Tea is a great marker of everyday domestic routine. In The Children Who Lives in a Barn, Sue is forced to play the role of parent and to keep her siblings together after being evicted from their home, yet calmly maintains tea times.  Standards must not slip, and Sue frequently puts the kettle on, or returns to the barn to find "Bob had tea laid, the kettle boiling, and some toast ready" for as cosy a meal as they can muster. This is Tea and Toast by William Somerville Shanks (n/d, The Hunterian, Glasgow).