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Prepared by Graham me. Yes I found the kitchen and prepared our treat. Now, now, don't faint anyone!!
Two layers of sponge cake slices (another 'gift' from our friends) with the pears sliced up over the top of them and then on with the custard.
Maybe better viewed large, not sure.
Thank you for your favourites. :O)
Cavendish Mews is a smart set of flats in Mayfair where flapper and modern woman, the Honourable Lettice Chetwynd has set up home after coming of age and gaining her allowance. To supplement her already generous allowance, and to break away from dependence upon her family, Lettice has established herself as a society interior designer, so her flat is decorated with a mixture of elegant antique Georgian pieces and modern Art Deco furnishings, using it as a showroom for what she can offer to her well heeled clients.
Today Lettice is entertaining a potential new client, Miss Wanetta Ward, an American actress come to London, in her Mayfair drawing room. Lettice’s maid, Edith, is starstruck. She coyly glances at her mistress’ guest as she sets out tea and her home made Victoria sponge on the black japanned coffee table between the two comfortable tub chairs the ladies are ensconced in. Miss Ward is tall and statuesque, with striking green eyes and auburn hair fashionably cut and styled in a bob. Dressed in an orchid silk chiffon gown, her lisle clad thighs are clearly visible. Toying with a long string of pearls between her painted fingernails, she is the embodiment of the ‘new woman’: fearless, nonchalant and bold.
“Thank you Edith,” Lettice says with a bemused smile, her long and elegant fingers partially hiding it. “That will be all.”
“Oh,” Edith replies, obviously crestfallen. “Yes Miss.”
Edith retreats, somewhat begrudgingly back through the adjoining dining room and though the green baize door, back into the service area of Lettice’s flat.
“I am sorry, Miss Ward,” Lettice apologises to her guest, draped languidly across the chair opposite her. “I’m afraid my maid might be a little in awe of you.”
“Oh please don’t apologise, darling!” the American replies, her joyous laughter bursting forth. “I’m used to it. Poor little thing. Does she like the flicks*?”
Lettice ponders the answer to her guest’s question for a moment as she pours tea into her cup. “I don’t rightly know, Miss Ward. I don’t know what my maid does on her days off.”
“Well, I must ask her on the way out.” The American replies, adding a generous slosh of milk and two teaspoons of sugar to her tea.
“I do wish you’d let Edith take your hat and cane, Miss Ward.” Lettice adds, picking up her own cup.
“Nonsense, darling! Can’t be without my good luck charm!” She lovingly pats the pink silk flower covered hat sitting on the chinoiserie stool next to her chair, and Lettice cannot help but notice how perfectly her guest’s nail varnish matches her hat and dress.
“Your good luck charm?” Lettice muses. “What on earth do you mean?”
“No doubt you’ll think me odd, most people do when I tell them,” She twists her pearls self consciously around her fingers. “But every time I wear this hat, I always have good luck.”
“I must ask your permission to borrow it then Miss Ward,” Lettice moves her hand to unsuccessfully conceal her amusement. “The next time I go to the Ascot races.”
“See!” the American replies, sinking back in her seat feeling vindicated. “I told you that you’d think me odd!”
“Not at all, Miss Ward.” Lettice soothes her guest. “When you are the daughter of an old and venerable British family like I am, a certain element of hereditary oddity is de rigueur.”
“De rigueur?”
“A must, Miss Ward.”
“Oh, then I shan’t feel so conscious of flaunting my superstition around London.”
“Especially when it is such a pretty accessory too, Miss Ward.”
“Why thank you darling.” She flaps her long and elegant hand, batting away Lettice’s compliment. “You are just the sweetest.”
“Now, I believe you’ve come about redecorating your flat in Pimlico, Miss Ward?”
“That’s right!” She claps her hands in unabashed glee. “Well, it isn’t quite mine yet. I take possession next Thursday. Oh!” She continues, throwing up her right hand dramatically, her wrist coming to rest upon her forehead. “The place looks like a mausoleum at present! All this heavy clutter: thick velvet curtains, occasional tables covered in knick-knacks, stuffed birds beneath glass. You know what I’m talking about, don’t you my dear?” She reaches down and picks up her plate of sponge and takes a slightly larger than polite slice from it with her fork. “I just had to come and see you!”
Lettice smiles with pleasure, taking a sip of tea from her cup before placing it on the telephone table at her left. “So, I’m the first interior designer that you’ve visited here in London, Miss Ward?”
“Well, not exactly. No,” The American sits back in her seat blushing. “I did go and see Syrie Maugham**.”
“Oh.” Lettice frowns, unable to hide her disappointment.
“Oh, but I didn’t like what she suggested, darling!” Miss Ward replies quickly, assuring her host, fearful of having made a social gaffe and jeopardising her chance of having Lettice agree to decorate her flat. “All those ghastly shades of white…” The American suddenly stops mid-sentence, noticing for the first time that Lettice’s walls are papered in white and that she is sitting on a white upholstered chair. “Anyway,” She clears her throat awkwardly and looks sheepishly at Lettice. “I don’t think she approved of me.”
“Whyever not, Miss Ward?” Lettice asks with a tinge of pleasure in her question, feeling suddenly a little less crushed.
