The Fun Five

Things to do and where to do them

Time out for tea

Maybe it's the change of seasons, with afternoon temperatures that flirt with steamy and bumblebees buzzing and just enough breeze to ... Zzzz ... Excuse us. We just drifted off, something that's been happening quite a bit lately, particularly between 3 and 5 p.m., a period better known in England as 'Tea Time.' Typically served with pots of tea and a selection of pastries and 'biscuits' (what we call 'cookies'), 'Tea' is a light meal that wakes you up and makes you more productive. Instead of tanking up with bad coffee, try a cup of tea next time your afternoon energy fades.

Spoleto in verse form

At The P&C, we've been entertaining ourselves (and to a certain extent, our readers) with haiku poetry about Spoleto since the mid-1990s. In recent years, these reader-written festival haikus (or 'Spo-kus') have appeared in GMLc and online at Spoleto Today (www.spoletotoday.com). Poets, we want your Spo-kus (three lines of five, seven and five syllables), but this year we're adding a new challenge: Splimericks! Send them to spoletotoday@postandcourier.com or to Janet Edens, The Post and Courier, 134 Columbus St., Charleston, SC 29403.

Break out lawn games

Croquet comes in different flavors: There's the aristocratic game played by the English upper classes; the mad game played by the Queen of Hearts with flamingos and hedgehogs; the Portland, Ore., game played once a year in a city park with bowling balls and sledge hammers; and the American game typically played by children and parents on suburban lawns. What do they all have in common? Grass. Now that the lawn is getting to be a thicket, why not stick it to your wickets?

Get back on that bike

Last summer, we brought you a series of annotated bike-route maps describing some rides that we thought were fun, interesting or both. You can find last year's rides on our blog (www.charleston.net/friday5blog) if you need a suggestion to get you back in the saddle, and with any luck, we'll post additional rides later this summer. But don't wait around for that. The weather right now is just about perfect for biking. Find a friend and go for a ride.

Share some music

Ever compile a playlist of music that fits a mood or illustrates a theme? Wish you could share that playlist with friends? That's the idea at Muxtape (www.muxtape.com), a free music-sharing site that's set up to let users create and share customized playlists. You upload the music you want to feature (there's a limit of 12), then send your unique address to your friends. Muxtape provides a link to sites where other listeners can purchase and download the music you've selected. Nice!