I don't know why I chose this pattern except that I felt pressured, like others did, I imagine, to register for china. I'm not sorry I did although we never use it. I'm interested in what it says about us that we register and get wedding china, love it, but never use it, and therefore it sits packed away or in some dusty cabinet. Gone are the days when we have formal dining sessions with the best china every time--or anyway, for non-aristocracy those days are gone. (Maybe the Queen uses her Queen china every day. Probably several different patterns.) What does that say about our society?
I love books about this kind of usage but don't know of many. There was a good one by Kate Morton called the House at Riverton that sort of does an upstairs/downstairs thing from the servant's point of view. Of course I love the Downton Abbey series. Know of any other books that sumptuously feature lavish dinner parties and a host of servants?
8 comments:
HM... Can't say I do, though I suppose there are ones in Pride and Prejudice... I was always more of an informal gathering gal myself. To many manners to be aware of otherwise. *grin*
I'm jealous that you have a tea pot. We just have the place setting with teacups, no tea ot. I suspect if we had a tea pot I'd use it more. *giggles*
:} Cathryn
Well, the only ones I can think of that make me yearn for that yester-year of rigid class structure (assuming you'd get to be part of the upper crust and not the poor scullery maid scrubbing the wood floors with a horse hair brush) are Henry James' novels and also Edith Wharton's. Oh, and Agatha Christie novels always used to make me pine for the days of tea sandwiches and ladies maids. I mean, aside from the murdering and all.
I don't drink tea. I've tried to love it but to me it's like drinking stinky dishwater. Blech.
The china is lovely. Simply lovely. Mine is white with a cobalt blue rim and these gold filigree swirly things around it. It appealed to me at one time, I guess, but now I think it looks old-fashioned and fussy.
nice tea pot fro china!
Wouldn't it be nice if we had the time for tea. You sneak your's while the baby sleeps. If we stopped for tea on a regular basis we would spend the time thinking of what we should or could be doing. What does it say about us as a society indeed. "Life goes by fast, stop and take a look at it once in awhile," I take mine with honey, thanks.
Sorry, no advice on the tea books front. I could say a thing or two about the Tea Party if you want.
Trav-- I dislike the Tea Party so much that I don't even want to hear about them!
Cathryn and Jeremy, I have to say I do like that tea pot. It sort of makes the whole thing.
Vince, you've got to MAKE that time for tea!
KLM, I've never read Agatha Christie I'm sorry to say....guess I'll get on that :)
We just registered for regular old restaurant-white dishes from Pottery Barn, and we use them all the time. We don't have any fancy china - didn't see the point. The fanciest thing I have is a $400 tea pot and cups I bought in Japan 20+ years ago. I pulled it out recently, so it would get some use before the big earthquake comes and smashes it :)
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