Woods Ware China at the Serving Hatch

I was only looking for teaspoons – I had tried almost every drawer. Then I opened this one. The miscellaneous drawer. The contents were: Green latex gloves – several of. Tea towels in sober colours – neatly folded. A quilted oven glove (yet there was no oven on site, nor a fridge). A sandwich bag containing around a dozen milk bottle tops – cleaned. A black marker pen – I didn’t test if it worked. A crystal ash tray containing a small Pyrex dish. What would you do with those ingredients? Instagram: @Woodswarechinaservinghatch Twitter: @peel_anna

From the Western Daily Press, June 1946: “ Table cloths that had just been cleaned and pressed for a welcome home party for ex-service members and electrical equipment were stolen by thieves who broke into St Michael’s Parish Hall by means of a fanlight. The electrical equipment consisted of microphones and amplifying units. Bristol CID men are investigating finger prints left by the thieves. ”

Terror reigned at Yapton and Ford Village Hall, Sussex, in 1951. There was a coconut matting thief at large! Four coconut mats were missed from the village hall cupboard after a Sunday evening film show, and the caretaker reported this loss to the Village Hall Secretary the very next day. He in turn informed the village bobby. Exhibit A, a coconut mat Identification of the mats was made easier by the caretaker having the foresight to mark the reverse of each with a large letter Y.   The mats were found in possession of the very man who had put on the film show at the hall. He had been undertaking this entertainment regularly for two years, and had come to be trusted in the company of the village hall’s valuables. Although he protested that the mats had accidentally fallen into his possession, he was found guilty of theft and fined £5 by Arundel Magistrates Court. The scene of the crime as it looks today Instagram: @woodswarechinaservinghatch Twitter: @...

I recently had the pleasure of running an event at Hathersage Memorial Hall, positioned in the Hope Valley, Derbyshire. It rained continuously and I had forgotten to bring that item of clothing deemed essential wear for the Hope Valley – the cagoule – so I didn’t do an external photo. Thank Google for this one. It’s rather lovely, despite the pay and display in front and the railway line behind with its intermittent hooting. And it’s just as nice inside – old radiators, wooden floors, intriguing blocked up door frames and this stage complete with painted on curtain swags.    In 1934, Sheffield Independent newspaper described a performance of ‘The Ghost Train’ by Hathersage Community Players – possibly on this very stage.   They were commended for their depiction of a passing train which involved “ingenious lighting effects, two gramophones, loud speakers and many other gadgets.” Apparently it was all very splendid and elicited roars of laughter. Sounds id...

A Nice Cup of Tea The contents of this teacup have: Sustained the ill Put money in the till Replenished the injected Rebuilt the rejected Oiled the tongues of the shy Given the curious courage to pry Bucked up the weary Caressed the teary Sarah Miller Walters Click here to visit Sarah's Amazon page

Harvest Festival time is upon us, and in 1934 the Lincolnshire Echo reported on an amusing incident at a village somewhere between Louth and Market Rasen. The newspaper snippet recorded: “Some wag had deposited a bottle of home-made wine among the decorations, having evidently an idea that the juice of the fruit should be given its due place. The service was being conducted by a well-known Lincoln local preacher, and he was delivering his address when there was a loud pop. The heat of the building had caused the wine to ferment and the cork flew out of the bottle. It narrowly missed the preacher and proceeded on its aerial journey towards the ceiling.” Instagram: @Woodswareservinghatch

I’m going to blow my own trumpet here and declare myself as a tombola expert. If you have a selection of crappy prizes that you want to palm off on others in the name of charity, I’m your girl. I know exactly the ratio of non-winning to winning tickets that you need and how to work out how much your tombola will raise. I can’t give you a formula for this – it’s all in my head. I need to have the cloakroom tickets in my hands. I’m the cloakroom ticket whisperer.   Of course, this comes from years of experience. And I also learned very early on that if you are in a public arena, you’re best off not offering an alcoholic prize.   If you’re at an Old Tyme Teadance go ahead and ply the over 60s with gin and whisky – that demographic are mad for it. But if there are going to be children present – don’t do it. It means that you can’t sell tickets to kids and the under 10s love a tombola so you’re cutting off your main market. Best off pandering to this age group with prizes...