There are a lot of things we don’t seem to do anymore. Some of that is for the best. Some might be a bit less so.
I was speaking with someone this morning about china. Not the country. The dishes. You know… like Royal Dalton and Noritake and stuff like that. Very few people seem to collect it anymore.
Which was one of the things this particular person seemed a bit disturbed by. He had three sets of china. All have been passed down from various family members over the years. But he doesn’t use it and has no idea what to do with it. And no one seems to want things like china. It’s just not a thing anymore.
And really, it’s not hard to understand. I can remember slowly collecting bits and pieces of our china set, until you finally had at least an eight piece place setting with all the things that go along with it. You then carefully store it on display in a cabinet, where it sits, to be brought out once a year for a special occasion.
In all honesty, I kind of like the stuff. But it scares me. I feel rather special eating off plates that cost more than the entire meal. But someone has to wash those things without breaking them. Usually, I rush to the kitchen early to help prepare the meal. Mostly so I have an excuse to get out of the washing up part. I do not want that responsibility.
But I started asking around to see if people have china. Many do. But a lot of those who do have sets of china that have been passed down through the family and rarely, if ever, use them.
My children don’t seem to have a lot of interest in them. Dishes are dishes in their minds. But there is something special about eating off fine china. And if you’ve ever read the Jack Reacher books, you have probably heard that coffee tastes best out of thin china cup. I had to try that one after reading it. And yes, there is something special about it. If it doesn’t actually taste better, it makes you feel better.
But collecting china doesn’t seem to be a thing these days. Which is a shame in some ways. There is a bit of a thrill in carefully washing dishes in absolute fear you might break one. It makes you feel alive. Or like running for the hills.