“I don’t think she approves actresses, period. She talked about forgoing worldly pleasures and went on about white representing purity.” Miss Ward shivers at the recollection. “Besides,” she continues. “I did hear that you did some redecorating for the Duchess of Whitby.”
“Your contacts are correct,” Lettice replies. Suspecting Miss Ward to be something of a gossip she then continues, brandishing the knowledge Lord de Virre gave her just an hour before, “What they don’t know, and this is strictly between us, you understand Miss Ward,”
“Oh! My lips are sealed, darling.” The American puts her finger to her lips conspiratorially as she leans forward, her excitement at the thought of a secret shared palpable.
“Well, I shall also soon be decorating the principal rooms of the home belonging to the eldest son of the Marquis of Taunton.”
“Really?” Miss Ward enthuses overdramatically. “The Marquis of Taunton! Fancy that!”
Lettice smiles as she picks up her plate and eats a small, ladylike portion of Victoria sponge, satisfied in the knowledge that Miss Ward has no idea who she is talking about, but being a parvenu, will quickly spread the news to those who do.
“Your sources of information are well informed about me, Miss Ward, and yet, I know nothing of you. Please do tell me a little bit about yourself and why it is that you wish for me to be your interior designer.”
“Well, that’s really why I wanted to see you, even before I saw that pious Syrie Maugham. You’re young, and bold, like me!” She looks up and off into the distance, waving her hand dramatically. “A trailblazer! I also heard that you favour oriental elements in your interior designs. I’ve just spent the last six months in the International Settlement in Shanghai you see, and I just love all those oriental designs.”
“Shanghai?”
“Yes. My brother has a club there: the Diamond Lotus Club, and I’ve been headlining there. Shanghai is so much more exciting than dull old Chicago!” she enthuses. “The clothes cost less to have made,” She grasps the hem of her skirt and squeezes the chiffon. “And the far east is so exotic and colourful.”
“Then forgive me for asking, but if you love it so much, why have you come to London?”
“Well, I loved singing in the club, but I really have my heart set on being an actress.” She takes another large mouthful of cake.
“Well, the West End is full of theatres, Miss Ward.”
“Oh, not a stage actress darling!” Miss Ward dabs at the corners of her mouth for crumbs with her beautifully painted fingers. “No, a film actress. I have a screen test at Islington Studios*** on Monday.” She tilts her head and lowers her kohl framed lids in a slightly coquettish way as though already auditioning.
“Well, you certainly have a great presence, Miss Ward.” Lettice says diplomatically. “I’m sure you’ll do splendidly.”
“Thank you, darling. I can’t disagree with you. My mother always told me that everyone knew when I entered the room, even when I was a little girl in ringlets.”
“Yes, I’d believe that.” Lettice smiles.
“And what better place for a successful film actress to entertain, than in a beautiful orientally inspired drawing room decorated by you, darling! I want bold and colourful wallpapers and carpets, oriental vases, Chinese screens.” She looks hopefully at Lettice. “So, will you take me on?”
“Take you on, Miss Ward?”
“Yes, take me on, as a client?” Her face falls suddenly, her fork of cake midway between the plate and her mouth. “Oh, please don’t tell me that you don’t approve of actresses either!”
“Oh, I’m not Syrie Maugham, Miss Ward.” Lettice replies, smiling cheekily. “And besides, it will irritate my Mamma no end if I have a film actress as a client.”
“You mean,” she gasps, clasping her hands. “You’ll agree to decorate my new flat?”
“Well, I’ll still need to visit you new home, and we’ll need to discuss matters further.” Lettice elaborates. “However, in principle, yes.”
“Oh darling! I could positively kiss you!” She drops her plate with a loud clatter on the coffee table surface and leaps up from her seat.
“That really won’t be necessary, Miss Ward.” Lettice assures her, raising her hands gently in defence in the face of the American’s statuesque form across the crowded table. “Just make sure that you settle my accounts promptly.”
“American railroad dollars good enough for you?”
“Only if they can be converted into British currency.” Lettice beams. “And, when you are a famous actress, I expect you to tell everyone who designed your interiors.”
“Oh! I’ll tell all my friends to come and see you, you darling girl! You’ll have to beat them away from the door with a hickory stick.”
“Indeed, Miss Ward.” Lettice takes another sip from her teacup.
“See!” Miss Ward replies, taking her seat again and patting the top of her pink hat. “I told you this was my lucky charm! I wore a blue beret to see Syrie Maugham.”
“Then today must be both our lucky days, Miss Ward.”
“Oh no! Enough of this ‘Miss Ward’ business. If you are to design somewhere as intimate as my boudoir, you must call me, Wanetta.”
*”Flicks” is an old fashioned term for a cinema film, named so for the whirring sound of the old projectors and flickering picture cast upon the silver screen.
**Syrie Maugham was a leading British interior decorator of the 1920s and 1930s and best known for popularizing rooms decorated entirely in shades of white. She was the wife of English playwright and novelist William Somerset Maugham.
***Islington Studios, often known as Gainsborough Studios, were a British film studio located on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in Shoreditch, London which began operation in 1919. By 1920 they had a two stage studio. It is here that Alfred Hitchcock made his entrée into films.
This 1920s upper-class domestic scene is different to what you may think, for it is made up entirely of 1:12 size dollhouse miniatures including items from my own childhood.
