Since my last blog entry I've been immersed in the world of English porcelain patterns (or at least the eBay window on it), and have started placing bids. There's a bit of a divide between what I'd love, and what I can afford; I've been very taken with Edwardian Crown Derby Imari, but at around  £25 a setting it'll have to wait, so I've plumped for a slightly later, more common deco-ish imari that's easier to find, and match.

Of course, in my slightly obsessive way, this is but the start of a journey. I'd pretty much resigned myself to buying a silver-plated tea pot, because of the dearth of china examples, which lead onto looking at other items of silverware. Teaspoons were an obvious place to start, as my modern stainless steel spoons just wouldn't be appropriate. Ditto for my sugar tongs, so they've been added to the list, but plated tongs aren't that much less expensive than solid silver and I've bids on the latter.

I was well aware of the dangers of browsing the silver categories, so it's no surprise to me that I've ended up the owner of a set of cake forks; I've justified these by imagining taking tea outdoors, which will give me the impetus to sort my lawn out (that is actually relaying it after digging it over five years ago). There's a danger that this might develop into a mild jihad against barbecues stinking up our street every time we get a fine day. I've yet to justify the bid on a silver plated wine cooler, as I'm all but teetotal... wine might however compensate my friends for the absence of burnt meat to chew on in my garden, hmmm...