Royal-tea miss out on a cuppa
No one has done more to celebrate the British cuppa with people coming not only from Maidstone but far and wide to view their teapots in Yalding.
“Prince Charles kindly visited us as we were clearing up dur- ing the floods, we were so upside down I couldn’t even offer them a cup of tea,” said Luke whose business has twice entered the Guinness Book of World Records for the number of teapots they own.
But Luke did put one of them to work when a visitor accidentally drove his car into the river.
“He went in waist deep, and was quite shaken and shivering. We threw him a towel and made him a nice cup of tea. I can’t remember what teapot it came from!”
The business began in the 80s when his parents Sue and Keith received some teapots from a great grandmother and aunt to place on display in their kitchen cupboard.
The pots just built up, eventually ‘migrating’ from room to room. When moving to Yalding Luke reckons they used three miles of bubble wrap to pack them.
Luke’s day starts at 6.30am when he and his wife Samantha rise at their Paddock Wood home. Before setting off to work he likes enjoy playtime with his two children five-year-old son Max, and Eliza, two. Weather permitting, he cycles to Teapot Island on his bicycle where he’ll join Sue and Keith.
His first task is to bake fresh scones for their adjoining cafe and cater for up to 200 people depending on the size of visiting coach parties.
Prices for their teapots range from 99p up to £500 and come in all shapes.
Luke’s personal favourite at home shows wild animals breaking out of its sides.
It’s quaintly called ‘Harmony Kingdom Cracking Brew.’