Fun things to look for in this tableaux include:
Lettice’s tea set sitting on the coffee table is a beautiful artisan set featuring a rather avant-garde Art Deco Royal Doulton design from the Edwardian era. The Victoria sponge (named after Queen Victoria) is made by Polly’s Pantry Miniatures in America. The green tinged bowl behind the tea set is made of glass and has been made by hand by Beautifully Handmade Miniatures in Kettering.
Wanetta’s lucky pink hat covered in silk flowers, which you can see poking out from behind the armchair on the right is made by Miss Amelia’s Miniatures in the Canary Islands. It is an artisan miniature made just like a real hat, right down to a tag in the inside of the crown to show where the back of the hat is! 1:12 size miniature hats made to such exacting standards of quality and realism are often far more expensive than real hats are. When you think that it would sit comfortably on the tip of your index finger, yet it could cost in excess of $150.00 or £100.00, it is an extravagance. American artists seem to have the monopoly on this skill and some of the hats that I have seen or acquired over the years are remarkable. Miss Amelia is an exception to the rule coming from Spain, but like her American counterparts, her millinery creations are superb. Like a real fashion house, all her hats have names. This pink raw silk flower covered hat is called “Lilith”. Wanetta’s walking stick, made of ebonized wood with a real metal knob was made by the Little Green Workshop in England.
The black Bakelite and silver telephone is a 1:12 miniature of a model introduced around 1919. It is two centimetres wide and two centimetres high. The receiver can be removed from the cradle, and the curling chord does stretch out. The vase of yellow tiger lilies and daisies on the Art Deco occasional table is beautifully made by hand by the Doll House Emporium. The vase of roses and lilies in the tall white vase on the table to the right of the photo was also made by hand, by Falcon Miniatures who are renowned for their realistic 1:12 size miniatures.
Lettice’s drawing room is furnished with beautiful J.B.M. miniatures. The black japanned wooden chair is a Chippendale design and has been upholstered with modern and stylish Art Deco fabric. The mirror backed back japanned china cabinet is Chippendale too. On its glass shelves sit pieces of miniature Limoges porcelain including jugs, teacups and saucers, many of which I have had since I was a child.
To the left of the Chippendale chair stands a blanc de chine Chinese porcelain vase, and next to it, a Chinese screen. The Chinese folding screen I bought at an antiques and junk market when I was about ten. I was with my grandparents and a friend of the family and their three children, who were around my age. They all bought toys to bring home and play with, and I bought a Chinese folding screen to add to my miniatures collection in my curio cabinet at home! It shows you what a unique child I was.
The painting in the gilt frame is made by Amber’s Miniatures in America. The carpet beneath the furniture is a copy of a popular 1920s style Chinese silk rug. The geometric Art Deco wallpaper is beautiful hand impressed paper given to me by a friend, which inspired the whole “Cavendish Mews – Lettice Chetwynd” series.
9/365 - EXPLORED on the 20th May 2010. Thank you to everyone!!!
Well........I have a huge thank you to give to Stoopidgerl.......I totally stole her idea for a multicoloured birthday cake for my daughters birthday. Take a look at hers - isn't it inspiring? I never would have thought of doing this!!!
www.flickr.com/photos/stoopidgerl/4595272811/
Thank you so much for such a wonderful idea...I was so pleased with how it turned out. xxxx
This is a salted caramel chocolate mud cake. It's dark chocolate sponge, filled with smooth caramel flavoured buttercream and drizzled with salted caramel topping! I saw this at my local store today it was reduced down and I had to get it. It a small cake.
Hello friends! This is for you!
My pastry-cook makes delicious pastries like this one! They are irresistible, and since I love music...!!!
Ciao amici! Questo è per voi!
Il mio pasticciere fa deliziosi pasticcini come questo! Sono irresistibili, e poichè io amo la musica...!!!
Tra le TOP 30 del MESE di SETTEMBRE 2009 nel gruppo "Sempre click..."
Grazie a voi tutti, amici miei!!!!!!!!
Among the TOP 30, SEPTEMBER 2009, in the "Always click" group.
Thanks a lot to you all!!!!!!!!!!
A lamington is an Australian cake, made from squares of sponge cake coated in an outer layer of chocolate and rolled in desiccated coconut. The thin mixture is absorbed into the outside of the sponge cake and left to set, giving the cake a distinctive texture.
Cavendish Mews is a smart set of flats in Mayfair where flapper and modern woman, the Honourable Lettice Chetwynd has set up home after coming of age and gaining her allowance. To supplement her already generous allowance, and to break away from dependence upon her family, Lettice has established herself as a society interior designer, so her flat is decorated with a mixture of elegant antique Georgian pieces and modern Art Deco furnishings, using it as a showroom for what she can offer to her well heeled clients.
Today it is Tuesday, and we are in the very modern and up-to-date 1920s kitchen of Lettice’s flat: Edith her maid’s preserve. Being Tuesday, Mrs. Boothby, Lettice’s charwoman* who comes on Tuesdays and every third Thursday to do the hard jobs is busy polishing the floors in Lettice’s bedroom, whilst Edith arranges tea things on the deal kitchen table in the middle of the room whilst she waits for the copper kettle on the stove to boil.
