Country mug collection
Country mug collection
Originally uploaded by bee1
This is my collection of fine bone Royal Kendal china mugs. They are part of the series "Hens and Chicks" of the Alex Williams collection. Each one of them depicts a painting of ducks or hens in different rural settings.
I only use them during the winter holidays when I am in the countryside, because this is when, at the end of the afternoon, I make a fragrant pot of Earl Grey, and sip it by the fireplace to warm myself after a walk with the dogs.
I like their very delicate thin rim and inside detail.Each mug has a miniature drawing within the cup which replicates a detail from the external larger painting.
They also remind me of my week-stay in Cambridge and when I bought them. In November 1991, I was invited to visit the EuroCentre schools in England and I also took the opportunity to check on some school students who were staying in Cambridgefor a month. I was received by a delightful host family who gave me a room and a bathroom all to myself with unlimited access to the shower and bathtub (they had already hosted BraAzilians previously).
As soon as I arrived, I rented a bike (I was about 15 riding minutes from the centre) and off I cycled in the drizzle to explore the new environment. Like all newcomer to these shores, it took me some time to get used to the inverse road system, especially at turnings, when I often found myself face to face with a bus or cars. Fortunately, Cambridge has a lot of foreign students so drivers are used to these sudden encounters with ETs and tend to go slowly and carefully. Had it been in Brazil I would not be here to tell you the story.
Once in the town centre, sore and breathless from the unacostumed position, effort and risk, I chained by bike to a post and rewarded my anguished muscles and soul with a walk around the shops. Shopping in England before Christmas is a feast for the senses but a nightmare for Latin American wallets. I decided ,however, there were a number of items I could not leave behind. In addition to several herb and flower posters, a set of coloured juggling leather balls for my sons, a wonderfully soft beige Danimac windbreaker and a really big family teapot, my heart was spellbound by this collection of mugs.
Warmly recomforted by the festive colours and atmosphere of the shops and my newly acquired possessions tucked under my arms or dangling from my wrists , I stepped out into the cold and dark reality of the street. In the buying spree, I had completely forgotten my car was not there waiting for me in the parking place and that instead of just throwing all the packets in the back, I would have to pedal 15 minutes back to where I was staying. The night had fallen, the drizzle had iced up into sleet and I had no carrier basket on the bike.
What do you think I did?