RHYS BOWEN: The British are known for their eccentricities, are they not? Aristocrats dress like old tramps when they own millions. They keep pet lions. We have Morris dancing in which men prance around waving ribbons and looking… well, unmasculine. We roll cheeses down a hillside.
These occupations only apply to the few.. The most weird among us.
But one of the universal strange customs in England is the collecting of tea towels. You won’t find paper towel in most British kitchens. You’ll find tea towels, usually drying on the handle of the AGA (and in case you don’t know what that is, it’s a large cast iron stove that heats as well as cooks and is a must in a country kitchen.
Tea towels are a necessary piece of equipment, and one needs a few of them, as they get dirty. Except.. Most British houses have scads of them. Because… whenever they travel, or a family member travels, they bring back a tea towel to prove they have been somewhere. Pretty, decorative tea towels. Sometimes they are maps of places, or paintings of the countryside. Sometimes they are designed by well known artists.
I confess to bringing back tea towels from the Costwolds and from St Malo in France the last time I was there. My daughters love them ( they have inherited British genes). Also they are souvenirs that are attractive and useful at the same time.
And I have my share of ones that have been brought back from Europe for me. I only thought of writing this piece because I happened to take a photo of my kitchen here in Arizona and I noticed that the tea towel, hanging on the stove, was of King Charles’s coronation. Quite a regal tea towel. Who else has the royal coat of arms hanging from her stove? Lady Georgie would approve!
I went to my pantry and found several more: one from New Zealand, one from the Falkland Islands, one from Cornwall. (This one is St. Ives).
I've asked Clare to share some of her favorites. She has a large collection and uses it all the time!
In California I have many more, all gifts from people who have come to stay or family members who have brought them home. The irony is that i seldom use them. John and I prefer to use paper towel. More hygienic. But not as pretty.
So let’s hear what strange or unusual souvenirs you bring back when you travel?
