It's time to talk about teacups!

Hello there, welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends.....

Well, more accurately I am making time to talk about teacups as my lovely husband has just returned from a cycling trip to South Africa.  Without me.  Yes, you do sense an edge to my punctuation.  On the one hand, it is a cycling holiday and you could not pay me enough money to compensate for the torture of going on a "so called" cycling holiday.  On the other hand, well, just look at the photos!  It was beautiful! And hot!

However, I digress.  My husband knows that when he goes away on his cycling trips that I will never stop him.  I will not complain about the bike parts strewn over my dining table, bar tape stuck to the back of chairs and grease on my laminate floors.  Too much.  Until 48 hours prior to departure when all hell breaks loose.  He also knows on pain of death not to return unless he has a gift for me.

I am pleased to report that my lovely husband is still alive and he outdid himself this time!  He found me a beautiful, vibrant cup and saucer which was handmade and decorated locally in Franschhoek.  It is bright blue with a dainty little floral pattern and will fit right in with my collection.

The newest addition to my collection

I am sure you will not be surprised to discover that I do indeed have a collection of china.  Some of it chintzy, some elegant, some modern and some not.  I am proud to say that I can host a tea for ten people and serve them all a different trio of plate, cup and saucer.  I can probably host more guests than that but would never admit to it in such a public setting for fear of my husband finding out just how many teacups I hide in my kitchen cupboards!

My first tea set was a charity shop find, many moons ago.  I had no china or silverware to my name, this blog was not even a twinkle in Rachel's eye and I may have only been to a handful of afternoon teas.  However the pretty yellow flowers and gold trim called out to me from the dusty shelves.  I was drawn to it.  I did not know why but I did know that at £10 for the complete set of four trios, milk jug, sugar bowl and serving plate, I simply could not leave it behind.

The pretty pattern that started my collection

Another favourite of mine was found in a dark corner of my Mum's garage.  As my Mum brought boxes out into the garden she stopped to peruse the contents and decide on its fate.  I was delighted when a box of my Nan's nicknacks made its way out.  I had always enjoyed staring through the glass of my Nan's cabinets at all of the wonderful little trinkets, each with a story to accompany it.  I was even more thrilled to see this little trio appear, with its large pink flowers and slightly squared plate.  I did not remember it from my childhood - that probably being the main reason it had survived said period, as it had most likely been kept away from my clumsy little fingers!  I loved discovering this new side to my Nan and I think this is what makes this pretty set so dear to me.

The trio that had once belonged to my Nan

Now, you will have noticed that I am not at all concerned about the quality of my china, its age, number of chips or indeed the value.  I choose my pieces based on what speaks to me, what makes me feel special when I use it and what makes my heart sing.  Well, this last trio which I am sharing with you does all of the above!  This is my only teacup with any age, purportedly being nearly 100 years old.  It has a beautiful green edge and such variety of exquisite little flowers of purple, pink, yellow and blue.  It is so delicate that my husband refuses to even look at it, for fear of it cracking beneath the weight of his gaze.  It lives in its own special place in a cupboard away from the rest of my china.  I do use it, as I believe an unused teacup is an unfulfilled teacup, but I use it rarely.  On days when I need a little lift.  On days when I need to feel special.

So now I have told you (in length, I know, and for which I can only apologise!) about some of my favourite teacups I would love to hear about some of yours.  Or better yet, see some photos!  So please do get in touch and tell us your stories about your most beloved teacups!

So over to you....do you have a favourite teacup? Leave us a comment here or Tweet us a photo on Twitter!

Thank you for popping by today,

Lorna