Just couldn't let this date pass without wishing a happy 4th anniversary to Prince William and Catherine, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge....
Married on April 29, 2011....
Married on April 29, 2011....
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Tuesday Cuppa Tea, Tudor Rose Teacup, Shakespeare's Birthday
Hello and welcome to Tuesday Cuppa Tea! Happy Birthday William Shakespeare!
Because of today's theme, this is my teacup for today...as William Shakespeare's birthday and death dates are accepted as April 23rd...
so my teacup is a teacup in a pattern called Tudor Rose, because Shakespeare lived during the Tudor period...generally put between 1485 to 1603, and the dates that Shakespeare lived...as they are known...are from 1564 when he was baptized to April 23rd, 1616 when he died.
This teacup was made by Grosvenor China, England in the 1920s, a trademark of Copelands...an off again, on again partner of Spode until their final marriage and current production as Spode, but unfortunately in a limited fashion and most of it in Indonesia...
Also built in Tudor times, is Anne Hathaway's home...Shakespeare's sweetheart, in Stratford-upon-Avon, near my Husband's birthplace at Lady Wood...which is now a museum...
Until 3 years ago, we used to go to England for a month every year combining family visits and buying for our business, and after always spending a week in Londn one end of the trip or the other for the various antiques markets there, would head our rental car up north to the midlands, avoiding the motorways and sticking to A or even B roads...English roads are coded...A roads are major roads but not motorways, what the US calls highways, and B roads are progressively smaller, but in our opinion much more interesting and scenic. And if you want to get to the family in Walsall, Solihull, Redditch, Erdington and Sutton Coldfield, you have to go through the Cotswolds, which is no hardship...unless you are in a hurry!
And Tudor architecture, many dating from Shakespeare's time, line the roads....
This is the Queen's Head pub in Stratford where we have stopped often for lunch.
This is the Royal Shakespeare Theater in Stratford which is a wonderful year round venue. We have seen Judi Dench and other famous actors at work here. The tour is fun too!
I thought this sign was fun, and certainly shows you the options. All the major Shakespeare sites are quite walkable.
Above is a favorite...Harvard House, the founder of Harvard University who emigrated to escape religious prosecution.
Just outside Stratford is the Bancroft Boat Basin on The Avon River where several canals cross the river. We love canals, and often stop here with a picnic lunch before heading through Stratford.
Here is Shakespeare's grave and monument in Holy Trinity Church.
So thanks for joining me to tea today...in honor of the area and Shakespeare, here is my husband's favorite tea, also born, like he was, from not far from Stratford...Typhoo Tea. The name is taken from an Indian word meaning medicine, which tea was at first believed to be...still is in my opinion! This is a special Gold Blend they had available recently...
I will be with friends this week, out and about from Canada, so may be slow returning comments...although I will do them as soon as possible. We have a lot planned, laugh and eat a lot, tire ourselves out and love every minute of our time together. But your comments mean a lot, so I am not neglecting you if I am slow....my apologies in advance if I can't keep up and lag a bit...
Because of today's theme, this is my teacup for today...as William Shakespeare's birthday and death dates are accepted as April 23rd...
so my teacup is a teacup in a pattern called Tudor Rose, because Shakespeare lived during the Tudor period...generally put between 1485 to 1603, and the dates that Shakespeare lived...as they are known...are from 1564 when he was baptized to April 23rd, 1616 when he died.
This teacup was made by Grosvenor China, England in the 1920s, a trademark of Copelands...an off again, on again partner of Spode until their final marriage and current production as Spode, but unfortunately in a limited fashion and most of it in Indonesia...
The symbol of the Tudors was the red Tudor Rose. The previous reigning family, the House of York was led by King Richard III whom I recently posted about his reburial...HERE...if you missed it, and would like to read it. The death in 1485 of Richard III on Bosworth Field by Henry II...was the end of what is called The War Of The Roses and the House of York who also had a symbol of a rose, the York Rose and that was white....hence the name War Of The Roses. England became a Tudor monarchy, and we all remember Henry VIII just down the line...think Wolf Hall....