“Oh good!” Mrs. Boothby sighs as she slips into the kitchen via the door that leads from the flat’s entrance hall. “You’ve got the kettle on, dearie!” A fruity cough emanates from deep within her wiry little body as she deposits her polishing box beneath the sink and puts the dirty rags that require washing down the laundry chute. “Nah just I’ll just sit ‘ere for a few minutes and you can give me a reviving cup of Rosie-Lee** and I’ll ‘ave a fag before I get started on scrubbin’ the bathroom.”
“Oh no you don’t!” Edith says sharply as she places her own hand firmly over the opening of Mrs. Boothby’s blue beaded handbag before the old Cockney woman can grab her cigarette papers, Swan Vestas and tin of Player’s Navy Cut.
“What?” Mrs. Boothby looks up at Edith in surprise. “I’m only goin’ for me fags, dearie, not a pistol.”
“Miss Lettice has a guest and I’ve just made a Victoria sponge.” She indicates to the golden sponge cake with jam and cream oozing from its middle standing next to Lettice’s Art Deco tea service. “I don’t want it or the tea I’m making smelling of your foul cigarette smoke, Mrs. Boothby!”
“Me smoke ain’t foul!” the older woman snaps back.
“Yes, it is, Mrs. Boothby.”
How Edith hates the older woman’s habit of smoking indoors. When she lived with her parents, neither smoked in the house. Her mother didn’t smoke at all: it would have been unladylike to do so, and her father only smoked a pipe when he went down to the local pub.
“The stench comin’ from privy down the end of my rookery, now that’s foul, dearie.”
“It’s all relative Mrs. Boothby.” Edith says cheerily. “Now, I will make you a cup of tea since I’m boiling the kettle for Miss Lettice,”
“Oh, ta.” Mrs. Boothby says sarcastically.
“But if you want to smoke today,” Edith ignores her. “Please go and do so on the porch outside.”
Mrs. Boothby groans as she picks herself out of Edith’s comfortable Windsor chair. Grumbling quietly, but not so quietly that Edith can’t hear her muttering, the old woman fossicks through her capacious bag and snatches out a cigarette she had already rolled previously and her box of Swan Vesta matches. She mooches over to the kitchen door that leads to the tradesman’s stairs and lights her cigarette, folding her bony arms akimbo across her sagging chest.
“Thank you.” Edith says diplomatically, even though she doesn’t really want to thank the Cockney woman at all.
“So,” Mrs. Boothby blows a plume of blueish silver smoke out into the outer corridor. “An American, then.”
Edith knows Mrs. Boothby is fishing for gossip on Lettice’s guest, and she doesn’t like to gossip with the charwoman. Unlike her friend and fellow maid Hilda, Mrs. Boothby is not very discreet. “Mmn,” she says non-committally as she starts placing the tea things on a square silver tray, a new purchase by Lettice from Asprey’s.
“Oh come on, dearie,” Mrs. Boothby’s eyes roll as she speaks. “Don’t be prim and propa. Ooh is she then?”
“You know I don’t like to gossip, Mrs. Boothby.” Edith replies.
“Well, you’d be the only maid this side of St. James what don’t, dearie.”
“All I know is that Miss Lettice asked me to bake a Victoria sponge for her guest, and that’s what I’ve done.”
“Well ya know ‘er name anyroad, ‘cos ya let ‘er in. Ya can tell me that much at least.”
“Her name is Miss Ward.”
“Wanetta Ward,” Mrs. Boothby crows triumphantly. “I ‘eard Miss Lettice talkin’ to ‘er.”
“Well, if you’ve been listening at keyholes, Mrs. Boothby, I don’t suppose anything I told you would be news then.”
“Oh come on, dearie,” she cries. Knowing the chink in Edith’s armour she continues. “What’s she look like then?”
As soon as the words are out of Mrs. Boothby’s mouth, Edith’s eyes light up. She loves fashion and the glamourous people that Lettice mixes with. Not that Mrs. Boothby knows it, because she never goes into her room, but Edith has scrapbooks of cuttings of London’s rich and famous clipped from Lettice’s discarded newspapers and magazines in her drawers.
“Oh she’s very glamourous! Tall and statuesque.”
“Aah,” Mrs. Boothby says dismissively, but the cocked eyebrow that Edith can’t see gives away that her interest has been piqued.
“Her hair is a soft curly rich dark auburn set in girlish bob, and she has peaches and cream skin. She is wearing an orchid silk chiffon dress with a matching satin slip. It’s daringly short!” Edith gushes. “You can see the bottom of her calves even before sits down.”
“Well, she must be American for certain then, ta wear somethin’ so daring.” Mrs. Boothby coaxes carefully.
“She has a beautiful hat to match which is covered in silk flowers. She wouldn’t let me take it from her. Something about her luck? I didn’t really understand. She walks with a walking stick, just for show I think as she has a very elegant gait.”
“Oh. I wonder if she’s an actress on the stage?”
“Maybe. She certainly has the bearing of a person who commands attention.”
“Or maybe,” the charwoman continues, puffing out another cloud of smoke. “Maybe she’s one of them movin’ picture actresses, like what I’ve seen up at the Premier*** in East Ham.”
“Imagine!” Edith enthuses, her eyes sparking. “A real American moving picture star!” She looks to the green baize door that leads to the living areas of the flat.
