Tea in a pretty cup uplifts a sagging spirit.

"Come along inside... We'll see if tea and buns can make the world a better place." - Kenneth Graeme, Scottish writer, The Wind in the Willows.

There is something very comforting and delightful in a hot cup of tea offered in a dainty cup. One cannot help but be transported to another time when life was just a little slower paced, when friends dropped in for an afternoon chat (or to spread the town's gossip), or when there was time to sit by the fire with an old book in hand and a full teapot nearby.

In this post, we have a Petit Point teacup by Royal Albert belonging to a childhood friend who inherited the set with her sister when their mother passed away. In fact, this friend's father hired my mother for the secretarial work that she was to do all her life at the paper mill in our small town.

The Petit Point twelve piece tea set was bought as a wedding anniversary gift by my friend's mother. It was often used when ladies would meet to play bridge at my friend's house.

I was told that my friend who loves tea kept the teapot while her sister, a coffee drinker, received the coffee pot. They split the set of teacups in half so each sister has a memento of their mother.

It is still lovingly used for tea on a daily basis and why not? Such exquisite teacups cannot help but cheer anyone on the darkest day.

(Just a little note: I struggled with the above teacup. The perspective in the saucer is completely wrong and I own it. By the time I noticed, I was too far along in the painting. Live and learn.

I used watercolour as a background for shading and then added the details with Polychromos coloured pencils.

For more teacups, see my earlier posts. In January, I wrote about prim and proper teacups...  and about the memories associated with teacups in February's post, Teacups of days gone by.... It is not too late to send me a photo of a favourite teacup. I will feature it in the coming months.

Now it's time for a hot cuppa!