Let it Tea: Interview with Huw from the TEATLES (Beatles + Tea) fanzine and Twitter page
Teatles Collage Post Card - Credit HUW SPINK
Hello and welcome to the Boston Harold Podcast blog. My special guest today is Huw Spink, the person responsible for one of the most joyful and uplifting things to be found on social media, the Twitter page known as “Teatles,” which focuses only on the Beatles and their connection to tea.
Who is Huw?
Hello. I am a 40 year old man who lives in Liverpool.
What’s it like living in Liverpool and being a Beatles fan?
I grew up in a village in mid-Wales, which was very nice I suppose, but I did spend an awful lot of time daydreaming about being somewhere else. My dad used to take me up to Liverpool on days out to go record shopping and watch football. His love for Liverpool really rubbed off on me. I absolutely love living here.
It’s a city that is full of life. Sometimes it’s a bit much for me to be honest, me, a shy boy from the sticks, but I’ve managed to carve out my own little bit of it.
I’m still a daydreamer though, and walking the streets that the Beatles walked only adds fuel to my daydreams. My route to the nursery to pick up my little boy takes me past the synagogue the Epsteins attended, a pub where Julia worked, the church where Paul sang in the choir, a shop where Cynthia worked, and the Penny Lane bus shelter. Life carries on, oblivious to all this, but it's all there if I need it.
How did you get into the Beatles, and how fanatical are you?
I can’t really remember (how I got into them.) They were just around, but no Eureka! moment. They have been a fairly constant companion since I was 10 or so, though my fandom has ebbed and flowed a bit. I don’t consider myself fanatical, but I suppose I probably am, a bit. Can you be “a bit fanatical”?
They are my favourite band. They exist in this perfectly preserved blob of amber. It all seems so neat and interesting. I like all their songs. I like all four of them as people. I like liking them.
How did you get started in this whole Teatles phenomenon?
Four years in, Teatles seems like a little happy accident. I remember seeing a photo of George holding a cup of tea being used to advertise a café in town. I hadn’t really considered it before then. I started collecting Teatles after that, with no idea why I was doing it. I’m still not entirely sure what I’m doing – but I’ll carry on and keep hoping for the best.
The fact that so many people have joined in – whether on twitter or with the zine – is a constant source of joy, though nothing was planned. So I don’t feel I can take too much credit for anything to do with it. Teatles isn’t me and it isn’t mine. If it means anything, it's finding a shared language of enjoying the Beatles. Fandoms can get weirdly competitive. There’s no room for that in Teatles.
Considering how sh*tty Twitter can be, I've had very, very few bad interactions with people. Which is a massive relief as much as anything!
How did the Teatles magazine come about? What does it take to put that together?
I’m pretty sure the magazine came about just because I was bored at work one day, and my mind wandered off and that’s where it ended up. I had zero expectations for it. I remember discussing with someone whether to print 20 or 30 copies. I ended up nervously printing 50 and they all sold on the first day.
It just makes sense to take this community of Beatles fandom and turn it into a little zine. The original idea was to just write about Beatles and tea, but as people began sending me stuff to include it became something different, something better. I like to think it allows us all to get to know each other a little bit and celebrate the things we have in common.
The basic idea is that I ask people to send Beatle related articles and drawings. Once I have enough stuff and make them into a zine size thingy and get it printed. I try to make sure each article looks nice, but is also readable. I don’t have many rules, just that they are not mean-spirited. There’s more than enough of that about without getting Teatles into it.
Your mind must have been blown away by all of the tea content in the new GET BACK documentary! Were you constantly distracted by the tea cups and consumption of tea? What were the highlights for you?
My best ever day on Teatles Twitter was the day the Get Back teaser was released. There was so much tea content, so much sharing of tea content – it was utterly joyous. So I was well prepared for Get Back to be a Teatlefest.
It’s such an amazing film though. There were definite moment of Teatleness where I gasped (the first appearance of the legendary stripey mugs especially) but really I was so engrossed that the tea was secondary. How lucky we are as Beatle fans to get to see this stuff!? It really felt like we had a seat at the Beatles table, and there was an extra cuppa for us too.
That said, watching Get Back, and the reaction to Get Back, was when my nagging doubts about Teatles subsided, that tea and Beatles are inextricably linked. Take that doubters!
Pattie Boyd, former wife of both George Harrison and Eric Clapton, has gotten into the act and posted a picture of herself, holding a copy of a Teatles magazine, and thanking you, on her various social media platforms! Pretty cool, huh?.
It was great that Pattie did that, but I love it when anyone buys a copy and enjoys it!
What is your favorite type of tea? How do you take it? Lemon? Sugar? Milk?
I like my tea sweet and milky. Which I’m pretty sure is the way that the Beatles took their tea for much of the 60s. I’m a simple man with simple tastes, but at least I share something with John Lennon.
What are your thoughts on coffee?
My opinion on coffee is heavily influenced by the fact that it tastes horrible to me. But my main issue with it, apart from that, is how fussy it is, the whole process. Froth. Steam. Dusting. It’s all a bit Niles Crane (from the US TV sitcom, Frasier.) The paraphernalia my tea-hating girlfriend has for her coffee making…it makes washing up a pain in the arse for starters! Each to their own and all that though, I suppose.
How can people get a copy of the magazine?
They can message me on twitter (@teatlemania) or email me at huwspink AT hotmail DOT com. Issue 13 will be out in January 2022.
Teatles can only be found on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Teatlemania
