Thursday, July 17, 2014

Cavalock and The Ancient Urn of Lore

Just when I thought the old family house no longer held any more arcane surprises for me. It was a dreary morning when I decided to finally lift the metal lid off the huge clay urn that has been sitting silently in a corner of the kitchen wash area since I was born. I honestly expected it to be bare or perhaps filled with a shattering of random junk.


A thin layer of decades-old dirt gently rolled off the metal lid as I lifted it and peered into the urn. An almost primeval and unholy stench loomed over the enormous artefact. What greeted me within was certainly not what I had expected. Filled to the brim were dozens of archaic glass bottles of unearthly shapes. Cautiously, my hands reached into the mouth of the vast urn and lifted out more dusty cider jars and condiment vials of varied sizes. Most were immediately discarded into large black trash bags. But lurking among the various used bottles and other trash in the colossal vessel were an assemblage of vintage glassware as well as chinaware dating back to at least four decades ago. Still wrapped in old plastic bags and newspaper, they were delicately removed from the urn and carried into the kitchen.

They may pale in comparison to the otherworldly eldritch artefacts that I have uncovered elsewhere in this tired dwelling, but these newfound treasures were a welcome glimpse into a forgotten past.


After posting these pix and others on my Facebook, the PMs came almost immediately! Quite a few were already reserved by the end of the day. Well, the plates, glassware and made-in-UK tureens may be old but I'm quite sure they were never used as my family would have placed them in the kitchen if they were.



I especially like this retro glass bottle as it's a nice handy size and it's got the words 'JUICE' and 'WATER' embossed on the sides, as well as measurement indicators. The set of six "untied" Chinese bowls below were the first things to be snapped up on Facebook. You sure don't see shops selling them like that anymore and I guess it does show that they were never utilised in the first place.





It's time for my favorite annual National Day tradition! If you have been following my blog, you might have noticed that EVERY YEAR since I started this, this is something I really look forward to, more than any parade or fireworks display. This year, I was treated to a double wash pole patriot salute! How awesome is this?!?


No comments: