Patterned china still graces my table

BLAND plates have fallen from grace and fashion dictates that a patterned bone-china dinner service is not just decorative but desirable.

Comb your nearest auction houses and you should find gorgeous china at tempting prices. Hailing from the era when a dinner service was always first and foremost on every bride’s wedding list, I can vouch for the fact that a beautifully laid table goes a long way to hiding deficiencies in cuisine.

My eight-place settings were bought in 1985 by my Uncle Clive. Marriage now defunct, china – bar one gravy boat – still going strong.