

But, Josie was resourceful, hard-working and a quick study which enabled her to take  a few of the rough stones handed to her and polish them into not just one, but two, tearoom gems. The first was in a working class East End neighborhood, the second in a country estate reluctantly housing a wartime London evacuee. 

Josie knew the "good stuff", including Royal Albert china  (Old Country Roses -above -from 1960's)

The tearooms were a haven not only for Josie's customers, but for herself as well. It was here she could care for the fine china and other fancy serving ware she admired and knew well, though never owned personally. Her first potential employer was surprised when Josie recognized, by name, the Royal Albert china teapots on the shelf. Although her cockney accent signaled she wasn't likely an aristocrat, Josie had spent time studying store windows on the West End and appreciated the beautiful items on display. She knew, as she put it, the "good stuff" and punctuated her point by adding "a cat can look at king, can't they?"

And like the proverbial cat, Josie seemed to have many lives - and all before she's reached middle age.  She'd been a city-dweller, wife, cook, refugee, tearoom operator, villager, girlfriend and, remarkably, an employee of Bletchley Park.

With all the challenges thrown Josie's way, her greatest battle was a literal "fight or flight" moral dilemma involving a somewhat mysterious Canadian pilot.

"Where the Sky Begins" was the book selection for our last Book Club de Deux comprised of with my longtime cher amie, Loretta, and, moi, your humble tea blogger. We both liked the story and the readability, but the ending had us a bit divided.

One of us favors finales that tie up loose endings.

The other prefers stories that don't have to have neatly packaged conclusions. 

So, one of us enjoyed the ending more than the other. 😊

BTS deems "Where the Sky Begins" good stuff and a good read!

For more on author, Rhys Bowen, check out her website at ryhsbowen.com