I know its silly and is obviously a first world problem but- On a recent visit to a large department store I went to the china dept and was horrified. It was a tiny space, the only china available seemed to be white/boxed sets, glasses were nasty, cheap looking, moulded glass etc. Why was I sad? Because I used to work in the china dept of a large store. We had hundreds of different manufacturers and patterns available. Beautiful lead crystal glasses and fabulous paperweights and Scandinavian glass vases etc etc. Now taste seems to have merged into one sort of uniform Ikea style with little scope for originality. I accept that convenience and cost are important but it was so lovely to have a best tea set or special glasses for special occasions. Obviously the big manufacturers have gone bust or been bought up by China. A recent purchase of Spode vegetable dishes arrived with "Made in China" stamped on the bottom. What would Henry Sandon say?! Sorry. Moan over.
Alison Hammond waxwork. Is it a joke?
being a right moany pain in the proverbial