Sunday, November 9, 2014

"OH MY, CHAI "

Sipping tea from the royal pedigree of ' Royal Albert " china is  indeed  a memorable  pleasure. What better way to spend "Remembrance Day", than, to talk with my mother, a veteran and war bride, who travelled to Canada, April 27th,1945, with two Battleships flanking both sides of her sailing vessel.


I'm particularly excited about this vintage Royal Albert cup and saucer, since I'm reading Melynda Jarratt's book, " War Brides"... the history of over 45,000 British and European women, who left their homeland and families  behind, in favour of a new life in post war, Canada.


      Ms. Jarratt is the leading authority on the history of War Brides of the Second World War. She  has  appeared and written extensively on this subject for  radio, television  and the internet media. Melynda also runs an authoritative website on the history of Canadian War Brides. You can review her other books at ( www.goodreads.com)
               

               I don't normally use sugar in my tea, but,who can resist one or two lumps of
                                    german rock sugar to ...  sweeten the pleasure of reading 


" Lovelace'( above) is such a pretty pattern ... Romantically feminine and floral, are only a few ways  that I can think of,  to express the beauty of this Royal Albert tea set. 


Historically,  Royal Albert retains a history, that stretches over 100 years, to a small pottery business established  by Thomas Wild( 1896 ) at Longton, one of the six towns that made up Stoke-on-Kent.
 " The Potteries" in England.


' Lovelace" is an enchanting  name for this lovely tableware, which was created in five different colours, brown, blue, pink, green and black ...  It is the ' brown' Lovelace, that seems to possess a timeless popularity which was inspired by the English country gardens and England's national flower, the ' Rose".

You have probably quessed, that the china was, named after Prince Albert,
who later became  King George VI( 1936) ... Ultimately, every time you drink from a Royal Albert cup, it is like having tea with royalty
( Ha ha). Check out :(www. Royal Albert China.com) for an informative review of it's origin.  Ruth W. has found an alternative for the origin of name Prince Albert, so I am eagerly  awaiting her confirmation of information so that we can solve this mystery... We're super sleuths on the paths of origin ( Ha Ha) How exciting !!!!


This little pot, would probably not be found in any royal  tea rooms ... It would  rather, be located on the kitchen table, ' downstairs' in the castle.  I do however, love my little Brown Betty, which seems to keep the tea warmer than most other teapots. She( above) has a  royal spot in my heart.


Today I'm enjoying a chai tea, which is actually black tea, steeped in milk and flavoured with wonderful spices. Can you smell the aromatic fragrance of the  tea yet?


Chai is an intoxicating blend of star anise, cloves, allspice, cinnamon, peppercorns and  cardamon pods, that you can buy or make yourself. I purchased this special blend at our local  tea shop. It is  especially  nice to drink on a cool Autumn day.


Just incase we have a few spills, I am using this pretty tea towel that I found at our local  Flea Market...  Don't you just love crocheted edges and hand embroidered pieces. These little beauties seem to be harder and harder to find, so for the extravagant price of one dollar, I snapped it up, as a treasure for myself and mother to share. One might be surprised, at how many old stories evolve from a handmade item, during teatime.


I'm so glad that you stopped over for a ' Remembrance Day " chatter .... I hope you enjoyed the  chai tea!!!

 May I encourage you, to continue our teatime chat with older family members and war veterans, in efforts to learn of life sacrifices and achievements during times of war.

" LEST WE FORGET "





 Today I am joining; Rose Chintz Cottage,  Martha's Favorites, Tuesday Cuppa Tea and Bernideen's Teatime Blog


38 comments:

Beth in NEPA said...

Loved your post today. I will always love Royal Albert tea cups beyond others. Yours is a VERY vintage example according to the mark.

Gina @ VictorianWannaBe said...

Hi Zaa,
Your Royal Albert teacup is absolutely gorgeous, so elegant! Thanks for sharing your Remembrance Day post with us. Have a blessed day.
Gina

Antiques And Teacups said...

Hi Zaa...love the teacup! It's a lovely story about the name, but actually it wasn't named for Prince Albert. The name Royal Albert didn't start to be used by Thomas Wild until 1905...when Prince Albert had been dead for 50 years...it was named for a member of the Wild family. Love the hand colored on transfer Lovelace...it's one of my favorite!
Ruth

Zaa said...


Thank You Beth ...Royal Albert is always delightful at teatime...Hugs

Zaa said...

Greetings Gina.. Can't wait to see where you've been to this week( ha Ha)..Thanks for the sweet visit.

Zaa said...

Thanks Ruth ...
I always enjoy your visits.. for your interest I've listed two Royal Albert history sites to confirm my findings on the name... ( http:www.royalalbertpattern.com ) and
( (http:www.ehow.com ) ... How exciting it would be to actually to unravel this little name mystery. Do you have a e- address for us to view?..Hugs

Zaa said...

Hey Ruth...

Oops forgot the" s" on patterns for the Royal Albert address ... I found the address by searching , Royal Albert China/history and it came up with a fabulous selection of historical site... both confirmed Prince Albert as the source of origin for the name ... so I look forward to sharing more exciting information from you... Thank You

Stephanie said...

Hello sweet lady! Your tea cup is quite beautiful and your post brought a smile to my face :)

Hugs and blessings to you!

Sandi@ Rose Chintz Cottage said...

