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the importance of being a Mum, a Dad, and a friend, love and happiness ...

The sun is pouring through the window and it's March 4th, the date my Mum and Dad got married, back in 1961.

How time flies. Today they would have been celebrating 49 years of marriage. That's if they hadn't got divorced, and Mum hadn't left us for which I hope is a place where the sun shines bright.

When a marriage breaks down it ends, when someone dies, time somewhat heals, but grief and sorrow can show no sign of an end.



One mustn't rely on support, but it is gratefully accepted when it's received.

That's were blog friends come in.

Look at that cute bunny above!

Lisa from Periwinkle recently lost a very close friend.

She came up with the brilliant idea of making cute egg-cup cosy bunnies, with the consent of the pattern owner, with all proceeds going to his charity fund.

Aah look! After e-mailing Lisa with a special request for one with yellow stripes, she made a custom, custard cosy especially for me!

This bunny is sitting next to two items of my 'modern' yellow Cornishware. Ones which I cherish, ones which Mum gave to me after visits to what once was, the factory shop at Church Gresley in Derbyshire.

If you have yet to discover Lisa's skill with knitting needles take a look on her blog, or better still take a look in her shop on Etsy.

To have this bunny in my home makes me very happy!



As, I am sure regular and long-term readers of my blog know, my Mum died, on a sunny day very much like today, of secondary Breast cancer.

She was happy when in remission, but became very depressed and dispondent when she lost the use of her dominant arm, when cancer cruelly spread to her bones. Never being one for giving up, she gave up.

The subject of cancer is one very close to my heart.

That's where blog friends come in.



Back in October, a good blog friend of mine over at Life in Red Shoes, who leaves 'witty' comments over on my garden blog, was holding a Pink giveaway to highlight the fact it was Breast Cancer Awareness month.

She asked for comments from those touched by breast cancer. After reading her very emotional and touching account of losing a best friend, I left a comment. This is the link if you would like to read it, but do have a handful of tissues at the ready.

Look, yours truly only went and won!

Not only did I receive the giveway of a set of emaculately hand-made dishclothes and a set of potholders (another cleverclogs knitter), enclosed was a lovely card, and little bags of seeds collected from flowers from her garden, for my garden.



Love is a difficult word to define.

The word love, of which I confess to using in blog world in a rather indiscriminate manner, can mean many things.

This is the card I sent J as his Valentine. Now, I love him to bits!

I thought you might think it sweet, and as a gesture of blog friendship, and love in a different shape and form, I send it to you.

We haven't kept every card we've sent each other over the years (too much stuff lying around the place does my head in), and what is a lovely cuddly bear, who is is happily surrounded in pink love hearts, will inevitably end up head first in the blue bin!

But not blog friendships, I do hope!

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ever got the feeling you've been had ...

I went to the antiques and collectors fair at the South of England Showground at Ardingly today with my step-dad along with a few pennies in my purse. I ended up buying the plate above, and after investigating further in the Cornishware book by Paul Atterbury, it turns out to be a fake! I must admit I hadn't ever come across one of these plates before, and even though I only collect yellow Cornish, I bought this because I liked it, and knew it would look very nice with the colour scheme going on in my kitchen.

I am not too worried, as I say I bought it as I liked it, because of the Cornishware connection and because I like pixies. I paid £15 for it, which I think is a price you would likely pay for any 11 inch decorative plate. Maybe the stallholder didn't know, or perhaps he did, and was glad to move it on, to the first (mug) unsuspecting customer that came along, me!



Apparently the 1950s advertising plates which show a shield mark in green, are mega rare and there are only a handful in existence, the mark on mine is black. Look at the pixie's hat on my plate, it's white, the original hat would have been blue.



Talking of blue, I bought this lovely Bristol blue hyacinth vase, possibly Victorian, for £10! I do believe this to be an original, by the look of the base. If not, I have well and truly been had!

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thanks for your time ...

Since I started a blog (or two) a few month's back, I have become to realise how many friendly people there are out there, blogging shows no divide. Thanks everyone for all your interesting and at times heartwarming comments, I really appreciate and enjoy reading each one of them, every day. What a fun pastime it is, and I would recommend it to anyone, a great opportunity for sharing your favourite things with everyone and great for everyone to share theirs with you, rather like a virtual Womens' Institute!

