Local customs are always a revelation to global consumers. But you do a great job here unpacking the ambiguities of the district. I am pretty sure sexy tea is not available in Nottingham, England, although given the 5,000+ Chinese people living here I may be wrong.

What is true is that there was an old joke in Liverpool about a woman who tried to open a tea-shop. It did not do well and she angrily told her husband that the next step would be to open a brothel. He said: "If you can't sell your tea, I doubt you will sell your broth. I've tasted it for years...." It's a joke that has moved around to Scotland and other places but the humour doesn't change or improve.