Damien Lewis at Henry VIII PBS
The Tudors loved their Rose symbols, and they were everywhere...this is a photo from King's College, Cambridge which was finished by Tudor king Henry VII in 1512....
Until 3 years ago, we used to go to England for a month every year combining family visits and buying for our business, and after always spending a week in Londn one end of the trip or the other for the various antiques markets there, would head our rental car up north to the midlands, avoiding the motorways and sticking to A or even B roads...English roads are coded...A roads are major roads but not motorways, what the US calls highways, and B roads are progressively smaller, but in our opinion much more interesting and scenic. And if you want to get to the family in Walsall, Solihull, Redditch, Erdington and Sutton Coldfield, you have to go through the Cotswolds, which is no hardship...unless you are in a hurry!
And Tudor architecture, many dating from Shakespeare's time, line the roads....
This is the Queen's Head pub in Stratford where we have stopped often for lunch.
This is the Royal Shakespeare Theater in Stratford which is a wonderful year round venue. We have seen Judi Dench and other famous actors at work here. The tour is fun too!
I thought this sign was fun, and certainly shows you the options. All the major Shakespeare sites are quite walkable.
Above is a favorite...Harvard House, the founder of Harvard University who emigrated to escape religious prosecution.
Just outside Stratford is the Bancroft Boat Basin on The Avon River where several canals cross the river. We love canals, and often stop here with a picnic lunch before heading through Stratford.
Here is Shakespeare's grave and monument in Holy Trinity Church.
I will be with friends this week, out and about from Canada, so may be slow returning comments...although I will do them as soon as possible. We have a lot planned, laugh and eat a lot, tire ourselves out and love every minute of our time together. But your comments mean a lot, so I am not neglecting you if I am slow....my apologies in advance if I can't keep up and lag a bit...
Below is the list of some of the blog
parties I will be part of and there is the linky for your tea related
posts...please remember that it is SSSLLLOOOOOOWWWW but if you are
patient...it's there! And I love to read your comments, and can find you to
visit!
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Tuesday Cuppa Tea - Happy Birthday Ma'am
Welcome dear friends...to Tuesday Cuppa Tea! I am still slogging through transferring images to my new website, but it's going well and will be worth the effort! Spring is here, the tulips are flowering...and the pollen level is very high according to my daily reading....achoo! Let's hear it for Claritin....without it, I don't know what I'd be doing!
I hope you have your teacup at the ready....because it's time to celebrate a special birthday!
I have chosen my teacups this week in honour of Queen Elizabeth II's actual birthday on April 21st...
I set up our usual antique Barley Twist table in the sunroom for a royal birthday tea today...as afternoon tea in the sunroom is a fixture around here...with 2 British Royal commemorative teacups honoring Queen Elizabeth II....the first is...what a surprise!
A Shelley coronation teacup from 1953 with my favorite sepia photograph taken by the Queens then brother-in-law Anthony Armstrong-Jones who was married to Princess Margaret....
Definitely my favorite of the coronation images! The next is a 2012 English bone china cup and saucer commemorating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee that besides being in my own collection like the Shelley coronation teacup above, I have a few left available at Antiques And Teacups...It has a mature Queen Elizabeth with the national symbol flowers of the United Kingdom and a dedication from one of the newer Staffordshire potteries. Lovely workmanship though.
I am just so thrilled that there are currently small potteries carrying on in the tradition of their china manufacturing giant relatives that are no longer....
I added goodies...what's a tea party without that! Vegan Almonette cookies for me, chocolate dipped coconut macaroons for my Honey and a few vegan lemon wafers just in case...it's still pollen season, and I don't dare have chocolate...I'd have asthma immediately with the pollen overload...and I found these patriotic biscuits at Tetley tea...
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April 21st is the actual birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, although it is officially celebrated in June as the weather's more predictable. The Queen was born on April 21, 1926, and I have been wondering if her new great grandchild, expected by William and Catherine, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, would be born to share her birthday...but no news as yet.
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary in a photo by Marcus Adams with her mother Elizabeth, then Duchess of York...
