Plate for tomorrow

We inherited a strange piece of furniture. It looks like this.

I just discovered what it is actually for – it is called a “Canterbury” and was used in Victorian times (this one is late Victorian) to store sheet music. It is on castors so it could be easily moved to the side of the piano when required. So now we know.

This is one of the plates we have been displaying on it. I did a quick check on it before putting it to use because I didn’t want to discover it was a museum piece worth thousands of pounds after I had used it for party food. It isn’t but it is nice anyway – it is Staffordshire with a design of “Asiatic Pheasants” and dates from about 1840 – so it is coming up for 200 years old and not a chip on it.

I am going to use it for a seafood platter on Friday – I really believe in these nice things being used and not hoarded. We must be sure not to drop it though.