Tuesday Cuppa Tea, Shelley Daffodil Time, St. David's Day, Royal Warrants, Welsh Cakes

Hello and welcome to the first Tuesday Cuppa Tea for March, 2014. How did we get here? With my husband's pneumonia and assorted other trials...

James 1:2-3

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 

3  knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

and that applies to coming home from holiday to a burst pipe and a non functioning heater at 30 degrees.   So...time passes and here we are. Are we having fun yet? You bet, 'cuz we are blessed! So...

As is often the case, my teacup choice is dictated by what else I plane to share, and this is the case today...

The teacup is a Shelley China, England teacup and saucer in a pattern called Daffodil Time, and is pattern number 13370. Daffodils have always been one of my favorite flowers because of their scent, although a lot of the new hybrids aren't nearly so fragrant. The smaller cousins,  Jonquils or Narcissus, are often more fragrant.

The pretty bone china cup and saucer is in the new Cambridge shape and was made between 1950 and 1966 when the pottery closed. I love the cheerful yellow handle with the gold trim!

The reason I wanted to share a teacup with a Daffodil is because the Daffodil is a national symbol of Wales, and of March 1st which is the Welsh holiday St. David's Day, the patron saint of Wales. 

St. David was born around the end of the 5th century, and founded a monastery in Wales, and was a beloved man to the Welsh.

On March 1, 2011, Catherine Duchess of Cambridge had her first puplic engagement with the Queen, her husband-to-be's grandmother and Camilla, Duchess of Wales, her soon-to-be Mother in law. The occasion was the reopening of the redesigned Fortnum & Mason's tea salon, renamed in honour of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. As this is a favourite spot for us to go for tea when we are in London, I had thought I'd like to remember the occasion and our visits at other times to Fortnum and Mason.

Fortnum And Mason has a long history and started as a grocer in the 1820s. It has held many Royal warrants over the years...If you will look at the photo directly above, there is a coat of arms just over the door of the current queen. If a Royal personage buys from you and you request it...(another words if they are happy with the purchase, which can be anything from tea to bespoke suits to a toothbrush) you may receive permission to use that fact as an advertising coup in the form of a coat of arms as above, or in print on ads, cards, letterhead and the like and in the case of Paragon China (as I explained to a blogging friend who asked me about it this week), with the printed logo and info that they supplied the Royal personage by name.  Royal Warrants have been going on for almost 200 years. 

The example here is for a teacup  with a Royal Warrant for Queen Elizabeth, affectionately known as the Queen Mum, the wife of King George VI and other of Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Mary, George VI's mother and grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II.   Paragon got in trouble for using the Royal warrant in 1926 after making china to celebrate the birth of the Princess Elizabeth...now Queen Elizabeth II...without actually receiving permission....naughty, naughty!  They apologized prettily for jumping the gun, and were allowed to continue after sweating it out for 6 months.  Royal warrants also could be given to potteries allowing them to add the term Royal to their pottery name: example...Grafton became Royal Grafton with a Royal warrant.  That policy has sort of lapsed since the general pottery dissolutions in the 1970s,and now anyone can say Royal in their name just because they think it sounds better!

Sorry...I got OT! It happens...anyway, back to Fortnum & Masons...this is Queen Elizabeth II unveiling the new plaque renaming the tea salon in her honour.

Here is Catherine...notice the Daffodil corsage...learning about loose leaf tea from the tea sommelier...yes, there are tea sommeliers just like wine sommeliers...

Here are the 3 ladies browsing one of Fortnum's famous baskets, or hampers as they are affectionately known,  which have been carried to stately homes, Royal Ascot, Henley and country houses and parties all over the country for 150 years...basically an expensive picnic with panache and snob appeal...

I took this photo on another visit...I can't find my even earlier photos...anyway, this has Wedgwood bone china a a choice of silver plated or sterling flatware. with everything you need. Then you order another hamper...looks just the same...filled with all the foodstuffs required....The following are photos I took of Fortnum's and their displays...

various china and tea ware including a display of my favorite Emma Bridgewater pottery below...

a table display of coffee varieties Fortnum also supplies, although better known for their teas. When we had our antique shop and tea supply business that we closed in 2002 to go exclusively online, we stocked many of Fortnum and Mason's teas...which were wonderful!  The company has been owned by the Weston family for over 300 years. My husband is a Weston, but pretty distant relatives of the tea part of the family. Sigh...

The display for all types of potted meats, spreads and pate....hence the goose...

Some of the displays of condiments, jams, jellies, marmalades and curds available...

Turkish Delight...my husband's favorite...

And probably the best part, having tea in the tea salon...

So there is my retrospective of Fortnum & Mason brought to mind because of St. David's Day and the Royal ladies visiting in 2011...a absolute must for a tea lover in London.

And in honor of St. David's Day and Wales, I found a great tutorial and recipe on making Welsh Cakes...which I love! The website is GreatBritishChefs.com

Below, please find the linky for your tea related posts, a place for comments which are such a blessing! and a list of some of the blogs I will be joining. I wish you a wonderful week, rejoicing in our blessings no matter what the trials we are facing....

Common Ground ~ http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com

Monday Marketplace

Terri~  http://artfulaffirmations.blogspot.com/ 
Teacup Tuesday

Sandi  ~  http://sandimyyellowdoor.blogspot.com

Teatime Tuesday

Celia ~ http://www.attitudeivlife.blogspot.com/

Tea With Celia

Kathy~  http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/
Victoria - A Return to Loveliness

Martha~  http://www.marthasfavorites.com/ 

Tea On Tuesday
Miss Kathy ~http://www.thewritersreverie.com/

Tuesday Tea

Beth ~ http://agardenersart.blogspot.com/

Tea Cup Tuesday

 Just A Little Southern Hospitality ~ http://justalittlesouthernhospitality.blogspot.com/

Tea On Tuesday

Michelle ~ http://www.finchrest.com/

Tea On Tuesday

Lady B & Dame Ruthie ~ http://ladybstimefortea.blogspot.com/

Time For Tea

Two Cottage And Tea ~ http://twocottagesandtea.blogspot.com/

Tuesday Tea Time

Phyllis ~ http://www.relevanttealeaf.blogspot.com/

Tea On Tuesday

Bernideen’s ~ http://blog.bernideens.com/

Tea In The Garden Tuesday

Judith ~ http://lavendercottagegardening.blogspot.ca/

Lavender Cottage  Tea Time

Our friend ~http://texas-tea-party.blogspot.com/

Tea In Texas

Pamela ~ http://playingwithmycamera.blogspot.ca/

Playing With My Camera Teatime           

Beverley ~ http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/

Tuesday Blog Shop

Shawn ~ http://poetryinapotoftea.blogspot.com/

Poetry In A Pot Of Tea

 Ivy And Elephants ~http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com/

What’s It Wednesday                                           

Sandi  ~  http://sandimyyellowdoor.blogspot.com

An InLinkz Link-up

Home On Wednesday