Aren't they pretty?

One of the things I enjoy about my unintentional collection is the memory attached to each jug.



This is a Burleigh Pottery jug and I bought it last year when I took my mother up to Stoke to The Potteries.

Having meandered around a residential area we finally arrived at the Burleigh pottery (right next to the canal) only to find the factory closed. Being the cheery kind we consoled ourselves with a visit to the shop.

Oh! and what a shop. It was like something from a Country Living shoot - old wooden panelled factory building, chalky colours on the walls, tables overflowing with beautiful china in an array of gorgeous colours, shapes and patterns. At one end several wicker chairs were dotted around an open fire while at the other a counter was laid with tea and coffe and homemade cake.

*le sigh* I could have stayed in there for hours.



This one is also from that trip to Stoke and the experience could not have been more different.

The shop was on a corner of a very busy road with a train bridge running overhead. The carpark was full of dog muck and the sign over the front of the squat 1980s box of a building was smashed and broken. The room was crammed with metal shelving containing every pattern Portmerion produce and quite honestly I don't think my mother could have been happier! But do you know I fell for this one as soon as I saw it. The colours and the shape both demanded my attention.



I don't know any history for this one. It came to live here on the hill from my m-i-l's house. There is a fancypants plate that goes with it. Every time I use this I think of her.

I bought myself this one. It felt very decadent!




This is a Susie Watson jug. Beautiful shape, gorgeous pattern, crubbish 'pour' on it. I don't use this very often but I still love it.