Love your Lovelace teacup! What an enchanting name for such a sweet teacup. I enjoyed your post so much and how lovely to have your mother to share stories with you of being a War Bride. Thank you for sharing your poignant tea with us and linking up with me. Have a beautiful day.

Blessings,
Sandi

Zaa said...

Thanks Stephanie... for the lovely teatime visit. I truly enjoy your blog book review and shall search out the book for alittle relaxation...Hugs

Zaa said...

I'm so please that you could visit with me today for tea... I so enjoyed your lovely Remembrance day post ...Bright Blessings to you also...xoxox

Bernideen said...

Hello Zaa:
I really love your very old cup and saucer. The backstamp with "Crown China" means before 1939. It looks handpainted too. I am so glad you shared at my blog party and hope you will include a link to me on yours as well! Thanks for sharing.

kitty@ Kitty's Kozy Kitchen said...

Hi Zaa,
Your Royal Albert teacup is a beauty and oh, I love it paired with the Brown Betty. One of these days, I'm going to buy a Brown Betty. I love the homey quality of them. Chai tea is such a favorite of mine and wish I could share a cup with you.
Thank you for your visit to my blog and your kind words about my new grand baby.

Karen said...

Hi Zaa,
I love your vintage Royal Albert Lovelace teacup - what a beauty it is! And it's name is endearing too! The embroidered tea towel is just my taste! A lovely tribute to Remembrance Day! Thank you for visiting me! Happy Tea Day! Karen

Zaa said...

OMG Bernideen... I added you to my happy list of teatime bloggers... Your post today was very heart warming with all it lovely china...Hugs

Zaa said...

Hey Kitty ..I so happy that you've shared some of your precious baby time for a cup of tea with me... Hugs

Zaa said...

Thanks for your sweet visit Karen... I truly enjoyed choosing a favourite cup and saucer on your blog today...It was such fun !!!! Hugs

The Charm of Home said...

That is a beautiful cup and I love your Brown Betty! I love the interest in War Brides. My grandmother was a "War Bride." So romantic and they stayed together their whole lifetimes.
Sherry

Zaa said...

Thanks for the kind visit Sherry... My parents were married for 65 years ... There is such a wealth of human experiences out there... Hope you enjoyed your tea...Hugs

MomWaldsPlace said...

Your tea cup and pot are charming, but your mother's story is absolutely wonderful! Thank you for sharing it, and your book.

Deanna Rabe - Creekside Cottage Blog said...

That is a lovely tea cup pattern. I thought Royal Albert must have been named for Victoria's Albert! I have also read Ruth W. thinking about this and now I have gotten intrigued!

Your thoughts about talking to our elders about their times and what they remember about their lives and particularly the war is special. We try to get my mother in law (aged 93) to tell us stories every time she is with us. We want our children to know.

I am a fan of history and a book like War Brides is just the thing I like. I'll have to check the library to see if they have it.

Deanna

Snap said...

Beautiful post! Your Royal Albert teacup is gorgeous and elegant. I bet the book is fascinating. Wonderful Remembrance/Veterans Day post. Happy Tea Day!

Zaa said...

Thanks Mom Wald .. I enjoyed sharing tea with you toady ..Hugs

Zaa said...

Thanks Mrs. Rabe... So happy to share teatime with you..Please do visit again soon...Hugs

Zaa said...

Hey Snap ..so nice to hear from you .. and Yes ..the book is a fabulous teatime read... Hugs

Art and Sand said...

Beautiful china, lovely story and sweet embroidery. I pinned the embroidered towel so I will remember to give that variegated thread a try.

Thanks for the sweet words on my blog post.

Zaa said...

Hey Carol...SO glad that you picked up a creative idea to add to your talent stash... during teatime...Hugs

Deborah Montgomery said...

Lovely . . . the Royal Albert teacup and the sweet brown Betty teacup. I had thought Royal Albert was named for Queen Victoria's husband Albert . . . I will await the results of your sleuthing!
I'm adding the book to my list of to-reads, it looks very good.
And yes, chai is such a delightful, warming beverage.

Humble wife said...

What a lovely post! It is truly filled with nuggets that make me smile! Thank you for stopping by my blog.

Jennifer

Tea in the Library said...

Lovely and interesting post. I enjoyed it very much. Happy Tea Day!

Judith @ Lavender Cottage said...

I always thought RA china was named after Prince Albert too and I like your thoughts on drinking with royalty when we use our teacups.
The only teapot I remember my mother having growing up was a brown betty and she used to knit funky tea cozies for it.

Zaa said...

Welcome Debrorah..I was just thinking of your sweet little three footed teacup and put one of mine out for your tea... I think they are from Japan.. ENJOY Teatime ..Hugs

Zaa said...

Hi Jennifer ..I so happy that you gleaned some teatime relaxations...Hugs

Zaa said...

Susan..Thanks for your sweet visit...Blessings

Zaa said...
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Zaa said...

Hey Judith ... This was my mother's Brown betty .. and OMG...I'd love to see some of those "funky" little cosies..If you still have some... I love tea Cosies..Have a wonderful day Sweet lady...Hugs

Susan said...

Quite an elegant cup, Zaa. Lovely. Thank you for your sweet visit. Susan

Zaa said...

Thanks Susan..It's always nice to have a sunny chat with you ..Hugs