William And Catherine's First Anniversary, Thursday Tea Things And Talk

Welcome to my meme Thursday Tea Things and Talk!  It is really amazing to me that Prince William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will celebrate their first anniversary on Sunday, April 29th. It just doesn't seem like it has been that long!

We remember their engagement in November of 2010...Prince William having given Catherine his mother's Sapphire and Diamond engagement ring....

 photo BBC archives

And then the wedding on April 29, 2011...a year ago! Amazing!

photo by Hugh Burnand 

So I want to raise my cup of tea to the anniversary of William and Kate in an English bone china mug below we still have a few of at Time Was Antiques made for the Royal Wedding. For more info, click on the photos.

Congratulations William and Catherine!

I am joining the following blogs today:

Miss Spenser ~ http://missspensersblog.blogspot.com/

Teacup Thursday

Coloradolady  ~ http://coloradolady.blogspot.com/

Vintage Thingie Thursday

 Mrs. Olson ~  http://jannolson.blogspot.com/

Share Your Cup Thursday

 

 Have a wonderful day! Join the linky below if you'd like...I'd be honored!

Dunoon London Mug, How the Buttons tell the Queen's Guards Apart

Hello and welcome to my contribution to Tuesday Cuppa Tea with Antiques And Teacups, and the other blogs listed below.

This is a really cute large bone china London mug by Kate Mawdsley for Dunoon China, England. I love her designs! This has a Q!ueen's Guard soldier, a Royal Horse Guard and even a Corgi, Queen Elizabeth's favorite dog.

About 2 weeks ago, I mentioned that my husband had been in the Coldstream Guards, one of the 5 regiments that make up the Queen's Brigade of Guards, and mentioned that you can learn to tell them apart by the differences in their uniforms. I had several emails asking me to explain, so...here goes.

The Queen's Own Brigade of Guards are actually crack troops drawn from 5 different regiments. They can be guarding the Palaces and the Queen for several months and then be off anywhere in the world in the next moment. My husband "found the guard" as it is called in a red tunic and bearskin hat for several months then his regiment was sent to various places for tours of duty then back again to London and the Palaces. He was in Germany and the Suez area.

The units that make uf the Brigade of Guards are:
Coldstream Guards
Grenadier Guards
Irish Guards
Welsh Guards
Scots Guards 

Check out the buttons, because that is the best way to tell the soldiers apart.  They all alternate at the Palaces, and all wear red tunics. The only way you can telol them apart easily is by the order or configuration of the buttons. Their collar, cal and shoulder insignias are different as well, but the buttons is the easiest to spot.  By the way, all Guardsmen must meet a height minimum of 6 feet tall...more intimidating.

I am starting with the Coldstream Guards, because it is my husbands old unit.

 This is a Coldstream Guard tunic photo I took at the Guards Museum in London....well worth a visit by the way.  Notice the configuration of the buttons being in sets of 2. The Coldstream Guards are affectionately known as the "Chilly Rivers".

This is the Grenadier Guard unit that was heading from St. James Palace to Buckingham Palace. Note that there are no gaps in the buttons.

The Irish Guards are next with their buttons in sets of four. Prince William was married to Catherine Middleton in the uniform of the Irish Guards.

The Welsh Guards have thri buttons in sets of 5. The above photo from the BBC archives is 2 Welsh Guardsmen who have just graduated from training with their first uniforms. Below thm is a photograph of King Edward VIII in the uniform of a Welsh Guard. Edward abdicated the throne in favor of George VI so he could marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson in 1937.

Lastly are the Scots Guards with their buttons in sets of 3.

So I hope when you see the festivities for Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee in June you will be able to tell which unit is which!

For more info on the Dunoon London mug at Time Was Antiques, click on the photos.  I am joining the following blogs. Have a wonderful day and have a cup of tea with and enjoy your day!

