Do you need British crockery or cutlery, Wedgwood, Denbyware - or to visit their factory and shops?

 I went online looking for Nespresso cups, after breaking first a sucer, then a cup. I found several useful sites, and search words, listed alphabetically

Website Crockery Sellers & Brands

Amazon

Churchill's Willow Pattern

Other manufacturers copied this popular pattern. Does the bridge have the authentic  original Willow pattern design of two lovers pursued by the runaway bride to be's father's servant? Or are there only two.figures on the bridge?

The bittersweet story of this myth has the groom captured and the waiting bride drowning herself. The suposedly happy ending is that the lovers are reunited as a pair of love birds in the sky, as shown on the plate.

Ebay

chinasearch

chinamatchers

Denbyware

Johnson Brothers - Eternal Beau

Nespresso

Royal Albert design

Wedgwood

You can tell fakes / imitations because they spell the name with an e.

Other famous Uk names are Pool Pottery, Portmeirion, Royal Doulton

You can buy or sell, new condition or seconds or second hand. 

Seconds

Seconds might have cosmetic imprfections, especially if there is an embossed pattern. You might get extra drips or missing parts of a concentric line.

Denby has an astonishing number of outlets across the country, about 25, so there's no need to go all the way to the pottery if you just want to see the ranges and look for a bargain.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/myveryspecialthings

Factory Tours

On the other hand, if you want to book a tour, check for the opening times, hours, and booking. I went there once and the only tour still left that day was already fully booked and I had planned to drive back to London that day, not spend on a hotel, which would be more than the cost of buying a few items and postage.

Outlet Shops

You can also visit outlet shops for other brands.

If you already have trios, cup, saucer and tea plate, you might be tempted by chin handled cake/dessert forks, cake plates, tea pots, peper and salt sets, with and without a tray. 

Denby

We have a set of Denbyware bone china cutlery. They match the Denbyware plates which are thick and heavy and go in the dishwasher, unlike the Royal Albert flower deisgn bone chine. The Denby cutlery is very pretty.

However, they are a nusance because, unlike the plates, they are so fragile. They slide off the plate and break on tiled or wood floors, especially if you don't have traditional British woolen carpets which deaden sound and save crockery and bone china cutlery handles.

The popyular sayings are that everything has a silver lining and it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good. I suppose the silver lining, is that the sellers of porcelain handled cutlery, and fragile crockery, always have customers needing to replace those broken items.

I was looking for replacement cutlery. Whilst writing this post, my husband bought a parcelain handled tespoon to replace a broken one. They are rare and you need to snap one up when you see it. 

Service Saucer r Tennis Plate?

I was intrigued to see service saucers, like an oval saucer large enough for a biscuit on one side. What is truly astonishing is that I thought they were a modern idea. Not a bit of it. They cropped up called tennis plates, in fine bone china, too fancy to my mind to risk carryign around outdoors. But that is what they were designed for. For tpoeple watching tennis at Wimbledon, to have a drink and snack in style, held with one hand. Presumably your other hand clutched your handbag or skirt, or shook hands with people you met. 

Useful Websites

https://www.denbypottery.com/denby-pottery-village-outlet-locations

https://www.visitstoke.co.uk/see-and-do/world-of-wedgwood-factory-tour-p849601

https://www.chinamatchers.co.uk/pages/sell-your-tableware-to-us

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Munching T-bone steak at Miller and Carter Steakhouse, Ruislip - also Harrow in London, England and Wales

Driving into Ruislip we saw this place with an adjacent car park and pulled in for a quick meal.
The decor is inviting, modern and chic. This steakhouse has class. The atmosphere is informal but the place is pristine and smartly decorated, with amusing cartoons on the theme of cows and bulls holding conversations.

Drinks
Lots of choice. Lots of drinks by the glass, conveniently divided by styles on one large page. Could not see a sweet muscat for dessert, but two kinds of zinfandel, red and white.

If you've no room for dessert, coffee with a chocolate pot.

Starters
Chicken wings, four pieces, to start were good. Although billed as spicy with specks of red pimento, not too spicy, just tasty. Came with a finger bowl containing lemon and paper napkins.

Main courses.
Steaks offered included T-bone and our English speaking local London waiter was able to explain clearly the different types and sizes of steak. The steak was served with a choice of three kinds of potato, including the healthy option of baked in its jacket. Chips came in a container. The piece of cooked tomato was well received.

If you have more time than money, get in and out before 6.30 pm when you can have two courses, or add a dessert for £3, at less than £20. Options on the lunch menu include chicken main course and apple crumble dessert, which is not on the evening menu.

The evening desserts are all highly calorific and mostly sugar and toffee and ice cream and chocolate.

This chain has 35 locations including Bath, Cardiff in Wales, Harrow in North London, Lakeside shopping centre, Leeds, Manchester, and Poole.

You can find them using satnav. Follow them on Facebook. Sign up to their newsletter and get a free starter or dessert.

I have reviewed the Ruislip branch on Tripadvisor in November 2014.
More information from
www.millerandcarter.co.uk


Photos copyright Angela Lansbury.
For more information on Angela Lansbury travel writer, author, comic poetry, table etiquette, see YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, Lulu.com