A Message from Ruth at Antiques And Teacups

Welcome to the blog of Antiques And Teacups! Let's share a cup of tea and talk about the things we love...like teacups, antiques, collectibles, visiting England, antiquing and learning about victoriana and quirky gadgets. Fun!

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Tuesday Cuppa Tea - A Princess And A Queen


Welcome to Tuesday Cuppa Tea! Today is themed around an exhibit we saw last month while visiting Southern California with family called A Royal Exhibition - A Princess And A Queen at the Queen Mary ocean liner, now a hotel in Long Beach California.


My choice was dictated by the rest of the post...


My teacup today was made in 1981 by Wedgwood, England to commemorate the Royal Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer...


The applied bits are very thin and are applied with a palette knife...very painstaking work. We used to love visiting the Wedgwood pottery in Barlaston near Stoke-on-Trent to watch the process.


The teacup is made of a type of porcelain and stoneware called jasperware, and the white is hand applied by craftsmen onto the already formed and bisque fired base layer. 


The mark is hard to see. For later commemorative wares, Wedgwood added a print dedication or commemoration mark as well, but in 1981 it was the impressed mark only. Lady Diana Spencer became Princess Diana or Princess Di and became known as The People's Princess because of her empathy with the people she met in all walks of life.  As we all know, the Princess was killed in a car accident in 1997, but her popularity remains. Hence the exhibit we went to see...


The exhibit of Royal memorabilia and about 40 of Princess Diana's dresses has toured the country. The exhibit passes on 50% of the proceeds in each city to charities in the area. This exhibit benefited The City Of Hope cancer center in Duarte, California and another breast cancer charity in the area. The exhibit was founded by 5 wealthy southern women who loved Princess Diana and combined their accumulation of things related to Diana and the British Royal family with a way to give to those in need.


The famous and venerable Cunard ocean liner Queen Mary was built in 1937 and retired as a hotel and conference venue in Long Beach in 1967, her 516th and final voyage.  We have been on Queen Mary 2 several times, but never sailed on this Queen Mary...wish we had...





The interior still has much of the gorgeous art deco wood paneling. I LOVED the elevator grill...


There are a number of tours available...here is a poster for one in the elevator heading for the Sun deck where we were seeing the Princess Diana exhibit and having tea in the tea room...


We peaked down a corridor where the hotel rooms are...cabins that are now period hotel rooms...


We also passed the bridge...which is roped off, but we could see what was once state-of-the art-propulsion and navigation equipment. Looks a bit different that being on the bridge last year of the Celebrity Millennium...


We weren't allowed to take photos of the exhibit but I found this on the website for the exhibit.......


Here is our ticket for Tea With The Princess which was what the package of the exhibit and tea in the tearoom was called...



We were there just before noon and it was quite quiet. We had tea in the tearoom, which was one of  the original dining rooms on the ship...




We had a set tea of :
Our choice of teas...we had English Breakfast, my husband's favorite...(he really likes PG Tips best!)



sandwiches: 
Shredded chicken and dried mango tossed in a a light curry aioli on wheat bread
Deviled egg salad and micro dijon greens served on pumpernickel bread



Scones:
Dried apricot and pecan scones
Devonshire cream, raspberry jam and lemon curd



Sweets:
Petit eclairs
Lemon tarts
Black & White mocha cake

We were so glad we had this mini tea, because others had twice as much at some of the other tables, and we could never have eaten it all! And since we were heading out on a cruise with the family the next day, we figured it would have gone to waste...or waist....



This is the Queen Mary from the hotel just around the bend we spent the night at. The Carnival ship we went out on, having just returned from the Panama Canal spent the night next to the Queen Mary...



We stayed at the Hotel Maya, a Doubletree that was more like a South Beach hotel, with a great outdoors South American restaurant called Fuego where we had a fabulous dinner...so good we forgot to take any photos! Very romantic....



And as we walked back to our patio room from the restaurant, we took some photos of the Queen Mary and the Carnival ship lit up and the bridge into the main part of Long Beach. A wonderful time!



So thanks for joining me on what was a wonderful trip and experience. Click on the photo logo of the exhibit above for the Queen Mary Princess Diana exhibit info plus a video and more info.  

For more info on the Wedgwood Royal Wedding teacup at Antiques And Teacups, just click on the photos.

The linky is below for Tuesday Cuppa Tea and a list of some of the blogs I'm visiting. Have a wonderful week!

