#a361 :: China napkin rings
February 10, 2009
Around our house, I make dinner one of two ways:
- Crank something out in a hurry on the stove, slap it down in front of the kids and hope they don’t moan or spill all over their clothes as they forget to use their utensils;
- Or grill something big and munchy (think ribs or sesame-garlic chicken with corn on the cob) on the barbecue, hand out plastic utensils and grab a beer.
But somewhere in the world, people are bunching up their good linen napkins in lovely napkin rings for fear of – what, I don’t know – having their napkins look unceremonious.
I appreciate the culture of a good table setting. On our trip to London last summer, we got to tour Windsor Castle’s grand ballroom, where HM the Queen had ordered a state dinner prepared for 150. Picture that in gold dining utensils set aside 150 bone china plates on gold-plated chargers, each with little LED floodlights illuminating a hand-calligraphed nametag beneath this ceiling and you begin to get the picture.
These rings (a loan from Dad) are part of the same Culture of Preciousness, about which I have bloviated a bit in the past.
Precious. When you somehow need to feel special by making your guests feel special.
Filed under: Ephemera, Fetish | Comments (0)