UK Royal Swan Upping Starts Monday July 17, 2017 Happy Birthday Camilla

This is a weekend, starting July 17th, is  the start of the five-day ‪ Royal and annual Swan Upping ceremony in the English rivers around the Thames...

The ceremony, led by The Queen's Swan Marker is responsible for an annual count and health evaluation of the Queen's swans....

The historic ceremony dates back to the 12th Century, when the Crown claimed ownership of all mute swans.

In the Swan Upping ceremony, the Swan Markers identify, weigh, and health check cygnets or baby swans before releasing them. The Swan Upper advises organisations throughout the UK on swan welfare, and works with fishing and boating organisations, helping them work with existing wildlife and maintaining the swans' natural habitat.

Children from local schools are invited every year to watch the ceremony so they too can learn how to protect the local swan population.  We were in the area one year during the Swan-upping on one of our annual UK visits, and quite a few folks were present to see it. These photos are from the UK Press Assoc.   For more info, click on the links below:

 http://www.royalswan.co.uk/

 https://www.royal.uk/swan-upping

English traditions are always wonderful, and so interesting, don't you think? 

And adding that July 17th is the 70th birthday  of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, wife of Prince Charles. 

This birthday portrait was just released by Clarence House, and was done by the favorite Royal family photographer, Mario Testino.
Lovely!

Tuesday Cuppa Tea Shelley Daffodil Time, 3 Royal Ladies Out For Tea on St. David's Day

Hi there. I am joining Tuesday Cuppa Tea with Antiques And Teacups and we are sharing a meme at the bottom of the post at least I hope it will work!

My teacup is a Shelley, England cup and saucer in the pattern Daffodil Time. That really speaks spring, doesn't it? The shape is the late Cambridge and it was made from 1940-1966. I just love their landscape designs!   For more info on the teacup at Time Was Antiques, click on the photos.

I chose the daffodil design because last Thursday was St. David's Day which is the national day in Wales with their symbol of daffodils. On Thursday, Queen Elizabeth II, Camilla Duchess of Cornwall and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge went to one of my favorite places in London for tea and to dedicate a new tea room at Fortnum and Mason's on Picadilly.  Because of the day they were presented with bouquets of daffodils, jonquils and narcissus.

This was the first public engagement of the 3 ladies together. The occasion was the unveiling of a plaque that will hang on Fortnum and Mason's commemorating the revitalization of the area of Picadilly and the renaming of the Fortnum, & Mason tea salon as the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon.

Fortnum & Mason for tea is always a must do for us. We stocked their wonderful tea blends when we had our actual antique shop and tea items business before going exclusively online. The company has been owned by the Weston family for over 300 years. My husband is a Weston, but pretty distant relatives of the tea part of the family. Sigh...

Fortnum & Masons has also always been famous for 200 years for thei fabulous hampers that can be stocked to order with wonderful treats and were de rigeur for any type of a picnic, outing or travel. The royal ladies were each given a hamper with individually chosen goodies for the visit, many drawn form the new line of Diamond Jubilee limited edition food items  F&M created for the Queen's special year.

Catherine sampled tea and of course, the chocolates! She admitted to the tea sommelier that she needs to improve when dealing with tea leaves instead of tea bags.
 

Fortnum & Mason's is one of the several fab food halls in London that we go to every visit. Not only to pick up treats and have tea or find take away if we are staying in a flat, but just to marvel at the artistry of retailing like art and just to see what's there. The others are Harrods, and on a lesser scale the Marks and Sparks (Marks and Spencer's) as well. The photos here are from various visits.

 This was a display of Emma Bridgewater ironstone...a contemporary English potter I love!

 This is Burleigh Asiatic Pheasants, a famous English made pattern of transferware.

And of course, we always have tea. The tower was from a trad tea and the other is a smoked salmon plate with scones and clotted cream my husband had on one visit and I forgot to photo my Coronation Chicken with scones and clotted cream for dessert!

So have a wonderful day visiting the fab blog parties and have a cuppa! Darjeeling, please....The Tuesday Cuppa Tea meme sign up is at the 
bottom.

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

Monday Marketplace

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://www.attitudeivlife.blogspot.com/p/afternoon-tea.html   Afternoon Tea

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

What’s It Wednesday

Happy Tuesday Cuppa Tea and the other great tea related blog parties below.! I am joining...a bit late today. Life happens!

I chose this pretty Shelley China, England turquoise cup because of the snowflake theme in the center. January always speaks to me of snow and cold. This year has been a very dry one for us in the Pacific Northwest so far. It was supposed to be another La Nina which means wet and cold but hasn't been anything like the long, cold, wet winter we had last year to date.

Back to the teacup...which is in the Lincoln shape and was made between 1963 and 1966 when the pottery closed. I love the elegance and the pretty gold decoration!
To see more on the teacup and other Shelley China items at Time Was Antiques, click on the photos.

Ever wonder what the British Royal Family receives when they visit other countries? The goft lists for 2011 were released by the press office today and I thought you might like to see them. They are quite fun.

Prince Charles and Camilla Duchess of Cornwall :

 1) PORTUGAL, SPAIN & MOROCCO (28th March - 6th April 2011)
Gifts Received by TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall
2) KUWAIT, QATAR, SOUTH AFRICA & TANZANIA (31st October - 10th
November 2011) 
Gifts Received by TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall

Gifts

I see the received a camel saddle...don't think they will have much use in London for that...Highgrove either, for that matter!

 Prince William and Catherine Duchess of Cambridge:

1) New Zealand and Australia (17th - 21st March 2011)                                                           
Gifts received by HRH The Duke of Cambridge
2) Canada and the USA (30th June - 10th July 2011)
Gifts received by TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

Gifts

Lots of hats!!!!

Have a wonderful day and enjoy visiting the other Tuesday tea realted blogs!
 

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

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

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

Lady Katherine~  http://ladykatherineteaparlor.blogspot.com/ 
Teatime 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

Tuesday Afternoon Tea  http://attitudeivlife.blogspot.com/

Miss Kathy http://thewritersreverie.blogspot.com

Royal Updates: Kate Lunches With Camilla; Prince William & Kate at St. Andrews; George VI tea tin

Kate had lunch with Camilla, her soon to be mother-in-law at the Berkeley Hotel. Read the Mail Online article by clicking the photo. 


Kate and Camilla didn't have tea, but the Berkeley is famous for it's different style teas. A fellow member, Martha, of the ATAA or Afternoon Tea Across America group at Yahoo reported on the Berkeley's Pret a PorTea on a blog post she did at Pret A PorTea at The Berkeley with some fab photos of the fare. Well worth a visit!


Kate & Will also visited St. Andrew's on April 25th where they met. The visit was in honor of the school's 600 anniversary celebration and Kate looked lovely in red. The visit is more fully explained on the Prince Of Wale's website:

Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton revisit their university town of St. Andrews

And lastly, I want to honor the Academy Awards tonight because 

The King's Speech  

is up for 12 awards. I loved the film and they thought they portrayed the royal family very well. 

This is a lithographed tin that was made for the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth that we have at Time Was Antiques. For more info, click on the photos.

 

For more info on the King George VI coronation tin, click the photos.

Let's hope it wins!!! Have a great evening.