“Yes, imagine.” Mrs. Boothby smiles wistfully as she takes a long drag on her cigarette.
“Oh, you are awful Mrs. Boothby!” Edith gasps, suddenly realising what she’s done. “You’ve made me gossip.”
“Oh, now don’t you worry your pretty ‘ead about it, dearie.” Mrs. Boothby soothes the young maid. “I’m only int’rested in ooh frequents the houses I clean for so I knows I’m in a respectable establishment. I won’t tell a soul. I promise!”
The charwoman smiles a yellow toothy grin that makes Edith regret her lack of discretion slightly.
“Per’aps she’s come ta be a film star in London. I read in the papers that they’s makin’ films ‘ere in London, over in ‘Oxton**** nah the war’s over!”
“Well, I wouldn’t know anything about that Mrs. Boothby.” she mutters, turning her back on the Cockney woman to hide the blush crossing her face after realising that she has been taken in by her.
Taking the kettle off the stove Edith fills the elegant gilded white porcelain pot and stirs it. She goes to the dresser and removes a pretty Delftware teacup and saucer and puts it on the table. She pours of little of the tea from Lettice’s pot into the cup, adds a splash of milk and some sugar. She refills Lettice’s pot.
“Tea, Mrs. Boothby.” Edith places the Delftware teacup and saucer into the Cockney woman’s empty right hand as it pokes out from beneath her left elbow.
“Oh, ta!” she replies gratefully. Lifting the cup to her lips she takes a sip, savouring the delicious hot beverage.
“I must take the tea in to Miss Lettice.” Edith says in as businesslike a fashion as she can manage.
“And yer want ta get annuva geezer at your beautiful star again.” Another fruity cough escapes her throat as she chuckles to herself. “Ain’t I right?” She taps her nose with her left hand, the glowing but of the cigarette nestled between her index and middle fingers. “I know a young girl’s heart. B’lieve it or not, I used ta be a young slip of a fing once too!”
“Just leave the cup in the sink before you clean the bathroom.” Edith blanches at being caught out as starstruck. “I will have these things to wash later.”
Edith smiles conspiratorially at Mrs. Boothby, picks up the tray of tea things, holds her head high and slips through the green baize door into the dining room of the flat to serve her mistress and her glamorous guest, American Wanetta Ward in the drawing room beyond.
*A charwoman, chargirl, or char, jokingly charlady, is an old-fashioned occupational term, referring to a paid part-time worker who comes into a house or other building to clean it for a few hours of a day or week, as opposed to a maid, who usually lives as part of the household within the structure of domestic service. In the 1920s, chars usually did all the hard graft work that paid live-in domestics would no longer do as they looked for excuses to leave domestic service for better paying work in offices and factories.
**Rosie-Lee is Cockney slang for tea, and it is one of the most well-known of all Cockney rhyming slang.
***The Premier Super Cinema in East Ham was opened on the 12th of March, 1921, replacing the 800 seat capacity 1912 Premier Electric Theatre. The new cinema could seat 2,408 patrons. The Premier Super Cinema was taken over by Provincial Cinematograph Theatres who were taken over by Gaumont British in February 1929. It was renamed the Gaumont from 21st April 1952. The Gaumont was closed by the Rank Organisation on 6th April 1963. After that it became a bingo hall and remained so until 2005. Despite attempts to have it listed as a historic building due to its relatively intact 1921 interior, the Gaumont was demolished in 2009.
****Islington Studios, often known as Gainsborough Studios, were a British film studio located on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in Shoreditch, London which began operation in 1919. By 1920 they had a two stage studio. It is here that Alfred Hitchcock made his entrée into films.
This busy domestic kitchen scene is a little different to what you might think, for it is made up entirely of 1:12 size dollhouse miniatures from my miniatures collection, some of which come from my own childhood.
Fun things to look for in this tableau include:
Lettice’s tea set is a beautiful artisan set featuring a rather avant-garde Art Deco Royal Doulton design from the Edwardian era. It stands on a silver tray that is part of tea set that comes from Smallskale Miniatures in England. To see the whole set, please click on this link: www.flickr.com/photos/40262251@N03/51111056404/in/photost...
The Victoria sponge (named after Queen Victoria) is made by Polly’s Pantry Miniatures in America. The vase of flowers on the table is made of glass and it and the bouquet have been made by hand by Beautifully Handmade Miniatures in Kettering. The box of Lyon’s tea has been made by Jonesey’s Miniatures in England.
On the dresser that can be seen just to the right of shot stands a Cornishware cannister. Cornishware is a striped kitchenware brand trademarked to and manufactured by T.G. Green & Co Ltd. Originally introduced in the 1920s and manufactured in Church Gresley, Derbyshire, it was a huge success for the company and in the succeeding 30 years it was exported around the world. The company ceased production in June 2007 when the factory closed under the ownership of parent company, The Tableshop Group. The range was revived in 2009 after T.G. Green was bought by a trio of British investors.
Edith’s Windsor chair is a hand-turned 1:12 artisan miniature which came from America. Unfortunately, the artist did not carve their name under the seat, but it is definitely an unmarked artisan piece.
