[wighty]

We've been turning out some of   our cupboards , we have a dinner service, six oval plates, six dinner plates etc down to side plates, soup bowls, full tea set that we never use.   Why  'in the old days' did you have to have a 'special set' that you used on 'high days and holidays'.     I remember saving up to buy them one p late at a time back in the '70's so that I had a good  bottom drawer to offer.   

[mumofstig]

I had a full Blue Willow set, plus lots of extras on my dresser, used for family get togethers.
Now the family are more dispersed, with grandchildren now grown up, I'm enjoying using it every day, but must admit I've still got 2 boxes of it, not yet unpacked since the move.
I think most of it will end up in a charity shop 

[snowdrops]

My parents in law bought us a dinner service as a wedding present. I chose a white Wedgewood one. We used to use it on Saturday nights when our children were young & we couldn’t afford to go out , which I suppose was what they now call a date night. Always have been ahead of fashion  Also used for dinner parties when we had them & high days & holiday’s

[Growster...]

We went for a full set of Royal Doulton which we collected from generous wedding presents around 1971/2!

When the children were young, we'd use all that on high days and holidays, and bought a set M and S crockery for every-day use. Now it's just the two or us, most of the Doulton is kept on a show rack, as we still like the pattern, but most of the cheaper stuff is used for plant pot trays etc...

Doulton promised us that the line would be 'continuous', but went back on that soon after we'd bought it all! A lot of it is now on Ebay if we ever wanted to replace anything, which we don't!

[Lardman]

Found a full unused set when clearing ML's too. Never been used still in it's original tissue paper.  Along with  a box of rather tacky ornate gold cutlery.  Around here (for obvious reasons) you'd also be hard pressed to find a homeowner over 70 who doesn't have a stash of unused Stuart Crystal glassware too.

[Hampshire Hog]

We have a Denby set that generally stays in a cupboard.
Daughter doesn’t want it as an heirloom despite its original high cost ( for the attendees at our wedding that is )
Useful for when we had a retro party complete with prawn cocktails and snowballs.
No one seems to want these classic dinner services I’m afraid.

[Goosegirl]

We use a Royal Worcester Wrendale service for every eventuality as OH wanted a full set of everything they had on-line! A dear friend of mine has collected a set of rather expensive best dinner ware that she never uses, God bless her, but I'd rather use stuff than it being never experienced for what it is meant for. I do have two separate sets of cutlery though. One is a general mix of things, but the other we bought at a sale in Oxfordshire a few years ago and consists of a lovely, three-drawer cabinet on legs with brass handles containing a full canteen of various cutlery with decorative handles for every possible occasion. I think it's EPNS but can't find my magnifying glass at the moment.

[Aunt Sally]

I have a Denby Troubadour set bought in the 70s, 6 of everything that still comes out on high days and holidays.   

[Hampshire Hog]

That looks identical to ours !!!
Good taste Aunt Sally

[wighty]

I too have a 'best' set of cutlery that is all in a wooden  'canteen'.   Wedding present from my Godmother on my first marriage in 1981.  They never come out of the cupboard though.  I'm dreading going up in the loft and finding o ut what is in the 'dark recesses'. 

[GraciesGran]

Owing to the fact that the dishwasher died and won't be replaced till later in the year when the kitchen is redone were using our Royal Doulton wedding present set. 

[Growster...]

My dad took the future Mrs Growster and me to Mappin and Webb in London, a month or so before we were wed, and bought us a full canteen of silverware!

We never had the wooden box for it, and it was kept in the original cardboard boxes for years, and like the above, was just used for high days and holidays!

I still like using the knife and fork occasionally, and the huge serving spoons are in use daily, but sadly, the rest of the stuff lies forgotten in a box, which my lovely MIL bought us, under a chest of drawers somewhere...

As an aside, our gorgeous neighbour was burgled a few years ago, and the scum even stole some of her silverware from her cutlery drawer. She had to go to Tenterden to the fabulous antiques shop in the High Street, and bought a whole replacement for just a few quid!

I'm afraid our set will just go the same way, and will be chucked around until someone needs a few bits and pieces...

[wighty]

This whole thread came about as we are re-arranging some storage areas at the back of the shop. I have cleared the three storage rooms out and found boxes    of cutlery and a full dinner service and when I showed it to FIL he burst into tears as it's what he  and his wife had saved up for back in the fifties  to  start their new home together.  It made me think of what I'd got hidden away and rarely used now.  What things were then so important seem so trivial now.

[Growster...]

Further to getting our Doulton set when we were married, we were also given a set of unidentified crockery, all wrapped up and in a cardboard box.

I don't think my MIL ever stopped laughing when we told her that the sugar bowl still had some brown sugar inside, with the lid Sellotaped on...

As for Denby, Auntie and Hampers, my mum and dad used to have the whole pale green set they produced in the sixties, especially the coffee cups and jugs! We used those for many years and I loved them too! My dad once went on a business trip to Germany, and arrived back with some odd crockery, which consisted of an oblong white plate, divided into three sections, so that every part of the roast and veg was kept separate!

I think we used it three times...

[Goosegirl]

My dad took the future Mrs Growster and me to Mappin and Webb in London, a month or so before we were wed, and bought us a full canteen of silverware!

We never had the wooden box for it, and it was kept in the original cardboard boxes for years, and like the above, was just used for high days and holidays!

I still like using the knife and fork occasionally, and the huge serving spoons are in use daily, but sadly, the rest of the stuff lies forgotten in a box, which my lovely MIL bought us, under a chest of drawers somewhere...
I'm afraid our set will just go the same way, and will be chucked around until someone needs a few bits and pieces...

Growster, please find the set and either use it or look at it with fond memories.