Jubilee Mug

A grey day, household chores, and a smattering of drizzle by the time I had finished, all meant that an emergency blip was the order of the day.

This year has marked the centenary of the federation of Stoke-on-Trent. The six towns that make up the Potteries, where the finest tableware in the world was once manufactured by family firms such as Wedgwood, Spode and Minton, were brought into one administrative unit by Act of Parliament in 1910.

In 1960, when I was in infants school, every child was presented with one of the these mugs and an Easter egg, to mark the golden jubilee of the federation.

The mug I was presented with survived a few years before pieces got chipped off it. At one point, it crashed to the floor and was glued back together before eventually disappearing as I reached adulthood.

The pristine copy pictured here was an acquisition from e-Bay a few years back. I think I had been having one of my wanders down memory lane and seized on the idea of trying to get a replacement. The seller also had a 75th anniversary mug as well and I bought that too.

Whether any mugs were issued to celebrate the centenary, I do not know. The pottery industry is not what it used to be and a lot of the produce by companies such as Wedgwood and Royal Doulton was outsourced to Indonesia before they went into administration. It is a sorry state affairs but the way of the world these days.

The coat of arms is mainly red and white, the same colours as Stoke City. The latin motto Vis Unita Fortior translates to United Strength Is Stronger.

Whether my American stepchildren will cherish this memento of my childhood and hometown after I am gone, who knows. I would like to think they would hang on to a little bit of English history. It would sit quite nicely on the xBox. :-)

Have a good weekend, y'all!