Ruth ~ http://antiquesandteacups.blogspot.com/
Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Terri~  http://artfulaffirmations.blogspot.com/ 
Teacup Tuesday

Trisha~  http://sweetology101.blogspot.com/ 
Tea Party Tuesday

Sandi  ~  http://sandimyyellowdoor.blogspot.com

Teatime Tuesday

Kathy~  http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com
Victoria - A Return to Loveliness

Martha~  http://www.marthasfavorites.com/ 
Teacup Tuesday 

Ruth  ~ http://timewasantiquesfamily.blogspot.com

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Bernideen’s ~ http://bernideensteatimeblog.blogspot.com/

Friends Sharing Tea Wednesday

Angela  http://teawithfriends.blogspot.com/

Tea With Friends

Miss Kathy ~ http://thewritersreverie.blogspot.com/

Celia ~ http://attitudeivlife.blogspot.com/  Afternoon Tea

Wanda Lee ~ http://theplumedpen.blogspot.ca Tuesday Teatime 

Ivy And Elephants ~http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com/

 

Pink Saturday Happy Birthday to a Queen!

It's Pink Saturday with How Sweet The Sound and Saturday April 21st is a birthday as well! 

Pretty in hot pink, Queen Elizabeth II was born on April 21, 1926 although her birthday is usually officially celebrated on the first weekend in June. Hey...the weather is (usually) a bit better!

This photo, from the BBC archives, pictures the Princess Elizabeth at age 10 with little sister Margaret Rose and her parents King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

 Queen Elizabeth ascended to the throne of England in 1952 upon the death of her father, so the first weekend in June of this year, 2012 is her Diamond Jubilee of 60 years on the throne.

So happy 86th birthday your majesty!

And congratulations on your Diamond Jubilee year!

Thursday Tea Things And Talk, Shelley Rose And Red Daisy, Tea Delectables For All Seasons Book

Good morning and welcome to my meme Thursday Tea Things And Talk. I am joining the other lovely blog parties listed at the bottom of the post.

I dearly love this Shelley, England pattern called Rose And Red Daisy. It is so evocative of lazy days in the garden with tea in hand and a book. The shape is called Dainty. Shelley made about 50 different shapes, but this has has the longest appeal to people with it's feminine and elegant ruffle effect. So pretty! The pattern was made from the 1907, but this teacup was made between 1940 and 1966 when the pottery closed. Shelley china, which is bone china...yes, actually with a content of bones...is extremely light, delicate and yet strong. Lovely! Available at Time Was Antiques. Just click on the photos.

I like to bring out this vintage tea book on a seasonal basis because it is so clever! The book is by artist and tea enthusiast Maryjo Koch, published in 1995, and is called Delectables For All Seasons.  The book is a compendium of delightful and fanciful drawings, tea lore and recipes all illustrated with her wonderful drawings! There is a companion book for coffee, but...not for me!

"Tea, Heav'ns delight, and Nature's truest wealth, 

that pleasing physic, and pledge of health:

The stateman's councellor, the virgin's love, 

the Muse's nectar, the drink of love."

A Poem Upon Tea, Peter Antoine Motteux 1712

 Tea is actually in the Camellia family and in China is believed to have a mystical, and royal heritage that was pronounced by the first emperor to taste it as a Golden Elixir, Divine in origin. Who am I to argue????

 Chinese proverb: "Better to be deprived of food for three days, than tea for one"

As always, each season has a fanciful teapot. The one for spring is made up of violets and primroses with a twig handle a tea leaf spout  and is surrounded by a blue ribbon that says: 

"To see a hillside white with dogwood bloom is to know a particular ecstasy of beauty,

But to walk the gray winter woods and find the buds which will ressurrect that beauty in another spring is to partake of continuity."

Hal Borland, The New York Times Nov. 28, 1948

Have a wonderful day! We are mostly sunny and actually feeling like spring! We are driving to our neighboring town Port Angeles, WA to see the Holland America ship Oosterdam come to town on it's way to the Alaska season. It has come from Hawaii. We only get about 2 of the big cruise ships a year, so this is always fun.

