It was given to me as an almost complete tea set of cups saucers and tea-plates [one cup missing] by an old lady who lived next door to us way back in the sixties when I first came to England from Scotland.
She was a lovely old person, Nora Brown she was called, very tiny, couldn't have been more than 4'7", she made me feel tall and I'm only 5'0",
She would always look over the fence and talk to the girls when they were little, and befriended my cat Tibby, often Tibs would spend the night in her place, Nora said it was quite the norm for Tibs to come in the window and settle on the bed.
She used to make my children clothes and often gave them little treats. I never really got to know her history, as I'm not a particularly nosy person, or maybe I'm not interested enough. :-( I don't think she ever married, I know she was very friendly with a professional couple and would often go and baby sit for them and stayed over.
As I said she was next door, but only occupied a room in the bottom half of a house, It was as though she was poor, but when I gently told her off for being so generous to me and the girls, she always said, " I can afford it" so who knows what was her story, I often wish I had shown more interest.
She was elderly then , possibly in her late 60's/70 +, so it's too late now.
Some time ago I started using the tea-set daily, as it is lovely drinking from beautiful bone china, and it was an expensive set, being marked and numbered on the bottom, Oh well, too late now. That was the last of it apart from two tea plates.
So there you are............not just some broken china, but a precious memory, and a little part of my life, and a very lovely lady who touched it.
Thank you for visiting and please come back, Arlene, Tango and Ruby
That certainly was a pretty tea set with a sweet story. I'm sorry it got broken.
ReplyDeleteArlene I just received an award called 'One Sweet Blog'. I haven't blogged about it yet, but you were the first one I thought of to pass it too.
You may click on it at your convenience. It's at the top on the right.
Thank you so much, for my award, it's the first I've had for a long time. I'm dancing a little jig now. XX
ReplyDeleteYou've even got me wondering about the lady next door now.....
ReplyDeletewell, I'm pretty sure she's gone t o far better place.now. :-(
DeleteLol, I am like Lady Jude and curious about that lady! It's a shame the pieces are broken. They looked very nice. Have a good day!
ReplyDeleteHello Sandie, unfortunately we will never know her story, Unfortunately my day ended up in pieces.
DeleteI am so sorry you broke something so precious. It looked beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThank you Beth, It was a lovely tea set, to buy it to-day would cost a pretty penny, but it wasn't the cost of it, simply that it was a memory.
DeleteLovely story Arlene she sounds like a very lovely lady .
ReplyDeleteShame about the tea-set it looked very pretty.
Hugs Sheila x
Yes Sheila she was, but I don't think I appreciated her worth, i was too young and engrossed in my own problems, but I'd like to think she understood my lack of worldliness. I doubt if you could buy a tea set so elaborate, certainly not in my price bracket.
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