Thank you @agmoore .!
It's night here so tomorrow I will look at your post. I am looking forward to it! I appreciate you sharing it.
This story is a strange one pulled out of my imagination. I meant it to be a kind of fantasy. I am not sure that I got thr plot exactly as I wished.
The city of Chelm is a genre of Yiddish literature. It signifies a city of fools.
The tales from Chelm in Yiddish literature are funnier! https://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/wise_men_of_chelm
The idea in the story was to create a British version though I'm not certain that was obvious. Hence the idea of upcycled tea.... made from dishwater and the language tone and stiffness of the characters. It was intended to be humorous by virtue of how bizarre the plot and uptight the characters. The names of the characters, similarly, are rather silly.
Looking forward to reading your post and many thanks, best wishes
Re colonialism yes. I referenced the Chinese vase with that at the back of my mind.