Pat Albeck’s Tea Towels: Acquired 2024

If any Reader of this Blog has actually read the three previous Blogs they will know of my great good fortune to have been given twenty one Pat Albeck tea towels. A slight irony is that they came from America. They are wonderful, beautiful, glorious, joyful and everything else I can think of to talk about the works of my favourite tea towel designer. Don’t get me wrong, I love all tea towels and their stories but there is something about her designs that are magical, works of art.

Back to the story. I am on to the last eleven. I start with the top three because they all relate to Scotland and in three days time I’m off to Scotland for a fortnight and I’m not likely to see any of these things. Culzean is on the wrong side of the country, although somewhere I would like to visit. I’m not going to be near Brodick Castle or Culross, Falkland or Crathes and most of the wild flowers won’t be out! It’s nice to dream.

The next three are Blickling Hall, Stratford-upon-Avon and Hidcote are all places I have been to, blogged about and never had the joy of seeing, buying and therefore owning a Pat Albeck tea towel from those places. The colours that she used on these are stunning, not commonly used today. Look at Blickling Hall, not a scrap of white, just shades of green and russets. Hidcote is immersed in completely different greens yet the two ones I bought at Hidcote last year are so completely different. Interesting to see how an artist is able to capture a garden, what they are able to pick up. Stratford-upon-Avon is instantly Tudor and I’m not sure why.

Here’s another three, sold on behalf of the National Trust but not property-specific: Hedgerow, Picnic and Afternoon Tea. I think it is the attention to detail that I love most. The food on the picnic blanket as well as the view in the distance. Look at the church in the distance and the cows in distant fields. The detail of the table set for afternoon tea with the backing of the view from the window and the plants in the hedgerow together with the apple tree. All the images keep your attention, make wiping up so much more interesting. They are certainly works of art.

And for my final two tea towels, and it is a real shame to bring this story to an end, are Herbs and Bodiam Castle. Two contrasting tea towels. Herbs I know was very popular and attracted a wide audience with its beautifully drawn plants. But Bodiam Castle was very different, pale colour palette with the reflection in the moat. A place I’ve never visited but a place I would love to go to and is now on my list. The detail on ducks in the foreground and ducklings on the moat is charming. It takes you there. That is the wonderment of Pat Albeck’s work, always different, always fits the setting.

I can’t thank my friend in America enough for sharing her hoard with me. It is a real treasure. I am going to reorganise the the Virtual Tea towel Museum later in the year to show them off. Thank you.

Queen of the Tea Towels: Acquired 2024

Looking through the Pat Albeck tea towels that I was sent by a friend in America, I began to wonder if any were in the book entitled Pat Albeck: Queen of the Tea Towels. When Pat died in 2017, her son, Matthew Rice produced a book about her career in tea towel design. She had designed more than 300 in over fifty years, a lot for the National Trust but for other organisations too. It is a lovely book with some delightful photographs, a book I regularly flick through, wishing I had some of them. In reality I already had some and now I have eight more. This Blog covers the eight in the book.

The two at the top are places I really want to visit, on my wish-list: Chartwell and Sissinghurst. Matthew says of Chartwell “it was typical of Pat’s homage to the great wartime leader……..that she should put in pole position Churchill’s large ginger tomcat – the other colours in this design take their cue from the cat.” Matthew talks in the book of Pat having tea with Vita Sackville-West’s son Nigel Nicholson after drawing the garden. The White Garden looks glorious in that tea towel.

While the next three are all for the National Trust, they are not property-specific. @nt_scones would love the first tea towel with a recipe for scones, so beautifully decorated. @nt_scones recently completed the challenge of visiting every National Trust property that sold scones to eat one and rate it. She wrote a Blog about her adventure and the National Trust have produced a book of the 50 Best Scone Recipes edited by her. This tea towel was designed as a request from the National Trust, was a commercial success and led to a number of other recipe tea towels including marmalade. In the Glass Cloth, Pat enjoyed the repeated floral patterned borders with a controlled palette of bright non-primary colours and a clear message. Matthew says of Springtime “Pat saw the landscape in detail and the overview was never important………”

The final three of Pat Albeck’s work that appear in the book are Lavenham, Lacock and Thomas Hardy. The Lavenham tea towel is so striking. Anyone who has been to Lavenham would recognise this depiction instantly but the colouring makes it stand out. Apparently, she loved the arrangement of vertical stripes and triangles and it reminded her of her parent’s half-timbered 1930s villa in Hull. The beautiful village of Lacock has been the subject of a couple of Pat Albeck’s tea towels. I’m lucky to have at least one now.

