{Getting Cosy ~ The who, what, where, why and how of autumn/winter in the Love Audrey household. What we love to cook, eat, wear and do in the colder months, with just a hint of Christmas magic.}
My Great Aunt Liz passed away earlier this year. It was quite sudden. She was ill and then she was gone.
It feels strange to face Christmas without her. I know we’ll all miss her presence, energy, and enthusiasm for time spent together as a family, especially on Boxing Day which was traditionally when we all shared a meal and exchanged gifts.
I found a book she gave me the other day when I was sorting though a box of things for Izzy. It was a copy of ‘Little Women’ by Louisa May Alcott and inside the front cover was written ‘To my darling bookworm and Great Niece, Merry Christmas’. As I stroked the inscription, I wondered if I would have loved reading quite so much if she hadn’t fed my addiction with beautiful, carefully chosen texts at every available gifting opportunity. I’ve passed the well worn copy on to my own little bookworm now. I can’t wait for her to meet Jo and the others.
Liz was a passionate collector and hoarder of things. Her tiny west London home was like an Aladdin’s cave, heaving with trinkets, crockery, glassware, books and much, much more. Her complete inability to throw anything away meant those charged with clearing her possessions faced a daunting task, but from the chaos emerged a few precious pieces that could be passed on to the next generation.
I spied this china on a low shelf in the cramped living room. I didn’t examine it particularly closely, even failing to appreciate it’s festive motif at the time. Instead, it came home with me that day because I recognised it as possibly belonging to the 1950s, and felt it was a thing of beauty, something I would enjoy gazing at in my own home.
Imagine my joy when, while flicking through my shiny new copy of Nigella Christmasa month or so ago, I spied the very same china laden with the festive nibbles and treats of my favourite foodie writer. A quick google search revealed it is in fact the ‘Stockholm’ range, somtimes called ‘leaping deer’, produced by Royal Crown Devon in the 1950s.
I spent a morning carefully unwrapping, dusting and washing the entire set the other day and the whole process gave me a pleasant sense of calm. The china is far from perfect, but I like to think its chips and flaws somehow speak of Christmas past. I intend to keep an eye out for more ‘Stockholm’ over the course of next year, adding to what is now my collection via eBay and the like, in the hope that it can become a permanent part of our Christmas future.
Are you a lover of vintage china? How do you dress your table for Christmas?
Love Audrey xxx
What a thing of beauty! A lovely post, full of Christmas and family nostalgia.
This china would go perfectly with my colour scheme this year which is a very traditional red and white! I particularly love the butter dish and look at the details like the little knobs. Gorgeous. 😀 xx
what a lovely post.xxx
what a beautiful post. Love the china, I’m one of those types that loves stuff like that but does not own and does not hunt for such things!
Its funny, your story about your Great Aunt Liz reminded me about my dad’s cousin Elizabeth…well, my second cousin to be techincal, but she was the same generation as my dad, so thats how I refer to her as. Her and my dad were really good friends, she used to phone him once a week, and they had alot in common….in fact all the family things I love to do I get from both of them….tea drinking, garden centres, an overfondness of cake.
But I’m waffling. Anyway, the other thing her and my dad had in common was a love of Christmas. And until she passed away a couple of years ago, every christmas eve would be spent at her house. I’ve such happy memories of that time, and she used to make eggs in mayonaise with paprika sprinkled over the top….which doesnt sound that fancy, but it tasted amazing. My sister made it the first christmas after she passed away, and it took me right back. So I’ve no doubt your china brings you calm because its steeped in the love and history that goes along with it.
I’ll stop rambling in your comments now….just wanted to share my own similar-ish tale because I felt compelled to….
Great post, obviously!
Lovely post – the china is beautiful. I’ve recently developed a bit of a thing for vintage china… it’s addictive!
x
This is so beautiful – I love mid century crockery and furniture, and lovely to have it passed on from a much loved family member. Mr TBBB’s Granma passed away in October and she was a compulsive hoarder as well and had lived in the same house since 1961. So far, the family haven’t even made a dent in sorting through her house – it’s a mamouth task. I know we have a few pieces of furniture waiting for us to collect to somehow squeeze into our small flat – it’s a good thing we’re planning on moving to a house in the next year or so. We have rescued her 1960s plate metal butter dish as well – no one else wanted it, but the Mr has been on a decade long search for the perfect butter dish. It turns out it was his Granma’s one that he wanted all along. xx
How wonderful! Those dishes are lovely and you are lucky to have a piece of your family history at your Christmas table.
Thanks doll,
The Glamorous Housewife