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!

Monday, September 4, 2017

Commemorating Princess Diana Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Hello and welcome to Tuesday Cuppa Tea. 
I hope you are enjoying your Labor Day weekend, and the beginning of September...


Today I am actually sort of reposting a post from February of 2014 for 2 reasons...I am down with a sinus infection from the smoke we have had and secondly because last Wednesday, August 31, 2017 was the 20th anniversary of the tragic death of Princess Diana, which needs to be commemorated, sad though it is, so I am reposting a visit to an exhibit of her dresses called 

A Royal Exhibition - A Princess And A Queen at the Queen Mary ocean liner, now a hotel in Long Beach California.










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 on August 31, 1997, but her popularity remains. Hence the exhibit we went to see...and the events commemorating the 20th anniversary of that sad date.





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 peeked 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 And 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!





For more info on the Wedgwood Royal Wedding teacup at Antiques And Teacups, just click on the photos.
So thanks for joining me on what was a wonderful trip and experience, with fond memories of a Princess and a Queen.

I will be joining:


Here is the Tuesday Cuppa Tea linky for your tea related posts...please remember that it is SSSLLLOOOOOOWWWW but if you are patient...it's there!  I am so looking forward to visiting you!



9 comments:

  1. Sorry to hear about your sinus infection, Ruth.

    Your repost is a lovely way to honour Princess Diana. Did you watch the TV documentary, Diana: 7 Days, which featured interviews with her family and friends? The interviews with Prince William and Prince Harry were particularly moving. On a happier note, I just heard that Prince William and the Duchess are expecting their third child!

    Thank you for hosting and Happy Labour Day!

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  2. I do hope you get over your sinus infection soon, Ruth. I enjoyed your repost very much and liked seeing the mini tea that you enjoyed. Thanks for hosting on this Labor Day!

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  3. Dear Ruth,
    I watched the documentary last night and found it so sad especially when the princes were sharing their feelings on the matter of their mum's death. It was heart wrenching, really! August 31 is bittersweet for our family because our son found his way back to God that day and of course Princess Diana's death stunned all of us. She was such a beautiful person. I hope you feel better, my friend. Sinus infection makes one so miserable. Do take care!

    Hugs,
    Sandi

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  4. I am sick in bed with a bad cold. Hope you get better from your cines congestion, it's so uncomfortable.
    I watched the documentary last night too and yes, it was very sad. I times I hopped she was alive, specially for the princes. Prince William and Kate are expecting their third child, what happy news for them at this time.
    I loved your repost, it really is wonderful.
    Have a nice week and thank you for hosting.
    Fabby

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  5. I enjoyed your post - it wasn't a repost for me. Princess Diana was truly a giving person. Hope you feel better!

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  6. I hope you get better soon!Love the gorgeous Wedgwood teacup.Love the post too,great tribute to Princess Diana.Hugs.

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  7. Hi Ruth,
    The smokey air really is nasty and I do hope you feel better soon. I love the blue wedgwood teacup and all of your special pics from your 2014 trip. Your tribue to Princess Diana was lovely too. Blessings, Karen

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  8. So sorry you're ill, Ruth. I wondered about you and the smoke. We don't mind the re-post! It's too bad that Diana's grandchildren missed out on knowing her.

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  9. Ruth, hope you are feeling better. Diana had such style!! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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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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