And, finally, Thomas Hardy. This is a great tea towel with two images one above the other. The top one is of the Hardy’s Cottage where he was born in 1840 and the bottom one is of Max Gate which he designed (he was originally an architect) and lived in from 1885 to 1928. Pat Albeck loved Thomas Hardy as a poet and writer with a highly developed social conscience. I also own another version of a Hardy’s Cottage tea towel, very different.

It has been a joy looking through the book, seeing which tea towels are in there and reading about their stories. Another big thank you for such a beautiful Collection of tea towels.

Inverewe Gardens: Acquired 2024

This is part of my Collection of Pat Albeck tea towels that I recently received from my American friend. I had no intention of writing about them individually because most places I haven’t visited as yet. Inverewe Gardens is an exception. It is where I bought another Pat Albeck tea towel, Mecanopsis, because it is here they specialise in growing Blue Himalayan Poppies or Mecanopsis.

We arrived at Inverewe Gardens on a National Trust cruise ship. Not one of those huge ships carrying several thousand people, but a smallish boat sailing round the coast of Scotland stopping off at National Trust properties. What they forget to tell us was about the midges. As we climbed off the boat, up through the vegetation, the midges were in waiting. Some of us were more susceptible to them than others. By the time they’d finished with me I looked as if I was in the middle of a bout of measles and chickenpox combined.

Ignoring that, the gardens were stunning. They were beautifully laid out, immaculately kept with a wonderful colour scheme. Ponds and paths, trees and bushes, flower beds and lawns, plants that seemed more suitable for the south coast but warmed by the Gulf Stream. We had all day to be there and we needed it. It was easy to avoid seeing anyone else from the boat because there were small areas to sit in and get be alone.

Inverewe Gardens was one of seven stops, including Canna and St Kilda, Orkney and Aberdeen. We were able to use the Aberdeen stop to see Liz’s aunts. We didn’t realise it would be the last time we would see Aunty Myra.

It was a fabulous trip and seeing the Inverewe Gardens tea towel brought many memories back. Thank you for that.

Lanhydrock Revisited by Proxy: 2024

On 12 August 2023 I wrote a Blog about my recent visit to Lanhydrock, the one National Trust property in Cornwall that I had missed in 1980s and therefore hadn’t got a Pat Albeck tea towel from there. I was keen to visit the property even knowing the tea towel I would buy would be of the modern design. I drooled with envy at the sight of Pat Albeck’s design framed, hanging above the door in the shop. I mentioned it in the Blog.

One of the people I’ve ‘met’ through the Blog, who lives in America, wrote to say she thought she had a Pat Albeck from Lanhydrock and she would look it out. At least I could perhaps have it in http://www.virtualteatowelmuseum.com if she photographed it. A couple of weeks later she found it folded in a cupboard, along with several other Pat Albeck ones. What a find. I thought perhaps I could have a collection in the Museum, if she were able to photograph them all.

But no, she said I could have the Lanhydrock one. I couldn’t believe it. Why would someone give me such a beautiful tea towel? It’s so gorgeous. Because I’d appreciate it, use it, not keep it stored away in a cupboard, maybe. But more than that, she offered me her whole Collection. We went through the same thing as with other offers, checking there were no duplicates. I prayed there were no duplicates. There were just two: Cotehele and Standen. Otherwise she sent me twenty one Pat Albeck tea towels. Twenty one. TWENTY ONE. I couldn’t believe it.

I will repeat the excitement of the day that the box arrived, as described in the email I sent her, “I don’t know what happened with the alarm clock this morning. I didn’t wake up until 8.30am. Shock horror. Had breakfast and the door bell rang. Still in my pyjamas, clutching a tea towel, I answered the door. A weird bloke stood at the door, one arm outstretched “Parcel” he said, as if asking a question. “Yes” I said as if in confirmation. He shoved it in my hand and ran off. I was left standing with a small heavy parcel. This was a parcel from someone who certainly knows how to use cellotape. Half an hour later I managed to break my way into the box. And wow, twenty one pristine, beautiful, linen, colourful, wonderful, vintage, unused Pat Albeck tea towels……….and so I went on. It was a fabulous start to the New Year.