In the background you can see a very modern and up-to-date 1920s gas stove. It would have been expensive to instal at the time, and it would have been the cook’s or maid’s pleasure to cook on and in. It would have included a thermostat for perfect cooking and without the need of coal, it was much cleaner to feed, use and easier to clean. It is not unlike those made by the Roper Stove Company in the 1920s. The Roper Stove Company previously named the Florence-Wehrle Company among other names, was founded in 1883. Located in Newark, Ohio, the company was once the largest stove producer in the world. Today, the Roper Stove Company is a brand of Whirlpool.
PADDY: "Hullo everyone! Do you know what? Bears have two birthdays. Do you know what else? Today is one of my birthdays! And do you know what else? Today is my Daddy's birthday too! Isn't that a wonderful coincidence! Now Scout and I are not allowed to use the oven for fear of singeing our plush fur, so even though it is his birthday, Daddy has been so kind and has baked me a birthday cake! It is a Victoria sponge with raspberry jam between the layers, dusted with icing sugar and hundreds-and-thousands! Grumby tummy Daddy! Grumbly tummy!" * Rubs tummy vigorously. "Isn't Daddy nice to do that just for me? I can't eat that cake all by myself, even with a grumbly tummy, so I am having a birthday party. I have invited Scout, Cousin Paddington and Daddy of course. I've also asked my pug dog Cabbage to come along, and also Chippy the monkey who lives in the front room. I know that everyone who I've asked to come will enjoy the occasion!
If today is your birthday too, I'd like to wish you a very happy birthday full of big little bear hugs and snuffly birthday kisses. Even if it isn't, I'd like to wish you a very happy day full of big little bear hugs and snuffly kisses. Would you like some cake too?"
This beautiful faerie tale pantomime nursery tea set was made in England by the Shell China Company in the 1930s. It features six cups, saucers and plates (not all the set is being used today) as well as a teapot, milk jug, sugar bowl, platter, sandwich plate, a lidded soup tureen on its own dish and a gravy or cream jug on its own dish. Each piece is gilt edged and decorated and feature different faerie tales including: "Cinderella", "Little Red Riding Hood", "Dick Whittington and his Cat", "Jack and the Beanstalk" and "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" amongst others. The set I acquired from England, and it is a sister set to a 1920s Shell China Company nursery rhyme tea set that I was given as a gift some years ago by a close friend who knows I collect nursery ware and children's tea sets. The party goers also have a tiny doll (bear) sized nursery napkin each which is hand embroidered with a donkey motif. There are also doll (bear) sized tea spoons which are sterling silver salt spoons, and the sugar nips in the "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" sugar bowl are Eighteenth Century sterling silver.
My Paddington Bear came to live with me in London when I was two years old (many, many years ago). He was hand made by my Great Aunt and he has a chocolate coloured felt hat, the brim of which had to be pinned up by a safety pin to stop it getting in his eyes. The collar of his Macintosh is made of the same felt. He wears wellington boots made from the same red leather used to make the toggles on his mackintosh.
He has travelled with me across the world and he and I have had many adventures together over the years. He is a very precious member of my small family.
Scout was a gift to Paddy from my friend. He is a Fair Trade Bear hand knitted in Africa. His name comes from the shop my friend found him in: Scout House. He tells me that life was very different where he came from, and Paddy is helping introduce him to many new experiences. Scout catches on quickly, and has proven to be a cheeky, but very lovable member of our closely knit family.
Cousin Paddington is a recent visitor to our family. Travelling all the way from London, he was caught in transit thanks to the Coronavirus pandemic, so it looks like he is stopping with us for a while. The more I look into his happy, smiling face, the more attached I am becoming to him.
Chippy the monkey came to live with me when I was four. His name is derived from his innards, which are broken chips of hazelnut shells. He was made in America some time in the mid Twentieth Century. He features beautiful brown glass eyes, a felt face, hands and feet. He was given to me by one of my Grandfather's friends who worked in a small high street toy shop which sold a mixture of new, vintage and antique toys. Chippy was vintage at the time, and had been well loved prior, so with a few holes, some worn plush and patches, he was too worn to be sold, but my family friend knew that my gentle nature and respect for my toys meant he could find a new home with me for a long time. All these decades later, she was proven right, for he still lives with me; a bit more loved, a bit more worn and with a few more patches. He also has some red chalk marks on his right hand which I remember putting on him by accident when I was six! He wanted to draw a rose on my chalkboard and I helped him do it!
Cabbage is Paddy\'s Pug Dog. He was a gift to Paddy from a friend who also likes Pugs. He is fiercely loyal to Paddy and Scout, but seldom stays around long enough to have his picture taken, as there are always new adventures to sniff out.
DADDY: "No birthday celebration is complete without a birthday candle to blow out." *Daddy puts a candle into the top of Paddington's birthday cake and lights it carefully.* "Now let's all sing Paddington a very happy birthday!"
SCOUT, COUSIN PADDINGTON, CHIPPY and DADDY: "Happy Birthday to you!"
CABBAGE: "Woof!"
SCOUT, COUSIN PADDINGTON, CHIPPY and DADDY: "Happy Birthday to you!"
CABBAGE: "Woof!"
SCOUT, COUSIN PADDINGTON, CHIPPY and DADDY: "Happy Birthday dear Paddy!"
CABBAGE: "Woof! Woof!"
SCOUT, COUSIN PADDINGTON, CHIPPY and DADDY: "Happy Birthday to you!"
