Some time after we moved to Scotland from London my parents bought a dining suite comprising an extending table with 6 chairs and a sideboard. These items were walnut veneered . The sideboard was a statement piece to say the least ! These items were almost revered by my mother ( I expect they cost a lot of money ). The living room was out of bounds all the day. we only went in there at 7pm and vacated by 10pm , when my mother put everything straight, plumped up cushions and carpet swept the floor. The table was only used at Christmas...for the rest of the year it sat in the bay window..highly polished with a vase of plastic flowers on a doily placed in the center. I recall my grandmother looking after me and she leant over to look out of the window , placing a hand on the table. I immediately upbraided her for that action as I was quite forbidden to touch the table ! She, taken aback, quickly retorted. You see I knew no different !
The sideboard was placed along the opposite wall. It seemed huge ! Standing about 4' high and 6' long..or as it appeared to me ! It was very highly polished and sported a couple of 'Grecian' style miniature vases placed one at either side and a matching flower container (plastic flowers again ). Its ' piece de resistance' was that the top was a cocktail cabinet cleverly hidden behind doors. When these doors were opened together the top lifted and an edifice of glass and brass in burgundy and gold appeared, dazzling in the light. My mother kept the very best glasses in there all neatly arranged equally on both sides on a raised balcony affair, with cut glass wine glasses ,again strategically placed on the base. To finish this off the center lifted , and this held cocktail sticks . Not your run of the mill ones No! These were steel with ornamented tops..sort of like hat pins !
These items of furniture were to be respected, and seldom used. Heavens , my parents didn't imbibe ! I was allowed to use the cocktail cabinet once, purely for affect you realize.
Just before I married I hosted an evening where friends and relatives came round to admire the wedding gifts. I prepared canapes and things on sticks ! I could offer guests a glass of wine...and so I could open the cabinet !!
So, what became of these treasured items. Well - the table was sat upon by a beloved rescued cat as he looked out of the window. The surface had become faded from the sunlight leaving just an imprint of the central vase and the cat's behind! I had left home by then and I heard that a big bonfire was lit in the back garden.
As for the sideboard I have no idea . I expect it suffered a similar fate ?
However the experience of that regime and reverence allotted to such inanimate objects altered my outlook. When my parents visited my my home in Oxfordshire my mother was appalled that I used the living room just as that ...a living room ! She thought we should sit in the kitchen, as done in her home until 7pm !! NO WAY !!
This image is sort of like it, but I recall drawers on both sides at the top and I'm sure that the top opened up by two doors...
MY MOTHER'S SIDEBOARD
Walnut veneer - mirror imaged grain.Brass affect handles with elaborate escutcheons.Small 'Grecian' urns placed to balance the look.In the center a matching flower container with plastic blooms.All to create a look-You were meant to admire it.
Left-hand drawer was velvet lined for seldom used cutlery.Right-hand drawer housed seldom used placemats.Left-hand cupboard contained folded table linen and booze.Right-hand cupboard was storage for photographic slides.All to create a look-You were meant to exclaim.
The lower drawers held folded tablelinen and photograph albums.But the top portion was an entertainment in its own right !Pull out both sides, the top lifted as a gold and glass creation glided forward.Gleaming and dazzling ! Then the center rose up !All to create a look-You were meant to gasp !
Slowly close the doors and the whole 'circus ring' retreated.The brightness expired- the center piece jingled.Order was maintained for another few months.Except when mother cleaned and polished every inch.All to create a look-You were not meant to touch !
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