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An official coronation photograph from 1953...
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My favorite photo of the christening of Prince George, son of William and Catherine, with the queen gazing at her new great grandson....photo by James Bell/Camera Press...
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Andy Leipzig's portrait of Queen Elizabeth as Wonder Woman...released for her Diamond Jubilee....
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And one of my favorite images of Queen Elizabeth....source unknown...
In honour of the queen's birthday, the Royal Mint has designed a new coin to replace the 1998 version by artist Jody Clark...
For more about the coin competition, click on the photo above...
A fitting birthday gift to a long reigning queen of impeccable attitude, devotion and worth. The queen will become the longest reigning monarch in September...so definitely an excuse for a party! So glad you could join me!
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I hope you have your teacup at the ready....because it's time to celebrate a special birthday!
I have chosen my teacups this week in honour of Queen Elizabeth II's actual birthday on April 21st...
A Shelley coronation teacup from 1953 with my favorite sepia photograph taken by the Queens then brother-in-law Anthony Armstrong-Jones who was married to Princess Margaret....
Definitely my favorite of the coronation images! The next is a 2012 English bone china cup and saucer commemorating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee that besides being in my own collection like the Shelley coronation teacup above, I have a few left available at Antiques And Teacups...It has a mature Queen Elizabeth with the national symbol flowers of the United Kingdom and a dedication from one of the newer Staffordshire potteries. Lovely workmanship though.
I am just so thrilled that there are currently small potteries carrying on in the tradition of their china manufacturing giant relatives that are no longer....
.jpg)
April 21st is the actual birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, although it is officially celebrated in June as the weather's more predictable. The Queen was born on April 21, 1926, and I have been wondering if her new great grandchild, expected by William and Catherine, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, would be born to share her birthday...but no news as yet.
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary in a photo by Marcus Adams with her mother Elizabeth, then Duchess of York...
.jpg)
An official coronation photograph from 1953...
.jpg)
My favorite photo of the christening of Prince George, son of William and Catherine, with the queen gazing at her new great grandson....photo by James Bell/Camera Press...
And one of my favorite images of Queen Elizabeth....source unknown...
In honour of the queen's birthday, the Royal Mint has designed a new coin to replace the 1998 version by artist Jody Clark...
For more about the coin competition, click on the photo above...
A fitting birthday gift to a long reigning queen of impeccable attitude, devotion and worth. The queen will become the longest reigning monarch in September...so definitely an excuse for a party! So glad you could join me!
Below is the list of some of the blog
parties I will be part of and there is the linky for your tea related
posts...please remember that it is SSSLLLOOOOOOWWWW but if you are
patient...it's there! And I love to read your comments, and can find you to
visit!
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Tuesday Cuppa Tea, April Teacups, Pompeii, Chihuly
Hello and welcome to Tuesday Cuppa Tea! I have a diverse post today...which happens when I have a lot to share!
Thanks for the encouraging comments on the website revise...I have it almost designed and am transferring inventory...a "fun" thing to do with 1000 + items and 5,000 photos needing to be moved....but a friend helped with data transfer. Only the photos need to be transferred one by one, so that is in progress. I am getting through it! But on to more interesting things!
My teacup today is actually 2...and demonstrates what the china companies often have done through several centuries....here is the April Sweet Pea teacup by Royal Albert in their Flower Of The Month series...
The design is from the newer Flower Of The Month series, which is in a different shape and design then the older set from the 1940-1950s. The Flower of The Month series comes in a regular sized cup and saucer, smaller demitasse size and the very small miniature version. They all have exactly the same design. And then we have:
The April teacup with Sweet Peas by Queens, England...who used to make Rosina...in their Flower Of The Month series....look familiar?
As you can see, the designs are very similar. The colors are slightly different, but...that has been the case over the history of pottery making...it's a very imitative business. A pottery makes something that is popular, and others follow. What has also made it interesting, is there are design manufacturers who design the decals used to decorate china, and any pottery can buy them if they don't have their own designers. Some of those makers over the years have been Hulmes or Cappers.