I will forever be grateful to my American friend for such a generous gift, and only twenty to go. Thank you so much.

Thank You Rod and Sheryl: 2024

Good Afternoon Barbara. Having seen a brief article on Bargain Hunt or something similar a while ago, I seem to recall you having the record for the biggest collection of tea towels. We have quite a few in our airing cupboard that we’ve inherited from parents and although we use and enjoy tea towels ourselves, we’ll never use many of them. Can we send you pictures of some of the more unusual ones and if you want them for your Collection then we can iron and post them over. Thanks Rod & Sheryl.

And that’s how it started. Just a comment on the Visitor’s Book in http://www.virtualteatowelmuseum.com. Sounded exciting. I explained about the necessity not to have duplicates so if they’d just list the tea towels they were talking about I could saving a lot of photographing. Twenty one titles came winging its way across.

There were six I knew I already had like the Art of Tying Knots and Rules to be Observed. So that whittled the list down. There were eight I knew I definitely didn’t have and put in a request for:

And finally there were six I asked for photographs of, four of which I accepted. I think I was rather rude about the ‘Blue Tea Towel with Cats’ (at the top of the page) which I described as scary. I was fascinated by the Silver Jubilee one, very unusual with pages of the Nottingham Post. And I love the Inland Waterways one, very different from many waterways ones I’ve got.

It took so long to get these photographed because of the weather and they threw in an extra, a traditional school one. Everyone has a school one!

Thank you Sheryl and Rod.

Pete’s Holiday Gifts: 2023/4

My friend Pete’s nephew lives in Spain, near Barcelona. He has the opportunity of going to stay with his nephew and his wife if he wants. They live near the sea. Last September Pete travelled with his sister by Eurostar, stopping for a couple of days in Nimes on the way. I’m not sure if I’ve been aware of Nimes, as a place before. Google is so useful on such occasions, especially trying to fathom out what those two strange men with swords were all about. My advice to any Readers who are unaware of the history of Nimes is to consult Google. I spent many a happy hour researching.

The other tea towel is more generic and Pete couldn’t remember why he’d bought it, especially since half the pattern is upside down. This is when I gave my lecture on the usefulness of oven doors for hanging tea towels over, and the purpose of the repeat patterns on tea towels. I was really excited by having a couple of tea towels from abroad.

In February 2024 Pete returned to Spain via Barcelona, flying this time and he bought me two more tea towels. The Barcelona one is beautiful, gaudy, bright and unusual while the one on the right from the local market with the price sticker in the centre is more utilitarian, love them both.

It is great getting holiday tea towels from friends, especially from places you are unlikely to visit yourself. Thanks Pete.

Aunt Catherine’s Tea Towel’s: 2024

My Aunt Catherine died on 28 February 2024, aged 75. Anyone who is familiar with http://www.virtualteatowelmuseum.com, especially during the Pandemic, will be familiar with her. She published fifty-one diary pages about her life during Lockdown. They will have known about her leaking porch, the bowel movements of her cats, her freezer overflowing with sprouts, the fox in the garden, feeding the birds, bin collections and much more. They will also have known about the word games we played over WhatsApp. She and her daughter were instrumental in assembling what should have been 70 tea towels for my 70th birthday which ended up as 173.

I inherited all Catherine’s tea towels because her daughter is not a ‘tea towel person’. Catherine wasn’t a ‘tea towel person’ but was fascinated by my Collection. She loved having nice tea towels but never ever used them. I remember her telling me that she had a tea towel with some kind of animal on it that was in her drawer and lonely so I offered her this Primark ‘special’ because I had two, one brown and one grey. She accepted. It sat in her drawer, unused until the day she died. It’s back with me.

All Catherine’s ‘best’ tea towels were bought by me and you can bet I already have one myself so I have distributed them around the family and friends.

The above, not particularly interesting ones I have kept because I know Aunt Catherine used them in some way or another.

The above five all went to my Aunt Pam, Catherine’s sister-in-law. They are absolutely unused. Pam has just had a new kitchen fitted and I thought some new tea towels to remind her of Catherine might be a nice thought. Pam, however, hates cats but Catherine did love cats. I hope Pam adjusts to the idea.