Monday Marketplace
Terri~  http://artfulaffirmations.blogspot.com/ 
Teacup Tuesday
Teatime Tuesday
Tea With Celia
Kathy~  http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/
Victoria - A Return to Loveliness
Tea On Tuesday
Miss Kathy ~http://www.thewritersreverie.com/
Tuesday Tea
Tea Cup Tuesday
 Just A Little Southern Hospitality ~ http://justalittlesouthernhospitality.blogspot.com/
Tea On Tuesday
Tea On Tuesday
Time For Tea
Tuesday Tea Time
Tea On Tuesday
Bernideen’s ~ http://blog.bernideens.com/
Tea In The Garden Tuesday
Lavender Cottage  Tea Time
Tea In Texas
Playing With My Camera Teatime           
Tuesday Blog Shop
Poetry In A Pot Of Tea

What’s It Wednesday                                           
Home On Wednesday

19 comments:

  1. This is very interesting. I have seen 2 Sadler "Queen Mary" Teapots and I remember the one said Long Beach, California which I wondered why so now I know!

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  2. The Wedgwood teacup is pretty with a good likeness of the couple. It would have been exciting to see the Diana exhibits and have tea on the Queen Mary. At least I had a peek at some of her dresses, most of which I remember well as I have a box of memorabilia about Diana.

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  3. The Wedgwood teacup is just beautiful, Ruth! You certainly live an interesting life! The tea looks fabulous as well as the exhibit. How lovely that you were able to enjoy that. Thank you for sharing with us.

    Blessings,
    Sandi

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  4. What a fun post! The Wedgwood teacup is a lovely commemorative. Sounds like your southern California trip was fun. The setting on the Queen Mary of the Diana exhibit sounds perfect and your tea makes my mouth water! Happy Tea Day and thank you for hosting!

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  5. Thank you for sharing your exciting trip. Everything looks so beautiful and I love your lovely Wedgewood teacup. Have a great week.
    ~Clara

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  6. Ruth ..your Diana and Charles teacup is a beautiful treasure in time. How wonderful to be able to get a glimpse at the fashion (timeless) ... thank you for sharing your outing and for hosting ... wishing you a great week .. xo C. (HHL)

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  7. Hi Ruth,
    I love your Wedgewood teacup featured today. It is so very beautiful. How I would enjoy having tea time with such delicious treats. Your posts always teach me so much! Thank you for visiting me and leaving such kind words. Have a wonderful week! Karen

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  8. What a neat exhibit, Ruth! Love your Wedgewood teacup. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. How exciting, I'd love to have an afternoon tea in this tearoom. Oh the history, the memory, the tea cups, joy and fun. Thank you for the tour, I'm tickled, however disappointed I'm not there.

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  9. So enjoyed reading about the exhibit and seeing your beautiful teacup! I didn't realize Wedgwood made one featuring Charles and Diana!

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  10. I enjoyed being "invited along" on your trip. Maybe someday I will have the chance. Thanks for sharing.

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  11. There is a Queen Mary Sadler Teapot at our antique mall nearby! I would think that ship would be a very expensive operation. I hope it is successful.

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  12. Thank you for taking me along on a peek of your wonderful trip! I always learn so much from you.

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  13. Hi: I just love Wedgewood. I only have a few pieces. This cup is amazing. Sending hugs, Martha

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  14. Oh my! What a fabulous trip and teatime! I would love something like this - but no Queen Mary here on the east coast. We have fishing boats a half hour away, though. Living vicariously through your blog post. Just lovely!!
    Joy!
    Kathy

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  15. Hi Ruth, How exciting to see that exhibit. Gosh, can you imagine actually travelling on the Queen Mary? In those beautiful Edwardian clothes and jewels. I think I would ahve loved that. :) Hope you have a lovely week.

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  16. Hello Ruth, I love your post! What a great trip! I have toured the Queen Mary and even been to a private ball there. It is such a wonderful piece of history. We really enjoyed it too. You are so lucky to see the Lady Diana tour. That is so wonderful!
    Your WW cup is lovely. What a beautiful way to commemorate a marriage. How sad that it did not turn our so beautiful. We we all lucky to have Lady Diana while she was here on Earth. She was an inspiration to so many people! Thank you for your wonderful post!
    Hugs,
    Terri

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  17. That was a very interesting post, Ruth. What a wonderful place to visit and have tea. The Queen Mary looks rather small alongside the newer cruise ship doesn't it.

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  18. What a great place to visit and have tea!

    ~Trisha

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Thanks for visiting and we love to hear from you! We read every comment. If my husband's health permits, I love to visit andreply. Have a wonderful day and a cuppa tea always at hand! :)

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