Domestic (Angel) Delight

On a recent excursion the Art-man and I had in our adoptive city (we are now pseudo-Cestrians don’t you know) we chanced upon a wonderfully kitsch collection of 70/80s food boxes in a shop window display. The exquisite cardboard artefacts were objects of such memory triggers we regaled each other with stories linked to our childhoods etc.

Retro is somewhat of a regimen (pronounced in a faux-American accent) in our house. The Art-man taps into all things 60s whilst I adhere to a never ending love affair with 1940s and middle-war revival philosophies.  We’re lucky in the respect we span different decades of birth as well as interest eras, it makes for killer results in quizzes and the most enthralling of talks.

The boxes coupled with the current Christmas countdown evoked a wonderful memory of a favourite Christmas gift I had as a child: An ‘A la carte kitchen.’ I was lucky enough to receive this toy when I was 4 and it was a favourite for many years. The little boxes that made up the kitchen included: ‘French fancies’ and ‘baked beans’ equally kitsch products, with the most colour soaked graphics/photographs. It’s strange to be met with such a strong memory, to link the ‘4’ year old self with the ‘30’ year old I am now, to identify the pattern in integral likes etc. - ‘something’s never change’

Since the Art-man and I moved we decided to submerge ourselves in our relevant vintage era loves, see previous post, and a little nibble of a ‘French fancy’ is akin to allowing the 4 year old to play house again.

Tea-ology: one of my other academic downfalls

The ‘Art-man’ and I live in a sea of tea.

We literally have to place our knee into the cupboard of tea tins and boxes before we are able to shut the door. Each: blend, infusion, tea bag is our Bohemian version of an apothecary. Every mood, anxiety and time of day has a relevant prescription of tea which we administer with the precision of MDs on call.

A recent escape to Shropshire resulted in us finding a darling tea room, ‘Rocke Cottage’ (www.rockecottagetearoom.co.uk) where we were treated and pampered with the most delicious sandwiches, cakes and not to mention crumpets.

We talked of:

·         The very divinity of butter and how we need to use more of it.

·         How quickly could we find jobs in Shropshire and affect an immediate move.

·         The necessity to return to the ‘Rocke’ (see we’re already abbreviating, after one visit we consider ourselves regulars) in full 1940s regalia/costume.

·         The need for more vintage magazines in our house, especially considering the stories the Art-man’s Mam can regale us with in relation to them.