Some of them, I don't know the design house's name...just recognize the pattern over different potteries. The one good thing, is it makes replacing something broken or mix and match easier if you are more interested in the design rather than the maker. On many patterns, the design may be the same but the name may differ...each pottery putting their own stamp on the pattern by naming it differently. Makes collecting china so much fun!
On a grey day a week ago, we took the ferry over to Seattle to attend the Pompeii Exhibit at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle....
The arches are the center of Pacific Center, and we had to cross under them to get to the museum housing the exhibit....it was grey when we went in....
I love the great life sized Orca sculptures in the fountain outside the museum...
The exhibit from the Pompeii Excavation Museum in Italy takes you throught the day of August 24, 79 AD when Mt Vesuvious erupts...totally surprising and eventually burying the entire city of Pompeii under 27 feet of ash in a 24 hour period.
As I mentioned last week, I have degrees in Physical Anthropology and visited Pompeii in 1967, so couldn't miss the exhibit. My husband knew little about the period, so he was very interested. The city was buried and lost until 1740 when a bit was discovered and excavated. But it wasn't until the 1930-1940s when bigger excavations were done...and the last of the city, which actually held the most bodies wasn't discovered until 20 years ago....
The thing which is fascinating, is that the citizens who died were encased in ash and became molds that when injected with plaster replicate the bodies that had burned away inside the casings. There were many on exhibit, some of them which I remembered from 1967.
Because of the way the city was intombed, whole homes were preserved, and the exhibit had some of the artifacts...above are finely made bronze lamps, including a 3 armed branching candelabra...
Examples of finely wrought Roman glass vessels, surprisingly intact...
Several cases of finely made gold jewelry...my husband...who spent 40 years as a Diamond setter and jeweler was really impressed with the skill...I apologize for the photos...taken with my iPhone...you could take photos but no flash...
And wonderful pottery, sculptures, frescos...basically everything. I loved the dog and rooster pottery pitchers in the photo above...
When we came out the weather had cleared, and went to lunch at the Collections Cafe of the Chihuly Garden and Glass in the Pacific Center not far from the museum...
If you don't know Dale Chihuly, he is a Seattle art glass creator with installations around the world...there is a huge one at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, the Celebrity Constellation cruise ship and in museums around the world...
The Collections cafe has a wall of his glass drawings, and each table is a different showcase of his passion for collecting...there were chalkware string holders, tin toys, jackknives...the wall of the ladies bathroom is floor to ceiling cases of brass figural bottle openers...mercury silver bottles, Fiesta ware,accordions hanging from the ceiling...you get the idea...here are some of the tables...
A collection of Bakelite clocks....
Chalkware string holders...love these!
Glass reamers or juicers...
Mercury glass Christmas ornaments...
Cast iron dog doorstops....good thing we were early, and not many tables were occupied yet! And then...lunch!
We had fresh caught Halibut fish and chips...which I forgot to photo...we were hungry! and followed that with tea for two, and for dessert...
Beignets with white chocolate and mixed fruit dipping sauces, with sliced strawberries and blood orange slices. Absolutely delicious! Hadn't had beignets since a cruise down the Mississippi River boat on the American Queen paddle wheeler in the 1990s with my Aunt Ruth! The tea was Revolution brand, in a silken pyramid teabag that arrives in a box...nice English Breakfast...my husband's favorite....
So there you have it! Hope you have enjoyed your tea visit!
Thanks for the encouraging comments on the website revise...I have it almost designed and am transferring inventory...a "fun" thing to do with 1000 + items and 5,000 photos needing to be moved....but a friend helped with data transfer. Only the photos need to be transferred one by one, so that is in progress. I am getting through it! But on to more interesting things!
My teacup today is actually 2...and demonstrates what the china companies often have done through several centuries....here is the April Sweet Pea teacup by Royal Albert in their Flower Of The Month series...
The design is from the newer Flower Of The Month series, which is in a different shape and design then the older set from the 1940-1950s. The Flower of The Month series comes in a regular sized cup and saucer, smaller demitasse size and the very small miniature version. They all have exactly the same design. And then we have:
The April teacup with Sweet Peas by Queens, England...who used to make Rosina...in their Flower Of The Month series....look familiar?
