Time for #TriniTea!

If there is one welcome daily ritual we share during lock down wherever we are in the world it is surely the tea or coffee break.

Every day at 3pm (or thereabouts) Trinity will celebrate this small act of pleasure/respite/relaxation by posting on our social media channels an image or two of the favourite mugs or cups of the College’s students, staff, Fellows and alumni during their coffee or tea breaks.

Captions will explain the significance of the mug and where the writer is, plus any message for friends or colleagues.

Students, Fellows, alumni and staff are invited to contribute to #TriniTea – and it’s up to you whether to include yourself in your ‘mugshot’. The guidelines are below.

All mugshots can be seen on the TriniTea Break website.

To kick off the series, Joseph Webber, who is starting a PhD in Maths, wishes the University Challenge teams the best of luck in tonight’s final. The captain of Trinity’s team until their defeat against Imperial writes in his mugshot:

Wishing the best of luck to teams in tonight’s University Challenge final – the Trinity team will be watching closely! I’m in Chesham but my mug gives the game away about my East Anglian origins – it features Norwich City’s 1985 Milk Cup win – 12 years before I was born but we win so rarely, good merchandise is hard to come by!

Engineering student, Areeg Emarah’s #TriniTea mugshot features tea and fabric from her home in Kenya. She’s enthusiastic about #TriniTea.

Despite all of us socially distancing, in a way, I feel closer to my friends and those I love! I have been staying sane by connecting with friends during tea and study breaks and it just makes everything so much better, especially that my exams start in a few days! I am excited for #TriniTea to see how people will get creative with their photography and story-telling while making our community feel more together!

Library Assistant, Paula Wolff, writes in her mugshot: ‘I was given this mug in July 2003 by my two ‘super sisters’: one works for a Community Health Team and is waiting for the results of a Covid 19 test. I find I’m choosing to drink from it much more often during the current shut-down. It helps me feel close to them.’

Wanipa Ndhlovu, a second-year Law student, writes:

If my caption game was as strong as my coffee I would have something more creative to say… but, to all my friends at Trinity and beyond, I love and miss you! I can’t wait for our post-lockdown reunion. Look after yourselves.

There are plenty more mugshots in the pipeline – feel free to share your #TriniTea. It’s easy, simply send your photo and 50-word caption to communications@trin.cam.ac.uk

Everyone taking part will be invited to a #TriniTea Party at Trinity in future (date TBC).

Some guidelines:

– your photo must include your favourite mug or cup

– the background is up to you

– you may or may not wish to feature in the photo yourself

– your photo should be in landscape format ideally and c. 300 dpi

– the image should not contravene any government guidelines i.e. it should be taken in your place of lockdown/workplace

Please also send a short caption addressing at least one of the following:

– where are you?

– what is special about your mug/cup?

– what are you doing during lock down?

– a short message to friends, colleagues or the wider world.

Thank you!