I have been thinking of doing the odd update, some of my posts have been sparking some debate, and also doing this would give me the opportunity to share interesting comments with you, or to answer the occasional question which I may get. I am going to tag this on to the end of the post in different colour italic text, take a quick look if you can?

A couple of things concern me. Every now and again I put a link to blogs of interest in my posts, if anyone feels unhappy about this, please let me know, and I will take it off. The last thing I want to do is to cause unnecessary stress to anyone!

And another thing, if I give you an award please don't feel any obligation to pass it on, but please accept it in good faith, and if I ask any questions of you and you feel unhappy answering them, the same applies.

Keep those comments coming, and don't forget please vote on my polls, your vote counts ...

A message for Captain Rupert, as I said blogging shows no divide, boy bunny comments are most welcome! Nonnie, this is a Cornishware clock, I love it, my mum brought it back from a visit to the T G Green factory shop in Derbyshire, unfortunately for some reason it has stopped working, not because of the battery, I hope to get a new unit fitted sometime, I really would like to see it working again.

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you all love tea ...

From the results of my November poll, tea has been voted the number one drink amongst many of you receiving 65% of the vote. Coffee came in second with 30% of the vote. Drinking neither received 5% of the vote, who was it who justs drinks warm water out there, was it you?

How do you take yours? With tea leaves or bags in a teapot, or just a bag in a mug or in a cup with a saucer, with milk and sugar, without sugar, just with milk, with sugar and lemon, just lemon, or do you drink just plain tea, so many questions? And do you put the milk in first or last? There are many ways to drink tea and many places to drink it, from the humble old greasy spoon to the plush old Ritz!



It looks as though he enjoys a nice cup of tea! I wonder if this photo was taken in a Lyons Tea shop? Within these quaint establishments customers listened to live music, and were served by waitresses dressed as air hostesses called ‘nippies’.

The tea shop tradition began in 1864 when the female manager of the Aerated Bread Company started to serve food and drink to her customers, favouring her most loyal patrons with tea. The idea rapidly spread throughout Britain like wildfire. This was partly because tea shops provided a place where unchaperoned women could meet friends and socialise without damaging their reputations. How coy?



Click on this link to take you to Yorkshire Tea to read the benefits that the good old English cuppa can bring to your health.

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pg tips chimp ...

Have you got your cheeky Chimp yet?

Today I am taking a day's leave, so I am just having another cup of tea and maybe a few biscuits for my elevenses! I hope to get outdoors in a minute, but spotted another photo opportunity, I just can't put my camera down these days, how easily can an interest develop into an obsession?

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cornish yellow ...

My love of Cornish Yellow started with a ‘bargain buy’ at a local auction by my lovely late mum, thinking it would be for herself, but true to nature like many a thing, ended up in my possession – a lidded salt pot. I now have 50 original pre-war items after making frequent visits to collector’s fairs, flea-markets etc, I hasten to add no great finds at jumbles or boots, but some items I did buy ‘at the right time’ for ‘the right price’. These days the older pieces are really too expensive to buy so I have resorted to buying modern Cornishware which I use everyday, storage jars, pudding bowls, pestle and mortar, a great clock and a cafetiere (now only brought out on special occasions since seeing one sell on ebay for £70.00)!

I don't keep salt in the pot as I don't use table salt at all in cooking, it stands empty.



Yellow Cornishware is generally unlettered. The lettering is transfer printed even though the letter spacing is sometimes erratic and suggests hand-painting. A number of styles have been used, including at least two serif faces typical of the 1920s. Later, a sans serif face began to take over, with the last serif names disappearing in the 1960s.













Cornishware no more ..?

The sole survivor of South Derbyshire's once proud pottery industry has gone into administration. TG Green was established in 1864 by Thomas Goodwin Green and the distinctive Cornish Blue kitchenware was introduced in the 1920s. TG Green was the only manufacturer of the world famous Cornish Blue pottery range, which is avidly sought by collectors across the world and I for one will really miss not having the opportunity to buy Cornishware be it old or new.