DADDY: "Now make a wish Paddy and blow out the candle!"
*Celebratory applause, cheering and barking arises from the party guests as Paddy prepares to blow out the candle on his cake.*
PADDY: "Hullo everyone! Do you know what? Bears have two birthdays. Do you know what else? Today is one of my birthdays! And do you know what else? Today is my Daddy's birthday too! Isn't that a wonderful coincidence! Now Scout and I are not allowed to use the oven for fear of singeing our plush fur, so even though it is his birthday, Daddy has been so kind and has baked me a birthday cake! It is a Victoria sponge with raspberry jam between the layers, dusted with icing sugar and hundreds-and-thousands! Grumby tummy Daddy! Grumbly tummy!" * Rubs tummy vigorously. "Isn't Daddy nice to do that just for me? I can't eat that cake all by myself, even with a grumbly tummy, so I am having a birthday party. I have invited Scout, Cousin Paddington and Daddy of course. I've also asked my pug dog Cabbage to come along, and also Chippy the monkey who lives in the front room. I know that everyone who I've asked to come will enjoy the occasion!
If today is your birthday too, I'd like to wish you a very happy birthday full of big little bear hugs and snuffly birthday kisses. Even if it isn't, I'd like to wish you a very happy day full of big little bear hugs and snuffly kisses. Would you like some cake too?"
This beautiful faerie tale pantomime nursery tea set was made in England by the Shell China Company in the 1930s. It features six cups, saucers and plates (not all the set is being used today) as well as a teapot, milk jug, sugar bowl, platter, sandwich plate, a lidded soup tureen on its own dish and a gravy or cream jug on its own dish. Each piece is gilt edged and decorated and feature different faerie tales including: "Cinderella", "Little Red Riding Hood", "Dick Whittington and his Cat", "Jack and the Beanstalk" and "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" amongst others. The set I acquired from England, and it is a sister set to a 1920s Shell China Company nursery rhyme tea set that I was given as a gift some years ago by a close friend who knows I collect nursery ware and children's tea sets. The party goers also have a tiny doll (bear) sized nursery napkin each which is hand embroidered with a donkey motif. There are also doll (bear) sized tea spoons which are sterling silver salt spoons, and the sugar nips in the "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" sugar bowl are Eighteenth Century sterling silver.
My Paddington Bear came to live with me in London when I was two years old (many, many years ago). He was hand made by my Great Aunt and he has a chocolate coloured felt hat, the brim of which had to be pinned up by a safety pin to stop it getting in his eyes. The collar of his Macintosh is made of the same felt. He wears wellington boots made from the same red leather used to make the toggles on his mackintosh.
He has travelled with me across the world and he and I have had many adventures together over the years. He is a very precious member of my small family.
Scout was a gift to Paddy from my friend. He is a Fair Trade Bear hand knitted in Africa. His name comes from the shop my friend found him in: Scout House. He tells me that life was very different where he came from, and Paddy is helping introduce him to many new experiences. Scout catches on quickly, and has proven to be a cheeky, but very lovable member of our closely knit family.
Cousin Paddington is a recent visitor to our family. Travelling all the way from London, he was caught in transit thanks to the Coronavirus pandemic, so it looks like he is stopping with us for a while. The more I look into his happy, smiling face, the more attached I am becoming to him.
Chippy the monkey came to live with me when I was four. His name is derived from his innards, which are broken chips of hazelnut shells. He was made in America some time in the mid Twentieth Century. He features beautiful brown glass eyes, a felt face, hands and feet. He was given to me by one of my Grandfather's friends who worked in a small high street toy shop which sold a mixture of new, vintage and antique toys. Chippy was vintage at the time, and had been well loved prior, so with a few holes, some worn plush and patches, he was too worn to be sold, but my family friend knew that my gentle nature and respect for my toys meant he could find a new home with me for a long time. All these decades later, she was proven right, for he still lives with me; a bit more loved, a bit more worn and with a few more patches. He also has some red chalk marks on his right hand which I remember putting on him by accident when I was six! He wanted to draw a rose on my chalkboard and I helped him do it!
Cabbage is Paddy\'s Pug Dog. He was a gift to Paddy from a friend who also likes Pugs. He is fiercely loyal to Paddy and Scout, but seldom stays around long enough to have his picture taken, as there are always new adventures to sniff out.
This is a French butter spongecake. I have a mental block when it comes to taking photos of this cake but I feel like I just need to move on. This cake is from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
This is orange and almond spongecake with orange buttercream frosting from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volume 1. This is the final cake I have to do in this book (but there are more in her second volume). It tasted very orangy.
I am no great shakes at decorating cakes. I will really need to work on that soon.
This is one of souvenirs from my dear friend.
This sponge cake has citrus fruits' taste "Pomelo, Shaddock".
It's so yummy.
She traveled to Nagasaki and Kumamoto.
Warning: foodie picture!!
Usually on holiday we try and visit two locations while we are away, but as we didn't want to wear Tim out, following all he's been through this year, this is the only day we stopped off twice (on our way back from Port Isaac).
This was just a short stop at Hawksfield Trading, on the Atlantic Highway, where we had tea and cake! Here's my yummy strawberry and lemon sponge!
Also called a Pão de Ló de Ovar, this Portuguese cream spongecake has a custardy center from the extra yolks that was whipped into the batter. It's not very pretty once you cut into it, but it's yummy.
