Letters, letters, letters...

Girl pondering over what to write...

But first, my breakfast tray this morning:

"Polonaise" by Noritake. (See previous post.) This was the china served at Kellynch Hall in the TV movie "Persuasion." I loved it so much I had to have breakfast with it this morning. The blue pattern is stunning; the pictures don't do it justice:

*sigh* Now on to my post:

Letters. I still maintain I was born in the wrong century. Being a writer, I LOVE the whole letter-writing thing. Granted, reading said letters from the Regency period require a class on Paleography (in my humble opinion), but I just LOVE they way they did it! 

Letters were the primary form of communication, when there was any distance between parties. From JaneAustin.co.uk: "Before 1840 various factors affected the cost of posting a letter. They included the distance involved, the weight, whether there was anything enclosed, whether paid for on despatch or receipt, and whether it was a single or a double sheet. The postage was usually paid by the person who received the letter, not by the sender."

And how were letters sent? Prior to 1845, hand-made envelopes were all that were available for use. And people didn't want to waste their time making an envelope, with the cost of paper being so expensive, so people got creative:

This is an example of a letter (goodness this person had rather a lot to say!), and after written it was folded nicely into a smaller letter that could be sealed and mailed. 

*photo courtesy of HerReputationForAccomplishment.wordpress.com

Or people just folded like so and sealed it up.

AND HOW COOL IS WAX SEALING??? Oh my. I love that they did that. It was for security, identification, and frankly, it was just wayyy cool. I still have a box of writing implements I bought two decades ago, when I was in an "old letter writing" phase. I wanted to see how it worked so I bought a pen, ink, parchment, sealing wax, wax stamp, etc., and had SO much fun.

I had to see what all the fuss was about. I wrote letters to my parents, brother, sister and best friend, but sadly, none of them could be mailed the way they were. So, I gave up. But what a fun experiment! 

Sometimes I long for a simpler time, when to write and receive letters was a source of joy, comfort, news and information. Nowadays I pull out my handy phone and text anyone I want. Instantly.  

Where is the fun in that? 

Fiesta...Who Would have Known?

I have TONS of Fiesta dinnerware. So many colors. Even the color-coordinated Tervis tumblers. But my all time favorite color is Lemongrass. Why? 

Because it's ADORABLE, see? And such a great color! Or so I was thinking as I had my usual breakfast this morning:

*Note: Fiesta does not make an egg cup in this color. The egg cup I paired with these dishes was one I already owned, that happened to be a close match.

Look at the little sugar and creamer set. SO cute! Granted, I am partial to my Churchill Queen's Penzance, but this crockery is SOLID. If ever I'm in a "green" mood. :-) Well done, Fiesta!

Success! (Well, for me anyway!)

Breakfast this morning:

I love a good Royal Winton breakfast set, but mine is too expensive to really USE every day, so I found an inexpensive white knock-off at the Maryland China Co for under $30. SO worth it!

And now, to the post:

One thing I would love to be--a prop master for Austen-period shows. I would find SO many amazing china patterns and antiques--it would be SO fun! I also like a good treasure hunt, and I found (after a little researching) the pattern for the china service used at Kellynch Hall in the 1995 TV movie "Persuasion." (This post is an add-on to the last one, see below.)

 I love this pattern. The white with gold trim and the gorgeous blue pattern--very elegant and befitting a baronet's living. And the pattern is: *drumroll please*

"Polonaise" by Noritake!

 It was discontinued in the 90's so it's not super easy to find, but can be found on Ebay and Etsy. Gorgeous. I love Noritake. Their "Greenbrier" pattern was my wedding china. But that's another post. :-)

Have a happy weekend!

China Used in Movies: "Screen Two" Persuasion 1995

I LOVE the TV version of "Persuasion," with Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds:

But I especially love the dishes: like the Spode Blue Italian used when Anne talks individually with the Musgroves, or after the "very long walk"... 

 And I had a devil of a time finding out what pattern Mary Musgrove and Anne used in the "I see I've intruded on your breakfast" scene, where Anne finally sees Captain Wentworth for the first time in 8 years:

After a few hours of careful searching, I concluded that it is the "Canton" pattern by Royal Doulton:

Of course "Canton" has been retired since 1995, so it is a bit expensive and hard to find. I managed to get my hands on a few plates, a creamer and a cute little jar, but I REFUSE to spend $349+ for the teapot! Maybe one day I'll find one for $10 at a garage sale. *wink*

I love love LOVE the cream soup bowls. Even if Anne and Mary using them is historically inaccurate, I love the pattern. It is beautiful. 

