Last Saturday night John and I went into Te Kuiti from the farm to have dinner with his sister Anna and brother Carrick who was visiting from Lake Rotoiti.
I took the opportunity to get them talking about stories of growing up on the farm, confessing that I wanted fodder for future Struan Farm blog posts. It was interesting to hear their stories, since with only a few years age difference between them they remembered different things about different events and people.
Anna went into a closet and dug out this incredible "objet" below, used for serving soft boiled eggs, given to her by her mum Rosemary. We all suspect it was most likely given to them as a wedding present after the War, since it is unlikely that Rosemary would have given away a Robertson family relic without Maurie's approval.
It is marked "D&G Holy & Co., Sheffield" with the number 748. The egg cups are all numbered 1114, four of them have a reverse "c" or half moon, while two have either a pineapple or Scottish thistle mark.
One can only imagine an extravagant breakfast with soft boiled eggs served in this! I encouraged Anna to schedule a brunch for friends and deploy it for dramatic effect if nothing else. But where are the experts from The Antiques Roadshow when you need them?
They are beautiful Karen.
What a family heirloom.
Posted by: Nicky | 09/19/2010 at 07:31 PM