Brandy, Cigars and a Slice of Stilton in the Dining Room
My Great Grandparents were Victorians, and after a dinner party, my Great Grandfather used to enjoy sitting with his male guests in the dining room, after the ladies withdrew to the drawing room, where they drank port, brandy and muscatel, smoked cigars and were treated to a slice of Stilton from a large cheese wheel. Stilton is an English cheese, produced in two varieties: blue, which has Penicillium roqueforti added to generate a characteristic smell and taste, and white, which does not. My Great Grandfather only ever ate Blue Stilton. Even on nights when they weren’t entertaining, my Great Grandfather used to indulge in a snifter or brandy and a slice of Blue Stilton in his study after dinner. I remember him doing so, and it is he that I have to thank for my love of Blue Stilton and other blue varieties of cheese to this day. He used to indulge me, in an effort to teach me about cheese and broaden my palate, by giving me a small slice to eat. The more time that passed, and the cheese wheel reduced in size, the stronger the taste and aroma of the cheese became!
The theme for "Looking Close on Friday" for the 13th of June is "cheese". Now, I know you are going to say that this should be a macro shot: and it is. What might surprise you is that everything in this photograph, from the flowers to the cigars, the bottle and glasses to the paintings on the wall, and even the cheese itself are all in fact 1:12 miniatures from my extensive collection which I use for photography purposes. Although not exact, this image very much reflects what the sideboard in my Great Grandparent’s dining room looked like when I was a child: very much of that Victorian and Edwardian era. My Great Grandfather was a cigarette smoker more than a cigar smoker, but he always had a box of them to offer to guests. Anyone who follows my photostream knows that I love and collect 1:12 size miniatures which I photograph in realistic scenes. The artifice of recreating in minute detail items in 1:12 scale always amazes me, and it’s amazing how the eye can be fooled. I hope you like my choice of this week’s theme, and that it makes you smile!
Fun things to look for in this tableau include:
As the main focus of my image, the cheese wheel of Blue Stilton came from Beautifully Handmade Miniatures in Kettering. The knife, gilded white plates and stained wooden box of cigars also came from there.
The vase of red roses on the sideboard is beautifully made by hand by the Doll House Emporium.
All the brandy snifters on the silver tray in the background I have had since I was a teenager. I bought them from a high street stockist that specialised in dolls’ houses and doll house miniatures. Each glass is hand blown using real glass. The carafe on the same tray I bought at the same time. The tray was made for me from silver metal by my Grandfather, who was very clever and gifted with his hands. The 1:12 artisan bottle of brandy was made by Little Things Dollhouse Miniatures in Lancashire, and is made from glass and the label is a copy of a real brandy label.
The paintings on the wall are from Amber’s Miniatures in America, and the flocked wallpaper is beautiful hand embossed paper given to me by a friend to use with my miniatures.
The Queen Anne sideboard I have had since I was six years old.
Brandy, Cigars and a Slice of Stilton in the Dining Room
My Great Grandparents were Victorians, and after a dinner party, my Great Grandfather used to enjoy sitting with his male guests in the dining room, after the ladies withdrew to the drawing room, where they drank port, brandy and muscatel, smoked cigars and were treated to a slice of Stilton from a large cheese wheel. Stilton is an English cheese, produced in two varieties: blue, which has Penicillium roqueforti added to generate a characteristic smell and taste, and white, which does not. My Great Grandfather only ever ate Blue Stilton. Even on nights when they weren’t entertaining, my Great Grandfather used to indulge in a snifter or brandy and a slice of Blue Stilton in his study after dinner. I remember him doing so, and it is he that I have to thank for my love of Blue Stilton and other blue varieties of cheese to this day. He used to indulge me, in an effort to teach me about cheese and broaden my palate, by giving me a small slice to eat. The more time that passed, and the cheese wheel reduced in size, the stronger the taste and aroma of the cheese became!
The theme for "Looking Close on Friday" for the 13th of June is "cheese". Now, I know you are going to say that this should be a macro shot: and it is. What might surprise you is that everything in this photograph, from the flowers to the cigars, the bottle and glasses to the paintings on the wall, and even the cheese itself are all in fact 1:12 miniatures from my extensive collection which I use for photography purposes. Although not exact, this image very much reflects what the sideboard in my Great Grandparent’s dining room looked like when I was a child: very much of that Victorian and Edwardian era. My Great Grandfather was a cigarette smoker more than a cigar smoker, but he always had a box of them to offer to guests. Anyone who follows my photostream knows that I love and collect 1:12 size miniatures which I photograph in realistic scenes. The artifice of recreating in minute detail items in 1:12 scale always amazes me, and it’s amazing how the eye can be fooled. I hope you like my choice of this week’s theme, and that it makes you smile!
Fun things to look for in this tableau include:
As the main focus of my image, the cheese wheel of Blue Stilton came from Beautifully Handmade Miniatures in Kettering. The knife, gilded white plates and stained wooden box of cigars also came from there.
The vase of red roses on the sideboard is beautifully made by hand by the Doll House Emporium.
All the brandy snifters on the silver tray in the background I have had since I was a teenager. I bought them from a high street stockist that specialised in dolls’ houses and doll house miniatures. Each glass is hand blown using real glass. The carafe on the same tray I bought at the same time. The tray was made for me from silver metal by my Grandfather, who was very clever and gifted with his hands. The 1:12 artisan bottle of brandy was made by Little Things Dollhouse Miniatures in Lancashire, and is made from glass and the label is a copy of a real brandy label.
The paintings on the wall are from Amber’s Miniatures in America, and the flocked wallpaper is beautiful hand embossed paper given to me by a friend to use with my miniatures.
The Queen Anne sideboard I have had since I was six years old.