Finally, God Save the King went to Catherine’s nephew who lives in Italy and who loves a royal tea towel. The Ealing tea towel is owned by all family members because we all originated from Ealing, where our routes lie. However I met Diana in a Writing Class who lived in Ealing in 70s. I asked her if she wanted it. She was excited. It brought back happy memories so it has now found a happy forever home.

It’s rather sad distributing the tea towels but it has given me a chance to think about Catherine some more, have a laugh and a smile and know they have gone to some good homes.

A Trip of a Lifetime: 2023

I remember back towards the beginning of 2023, Liz’s sister talking about booking a holiday to Australia. It was apparently a place she had always wanted to go. Going deeper into the story, she had wanted to go ever since she was a Girl Guide and had done some kind of project on it. Now that is a proper Bucket List dream. They had planned this holiday in detail, starting with three days in Singapore to break the long journey.

The thing I love about Lyn and Rob’s holidays is their willingness to share photos in the here and now, using a shared family album. It’s lovely to know where they are, what they’re doing and even what they’re eating, as long as I get a full description of the meal. It’s so much more interesting that just having all that information when they get back and it’s all over and done with. Having had photos already, additional tales when we meet up make more sense.

Singapore seemed to be the most beautiful place, both during the day and at night. The Botanical Gardens looked amazing but the buildings and ‘trees’ and ‘walkways’ at night are spectacular. I think it is the first time I’ve looked at someone’s holiday photos and thought that I really wanted to go. It is spectacular, something I’m sure you would never forget. The tea towel is so pretty and delicate. I love it.

From Singapore they moved on to Australia, starting in Perth. Again the photos were great, as were things like food cooked on a BBQ in the middle of nowhere, photos taken from great heights, the sun and the sea.

Because they went on holiday in November they were able to bring a suitcase full of Christmas presents from Australia. Mine were three tea towels. Fabulous. Liz was very excited by the Lamington. She knew exactly what it was, I had to ask for an explanation. I want to try one although I’m sure they will be sickly sweet. Makes a great tea towel design. We all had some Vegemite. But the coasters were superb, crafted from Jarrah timber.

I loved experiencing Lyn and Rob’s Australian holiday at arms-length. Thank you for the beautiful, unusual, unique tea towels.

Thank you Steve and Tracey: 2023

Steve and Tracey are long-standing friends who Liz and I meet up with regularly for a meal and a chat. They were kind, maybe stupid, enough to act as observers for the Big Count of my tea towel Collection for the Guinness World Record, back in 2021. They spent over eight hours watching the process, helping organise the movement of the tea towels. A tiring job. They are not ‘tea towel people’ as such. Tracey sticks to checked towelling ones.

When we met last year, they had just returned from a weekend in Brighton and had brought me a beautiful tea towel. A simple design that catches the image of Georgian Brighton. I love it.

Their second gift came as a fundraiser for the YarnBombers in Cosby who knit the toppings for pillar boxes. A great idea – both the toppers and the tea towels. Love it.

Thank you Steve and Tracey.

Holiday in the Peak District: 2024

Who would have believed I could have gone on holiday for a whole week and only bought two tea towels? It’s almost as if I haven’t been true to myself. Actually, more like it, is that everywhere I went I already have the tea towels that were on sale.

In February we stayed for a week in a farm cottage with Liz’s grandchildren during half term. It was near the Monsal Trail. The weather was interesting, rain, wind, cold, warm and quite a lot of dry spells. We walked the Monsal Trail, spent time in Buxton and Bakewell because the grandchildren really like visiting Charity Shops and had two big outings.

The first was Jodrell Bank, fascinating. None of us had been there before. The sort of place you’d want to go back to because there is so much to see. And, of course, you can because once you’ve been you can get in free for the rest of the year. Not only that they had a tea towel.

In complete contrast we went to the Peak District Wildlife Park where I found my most expensive tea towel. The Park is laid out so you walk through most of the animal enclosures, rather than just viewing the animals from afar. Exceptions are of course polar bears who have huge enclosures and look very content. It was a great day out.

The holiday was very enjoyable and I didn’t miss getting tea towels, probably because I knew there were so many at home still to be blogged about.