Enjoy the blog parties listed below, and I'd be honored if you would like to join the meme for Thursday Tea Things And Talk!

Miss Spenser ~ http://missspensersblog.blogspot.com/

Teacup Thursday

Coloradolady  ~ http://coloradolady.blogspot.com/

Vintage Thingie Thursday

 

Tea On The Titanic, Titanic Commemorations

The Whiye Star Line Titanic was the most opulent ship afloat when it sailed away from Ireland on her maiden voyage only to hit an iceberg and sink in 1912.  I am joining Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage for her Tea On The Titanic, and Tuesday Cuppa Tea with Antiques And Teacups

These photos were taken by passenger Father S.M. Browne and found on various Titanic sites, I don't know if he survived or not.

The Titanic was one of 3 sister ships: The Olympic, the Titanic and the Britannic. They were designed by Harland & Wolff of Belfast.

I don't have any Titanic memorabilia to share, but I do have a silver plated tea strainer dating to the 1930s from her last sister ship, the Britannic, that was launched in 1929 and used as a passenger ship between Southampton, England and New York until she was decommissioned in 1960. The tea strainer is available at Time Was Antiques. Just click the photos for more information.

 

A postcard I have of the Britannic:

 As it is the centennial of that horrific disaster, there are many commemorations. The Fred Olsen Cruise Line cruise ship The Balmoral left April 8th following the exact route of Titanic carrying the same number of passengers, 1309, and serving as much as is possible, the same menus, with many of the passengers in period dress. The passengers include many family members of Titanic passengers.  The ship will rendezvous with an Azmara cruise ship for special services at the Titanic site. The Fred Olsen line is operated by Harland & Wolff.

Elsewhere, in conjunction with the Titanic commemoration, The Titanic Museum opened in Belfaast, Ireland on the site of Harland & Wolff's docks were Titanic was built. The museum opened on March 31st and is sold out with timed entrance into June. The museum itself is a facinating design of ship prows. Here is a photo from the BBC of the opening night fireworks:

When we were last in Southampton, England to sail home from the UK on the Cunard Queen Mary 2, we visited the memorial to the band that went down with Titanic, as most of the members were from the city and area around Southampton. It was such a sad thing.

On the voyage across, the Captain, Commodore Warwick, let us know when we passed over the Titanic and we had a minute of silence. Cunard is actually descended from the White Star line.

I have added some links here to the Titanic Museum website and others with fabulous resources. One, Titanic Stories, has a day by day interactive view of Titanic's voyage with dramatized portrayals of various passengers, accurately portrayed from historical documents.

The Titanic Museum In Belfast 

Titanic Stories

Titanica Exhibit - National Museums of Ireland

Thursday Tea Things And Talk, Union Jack Mug, History of Stay Calm And Carry On

Hello and welcome to Thursday Tea Things And Talk, and I am joining Vintage Thingie Thursday with Coloradolady and Miss Spenser's Teacup Thursday. Today I have a Dunoon, England bone china mug that is the Union Jack, or flag of Great Britain that I have in the shop Time Was Antiques.

This is one of my favorites, but then I'm prejudiced! It's the perfect size for a good cuppa in the morning. Sometimes my honey has coffee in it, but it's usually tea. PG tips is my favorite morning cuppa at the moment, rather mundane but its starts the day well. Green in the mid morning and back to a nice strong English black blend for afternoon tea. Lovely!

The reason I chose this as my Thursday Tea Things post was because of this:

 I know we have all seen this poster, and variations of it in the last few years, but I came across a YouTube video about the refinding of the poster and it's renaissance as a culture icon in 1999 which I have added below.  The poster was one of 3 designs from World War II. My husband and I were really interested in the video. Now that's vintage! Here is the video:

This is the version I have on my sidebar!

And please remember Sandi's Tea On The Titanic on April 15th:

 

Have fun visiting the other blog parties and have a cuppa and Keep Calm and Carry On!