And A Good Time Was Had By All...

12/11/2017

Warning - some images may offend.

Jicky tries to help but can't get the hang of the napkins.

(Jicky - named after the Guerlain scent worn by Jean Cocteau and Colette, both of whom loved cats.)

"More people are hurt by starvation, hunger, verbal abuse and domestic violence than cats and the love they allow us to lavish on them." quote from yours truly - CK

I'm not good at casual but this is set modestly for a Friday meal with friends - only one wine glass and simple cutlery.

Plate - A whole blog could be given over to this beautiful service. Czech pre-1938. (Eichwalder Prozellan). The Jewish owners were "sent away" and the business placed under German administration. I would love to know more (& replace a plate).
Usual Christofle silver-plate.
Glass, modest, (believed Belgium) from Izzi &Popo, fabulous Melbourne shop, sadly no more.
Mini soup tureens for S&P (Pillivuyt)
Salt spoons, silver Birmingham 1910 (Hobart Salamanca market stall)
Red Hawaiin volcanic salt (tastes like salt!) & freshly ground pepper.
Red bottomed glass (pair) - present from Meryl, from china. I like to intersperse them with others.
Linen napkin (12) from, antique shop, Place des Vosges, Paris.
Portes-couteaux (knife rests) from a vast "brocantes", held in a farmer's field, outside Bordeaux. Cheap, cheap, cheap and one is chipped on a corner (so I smoothed it over with several layers of clear nail varnish).

The next morning, in the cold, harsh light of day - not pretty but I've seen worse. The caption to this could be...
"Between the dream and the reality falls the shadow" - T.S. Elliott (The Hollow Men)
Or
"Après moi, le déluge" attributed to Louis XV

-Tired so I didn't co-ordinate the post-prandial cups well - black & gold over the-top-cups for tisane (c. 1955 Foley Bone China) and Susie Cooper (c.1970 Wedgwood Corn Poppy) for coffee. The teapot by Heinrich Löffelhard, follows the Wagenfeld Bauhaus design. Central filter removed, it's filled with lemon verbena leaves from the garden. The plates are Sarguemines majolica (c. 1935). My mother loathed them and as a child, I adored the realistic leaves, apples and pears.

10 Comments

Rosemary Luke

12/11/2017 06:57:12 pm

It look sbeautiful to start and pretty good at the end, à mon avis. What did your guests eat?

Cath link

14/11/2017 03:31:21 pm

Menu and recipe coming up.

ann

13/11/2017 08:23:32 pm

Love it! My guests are forewarned that some cat hair may end up in their food or drink but I try very hard to make sure that doesn't happen!

14/11/2017 03:33:28 pm

Yes, Ann, just and one has to ask if guests have any dietary sensitivities (that expression comes from Buckingham Palace), I wonder sometimes whether I should say, incidentally that I have cats.

Kym Dixon

17/11/2017 02:56:59 pm

So Jicky puts a dab of Guerlain behind each ear?
My wife, Jenny, is also a Guerlain girl - Shalimar and Samsara.
Tell me Cath, what is the reason for the forks being laid ‘upside down’? Is it so you can quickly move into the grasping position!?

17/11/2017 04:35:31 pm

I'm glad you asked. One reason is linked to your "grasping" idea. It has been suggested that at the time forks were introduced to France, men wore lacy ruffles at their wrists which would have caught in the tines of the fork. A more probable reason is that it's simply the French custom, different from the British. On French silver, the silver mark is on the front of the piece (the concave part) and the monogram (if there is one) is on the back. This way, the silver mark is hidden (no showing off) and the initials are on the back, to be seen. It's the opposite in Anglo-Saxon cutlery. This then is the French habit I was taught by my French mother and it occurs whether you use silver, silver plate or stainless steel. When I use Scandinavian cutlery, I put it the other way.
What happens in Italy? Can anyone help here?
Incidentally Jicky is the sweetest, cleanest cat and her novels are masterful.

23/11/2017 07:57:26 pm

Whenever we get around to tidying up a table after guests - whether it be once the guests have walked out the door or the next morning - I reckon most of us give the tablecloth an inspection for dreaded stains.
We recently dined with our friends from Elderslie Ave. and the tablecloth had red berry stains, red wine and Moroccan goat drippings. So what to do? Preen may do the job but a much cheaper option and very effective is Velvet soap. Rubbing it on the stain and soaking overnight got rid of every stain.
Velvet soap has been around since 1906. I would say we all remember our mothers on washing day with the cake of yellow Velvet, Silver Star starch and the Bluo bag.

24/11/2017 11:53:32 am

Yes Velvet soap is a great method for stains, even collars and cuffs. (And it's one less spray bottle in the cupboard.) I often suggest easy options, like the dreaded spray, because I know that with more and more labour-saving options in our lives, we do less and make less effort. Ironing, washing, chopping, sorting, all take us away from our pilates, iPads and Sudoku.

I'm worried I'll look like a nutter!

24/11/2017 08:41:55 pm

...that dreaded stained tablecloth. Such a dilemma! :D Sometimes it's good to own more than one.

24/11/2017 10:50:32 pm

But Ann, stains will die. Knowing this, don't worrying about it during the meal. NEVER make a fuss. NEVER cover with salt or dab on soda water. Won't do any good and will only make guests feel uncomfortable. A guest / friend is more important than a cloth even if it was owned by Marie Antoinette or Lauren Bacall. Some people soak over-night. I look at it the next day, (along with the napkins) and do either the Velvet soap or the spray before putting it in the washing machine. I've collected many cloths over the years from auctions and markets. The worst problems are mending old cigarette burns, not stains. They will disappear.

And A Good Time Was Had By All...

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