This dessert took hours to prepare but the result was phenomenal... that was the unanimous opinion :)
This angle caught my attention as I was walking away from the dock area. Palm trees sway and beach chairs were calling me for relaxation. This was in Grand Turks, Southern Caribbean.
*PADDY blows out the candle with a big puff.*
SCOUT: "Paddy? Paddy!"
PADDY: "Yes little Scout?"
SCOUT: "Paddy, what did you wish for?"
PADDY: "Scout, you know that I can't tell you."
SCOUT: *Frowns.* "I don't remember that Paddy." *Unhappy.* "Why not Paddy? You always share things with me."
PADDY: "Don't you remember that I told you last birthday that birthday wishes are extra special."
SCOUT: "They are Paddy?"
PADDY: "Oh yes they are Scout, and you can never tell them to anyone else, or they won't come true!"
SCOUT: "Oh!" *Puts paw to mouth.* "Why is that Paddy?"
PADDY: "I don't know Scout." *Shrugs.* "I just know that those are the rules."
SCOUT: "Well Paddy, I do hope that your birthday wish comes true!"
PADDY: "Hullo everyone! Do you know what? Bears have two birthdays. Do you know what else? Today is one of my birthdays! And do you know what else? Today is my Daddy's birthday too! Isn't that a wonderful coincidence! Now Scout and I are not allowed to use the oven for fear of singeing our plush fur, so even though it is his birthday, Daddy has been so kind and has baked me a birthday cake! It is a Victoria sponge with raspberry jam between the layers, dusted with icing sugar and hundreds-and-thousands! Grumby tummy Daddy! Grumbly tummy!" * Rubs tummy vigorously. "Isn't Daddy nice to do that just for me? I can't eat that cake all by myself, even with a grumbly tummy, so I am having a birthday party. I have invited Scout, Cousin Paddington and Daddy of course. I've also asked my pug dog Cabbage to come along, and also Chippy the monkey who lives in the front room. I know that everyone who I've asked to come will enjoy the occasion!
If today is your birthday too, I'd like to wish you a very happy birthday full of big little bear hugs and snuffly birthday kisses. Even if it isn't, I'd like to wish you a very happy day full of big little bear hugs and snuffly kisses. Would you like some cake too?"
This beautiful faerie tale pantomime nursery tea set was made in England by the Shell China Company in the 1930s. It features six cups, saucers and plates (not all the set is being used today) as well as a teapot, milk jug, sugar bowl, platter, sandwich plate, a lidded soup tureen on its own dish and a gravy or cream jug on its own dish. Each piece is gilt edged and decorated and feature different faerie tales including: "Cinderella", "Little Red Riding Hood", "Dick Whittington and his Cat", "Jack and the Beanstalk" and "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" amongst others. The set I acquired from England, and it is a sister set to a 1920s Shell China Company nursery rhyme tea set that I was given as a gift some years ago by a close friend who knows I collect nursery ware and children's tea sets. The party goers also have a tiny doll (bear) sized nursery napkin each which is hand embroidered with a donkey motif. There are also doll (bear) sized tea spoons which are sterling silver salt spoons, and the sugar nips in the "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" sugar bowl are Eighteenth Century sterling silver.
My Paddington Bear came to live with me in London when I was two years old (many, many years ago). He was hand made by my Great Aunt and he has a chocolate coloured felt hat, the brim of which had to be pinned up by a safety pin to stop it getting in his eyes. The collar of his Macintosh is made of the same felt. He wears wellington boots made from the same red leather used to make the toggles on his mackintosh.
He has travelled with me across the world and he and I have had many adventures together over the years. He is a very precious member of my small family.
Scout was a gift to Paddy from my friend. He is a Fair Trade Bear hand knitted in Africa. His name comes from the shop my friend found him in: Scout House. He tells me that life was very different where he came from, and Paddy is helping introduce him to many new experiences. Scout catches on quickly, and has proven to be a cheeky, but very lovable member of our closely knit family.
Cousin Paddington is a recent visitor to our family. Travelling all the way from London, he was caught in transit thanks to the Coronavirus pandemic, so it looks like he is stopping with us for a while. The more I look into his happy, smiling face, the more attached I am becoming to him.
Chippy the monkey came to live with me when I was four. His name is derived from his innards, which are broken chips of hazelnut shells. He was made in America some time in the mid Twentieth Century. He features beautiful brown glass eyes, a felt face, hands and feet. He was given to me by one of my Grandfather's friends who worked in a small high street toy shop which sold a mixture of new, vintage and antique toys. Chippy was vintage at the time, and had been well loved prior, so with a few holes, some worn plush and patches, he was too worn to be sold, but my family friend knew that my gentle nature and respect for my toys meant he could find a new home with me for a long time. All these decades later, she was proven right, for he still lives with me; a bit more loved, a bit more worn and with a few more patches. He also has some red chalk marks on his right hand which I remember putting on him by accident when I was six! He wanted to draw a rose on my chalkboard and I helped him do it!
Cabbage is Paddy\'s Pug Dog. He was a gift to Paddy from a friend who also likes Pugs. He is fiercely loyal to Paddy and Scout, but seldom stays around long enough to have his picture taken, as there are always new adventures to sniff out.