Now I just need to find out what china pattern Anne was using while she gazed pensively out the tea shop window at Bath!

What's Up With the Beans?

I love breakfast. It’s my absolutely FAVORITE meal of the day. So many choices, so many options. And I love breakfast on pretty china dishes, even more. I have some great breakfast sets I’ve purchased for such occasions. I have the “Marguerite” pattern by Royal Winton (it’s really old so I don’t use it much, just sort of stare at it and think it’s pretty):

And my all-time favorite Wade breakfast set:

And years ago I bought this amazing breakfast set (Meakin Romantic England) and I’ve added to it over the years:

 

But enough about the dishes. Back to the FOOD! My breakfast yesterday morning was pretty basic:

I always have eggs in some form, a protein, and toast or muffins with butter and jam. Then, there is the traditional English Breakfast:

There’s one thing about a truly English breakfast I don’t understand. Beans? Why beans? I mean, the tomatoes and mushrooms I get, but beans? Where is the appeal? For me, beans are something you eat when you have backyard-grilled hamburgers and potato salad. But…beans for breakfast? This girl says...um...okay?

Then again, for perspective, years ago at BYU, my roommate, who was from Australia, thought the fact I put peanut butter on my toast was abjectly disgusting. She used Vegemite on her toast,

which I won’t say much about other than I think after trying it I dubbed it "Satan's Vaseline," so, I guess to each his own?

 Happy Breakfasting! With or without beans!

(Hint: try it on pretty dishes. It makes a real difference!) 

Time for Tea!

From Wikipedia:

“Tea (in reference to food, rather than the drink) has long been used as an umbrella term for several different meals. Isabella Beeton, whose books on Home economics were widely read in the 19th century, describes afternoon teas of various kinds, and provides menus for the old-fashioned tea, the at-home tea, the family tea and the high tea. Teatime is the time at which the tea meal is usually eaten, which is late afternoon to early evening. Tea as a meal is associated with Britain, Ireland, and some Commonwealth countries.”

You have to hand it to the Brits: they certainly know how to eat. Or...snack...or whatever you'd like to call it.  They call it Tea:

 And what do they eat during Tea Time? Well...duh...usually tea, accompanied with lovely foods like these:

Add in copious amounts of butter, jam, clotted cream, lemon curd, etc. etc. and you have a very YUMMY tea time.

For me, “Tea” means a break sometime in the afternoon, usually around 3pm, as a small snack or bite. Here is where things get tricky: I don’t drink tea! I am talking about caffeinated teas: Earl Gray, Black tea, Green tea, Breakfast tea...etc. etc. Being LDS (Mormon), tea and coffee are off the menu for me! So, in the grand spirit of things, there is always the lovely effort of substitution. So, for my “tea time” my hot drinks consist of Herbal Teas:

or a mixture I concocted myself of equal parts Cafix and Kaffree Roma, with cream and Truvia:

(Which, to someone who has never had coffee, is quite delicious.) My mother-in-law literally heats hot water and drinks it at bedtime. Yes, plain hot water. So, for tea time, any hot drink that works for you, is great. ;-) (I’m also sugar free and low carb, so in later posts I will have some great recipes for low carb/no sugar scones and cookies (biscuits) and finger foods.) Trust me, I love flour and sugar and butter as much as the next person, but a little too much of those things early in life did NOT help me. So, I improvise. But the "spirit of tea time" is still intact. :-) 

"The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid."    --Jane Austen

I love, adore, cherish, covet, embrace, you name it...all things British. I've always told my friends I was born in the wrong era, on the wrong side of the pond, and a love of British culture and history is in my blood. Perhaps it's my English lineage, through my mother. 

I started young. At nine years old, I begged my parents to let me stay up all night long, so at 2 a.m. in the morning I could sit in front of the TV and watch, mesmerized, as Lady Diana arrived in her fairytale carriage in her enormous wedding dress, ready to marry her prince. 

British royalty was so cool. And so fascinating. And it all went downhill from there. I was hooked. 

Over the years, I have collected ever so many tea sets. And read ever so many history books. And I have read every book by Jane Austen and watched every Jane Austen movie imaginable. Some of them I love, some of them I hate, but like to watch anyway because of the clothes and the beautiful china and the hand-written letters sealed with wax and the empire-waisted gowns and the properness (yes, I know it's not a word) of the Regency era. I should have lived then, and there. But, I had the misfortune of being born in California in the 1970's, about 177 years too late. 

History aside, I love the British people, their humor and their vernacular, and their tea time rituals. But mostly, I love the history. And I always will. 

So, if you will indulge me, I will post about the things I love, and hopefully you will love some of them too.