As you can see, the designs are very similar. The colors are slightly different, but...that has been the case over the history of pottery making...it's a very imitative business. A pottery makes something that is popular, and others follow. What has also made it interesting, is there are design manufacturers who design the decals used to decorate china, and any pottery can buy them if they don't have their own designers. Some of those makers over the years have been Hulmes or Cappers.
Some of them, I don't know the design house's name...just recognize the pattern over different potteries. The one good thing, is it makes replacing something broken or mix and match easier if you are more interested in the design rather than the maker. On many patterns, the design may be the same but the name may differ...each pottery putting their own stamp on the pattern by naming it differently. Makes collecting china so much fun!
On a grey day a week ago, we took the ferry over to Seattle to attend the Pompeii Exhibit at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle....
The arches are the center of Pacific Center, and we had to cross under them to get to the museum housing the exhibit....it was grey when we went in....
I love the great life sized Orca sculptures in the fountain outside the museum...
The exhibit from the Pompeii Excavation Museum in Italy takes you throught the day of August 24, 79 AD when Mt Vesuvious erupts...totally surprising and eventually burying the entire city of Pompeii under 27 feet of ash in a 24 hour period.
As I mentioned last week, I have degrees in Physical Anthropology and visited Pompeii in 1967, so couldn't miss the exhibit. My husband knew little about the period, so he was very interested. The city was buried and lost until 1740 when a bit was discovered and excavated. But it wasn't until the 1930-1940s when bigger excavations were done...and the last of the city, which actually held the most bodies wasn't discovered until 20 years ago....
The thing which is fascinating, is that the citizens who died were encased in ash and became molds that when injected with plaster replicate the bodies that had burned away inside the casings. There were many on exhibit, some of them which I remembered from 1967.
Because of the way the city was intombed, whole homes were preserved, and the exhibit had some of the artifacts...above are finely made bronze lamps, including a 3 armed branching candelabra...
Examples of finely wrought Roman glass vessels, surprisingly intact...
Several cases of finely made gold jewelry...my husband...who spent 40 years as a Diamond setter and jeweler was really impressed with the skill...I apologize for the photos...taken with my iPhone...you could take photos but no flash...
And wonderful pottery, sculptures, frescos...basically everything. I loved the dog and rooster pottery pitchers in the photo above...
When we came out the weather had cleared, and went to lunch at the Collections Cafe of the Chihuly Garden and Glass in the Pacific Center not far from the museum...
If you don't know Dale Chihuly, he is a Seattle art glass creator with installations around the world...there is a huge one at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, the Celebrity Constellation cruise ship and in museums around the world...
The Collections cafe has a wall of his glass drawings, and each table is a different showcase of his passion for collecting...there were chalkware string holders, tin toys, jackknives...the wall of the ladies bathroom is floor to ceiling cases of brass figural bottle openers...mercury silver bottles, Fiesta ware,accordions hanging from the ceiling...you get the idea...here are some of the tables...
A collection of Bakelite clocks....
Accordions on the ceiling...
Chalkware string holders...love these!
Glass reamers or juicers...
Mercury glass Christmas ornaments...
Cast iron dog doorstops....good thing we were early, and not many tables were occupied yet! And then...lunch!
We had fresh caught Halibut fish and chips...which I forgot to photo...we were hungry! and followed that with tea for two, and for dessert...
Beignets with white chocolate and mixed fruit dipping sauces, with sliced strawberries and blood orange slices. Absolutely delicious! Hadn't had beignets since a cruise down the Mississippi River boat on the American Queen paddle wheeler in the 1990s with my Aunt Ruth! The tea was Revolution brand, in a silken pyramid teabag that arrives in a box...nice English Breakfast...my husband's favorite....
Below is the list of some of the blog
parties I will be part of and there is the linky for your tea related
posts...please remember that it is SSSLLLOOOOOOWWWW but if you are
patient...it's there! And I love to read your comments, and can find you to
visit!