Lily of the Valley

Decided to have my afternoon cup of tea in one my antique teacups for a change. This one was my mother's and her mother's before her.  This English bone china cup/saucer was made by Shelley in their Lily of the Valley pattern. Plus it has an unusual fluted rim. Tea does taste better in a  proper teacup.

I took up tea drinking when I lived in Sydney for a year, back in my late 20s. The office I worked in had a "tea lady" (which was something previously unknown to this Yankee) who brought tea/coffee twice per day, morning and afternoon. I ended up with a fine appreciation for the thick tea with a dollop of milk, and looked forward to it every day (except when I had to be in the factory in the country, where they had undrinkable tea, and expected to drink it without fresh milk - ugh). 

The first thing that the first friend I made there said to me was, "would you like a cuppa?" Yes please.