For years I polished a pair of silver candlesticks that sat on various fireplaces at home.
I polished them and I loved doing so as I listened to the radio with silver polish on my knee and a pile of silverware at my feet.
It was a ritual that I now miss
My husband took the candlesticks when he left
He bought them
I cleaned them for going on twenty years
I doubt they are shining now
The two squat Georgian candlesticks that shone in the firelight of the fireplace
A couple of weeks ago my sister threw out a load of antique stuff and bric a brac and gave me first dibs on her stuff as she knows that we have the same taste.
The first things I saw were two charming pressed glass candlesticks sticking out of the pile
And cleaned up they glint with their own special glow on my mantle in the firelight
And they don't need polishing!!!
it's the relatively small things that matter.
ReplyDeleteAnd twang at your heart when you don't expect x
DeleteA very nice substitute. But where are the candles?
ReplyDeleteHow remiss..I will buy some this week
DeleteThey look splendid there and will be useful when the post-Brexit power cuts happen.
ReplyDeleteI always have candles in just in case
DeleteGlass is more easily cleaned than silver. Good choice.
ReplyDeleteTo o right jimbo x
DeleteGreat! I lit two candles and put them in the hearth this evening (the first time for years) they really warm and cheer the room - without lighting the stove!
ReplyDeleteSilver linings.......to go with the end of devotion to ardent polishing of hopefully obliterated hallmarks.
ReplyDeleteOnly silver plated
DeleteThen it's another silver lining that you are no longer polishing second class crap.
DeleteThey were very sweet. Mave
DeleteWhat a lovely cosy photo. That looks like a room to relax in x
ReplyDeleteIt is
Deleteanother load off your back.
ReplyDeleteAnother hole filled
DeleteAnd they are yours, all yours! This feels like an apt metaphor for your bringing the light back into your life through your own determination.
ReplyDeleteThank u x
DeleteThey look lovely.
ReplyDeleteThank u
DeleteI love candlesticks and very much regret giving one to the charity shop before moving back to Devon. Nothing can beat the homely glow of candles.
ReplyDeleteI'm waiting for tom Stephenson to pop up at the name candlestick
DeleteThose little things sneak in and bite some days don't they? I am glad that you have those beautiful glass candlesticks to replace the undoubtedly now tarnished silver.
ReplyDeleteBite
DeleteIs the right word
Wishing you the best. No idea how you can live in the ex maritial home? . I could not too many memories. There are so many equally nice homes out there you could make just yours!.x
ReplyDeleteI made the cottage a home over 13 years Athena
DeleteYou don't have time to polish now anyway, you're way too busy so these are just perfect for your new life. xx
ReplyDeleteI do have some silver items to polish including a solid silver teapot mymother gave me when she was drunk x lol
DeleteMy house is very dark so I have old decanters and silver trays all over the place to pick up the light. I love candles but someone else in the house is nervous of them-I must get around this somehow!
ReplyDeleteSo is the cottage
DeleteI have candles , and lots of lamps
I always have candles as we seem to get quite a few power cuts each winter. I keep a torch in a specific place under the sink so I find it in the dark and use it to light the candles!
ReplyDeleteI have NEVER shared your enjoyment of polishing silver. Those glass candlesticks are lovely!
ReplyDeleteNow you are talking my language. If he took two Georgian candlesticks and left you to buy pressed glass ones, then you was done. But what the hell. Candle light is candlelight. I am told it is flattering.
ReplyDeleteJust like life - didn't realize it but you were going to get a better easier fit out of the deal!!
ReplyDeleteI think eventually things do return to make us happy again in a new way x
ReplyDeleteI don't mind polishing silver/plate but it's always nice to have a combination of high and low maintenance things around the home and these lovely girls will only need a dunk in the sink from time to time. Did you get any more goodies from your sister?
ReplyDeleteI love candles.
ReplyDeleteOh, they are perfect!
ReplyDeleteI have all kinds of candleholders and candles, I have always loved have candles burning at night,even the small scented votives.
There is something about candlelight :)
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ReplyDeleteThey are nice but you will have to wash them at times.
ReplyDeleteI spy the doggie too.
ReplyDeleteYou haven't forgot how to live!
ReplyDeleteI remember my mother showing my how to polish silver back when I was a kid -- the cleaning paste, the cloth, the toothbrush. I still have a couple of pieces stuck up in my closet. But they haven't been polished ... well, since before my mother died some 20 years ago.
ReplyDeleteSilver or silver plate is nice but it's so much work. Kudos to you for polishing those candlesticks for so many years. That's dedication.
ReplyDeleteI love your new glass candlesticks and their shine and sparkle in the candlelight of your other candles.
ReplyDeleteSince you still have some silver like your mother's teapot, you can still have the occasional pleasure of polishing that.
The time of year is approaching when lamplight, candlelight, and firelight set hearts aglow: home!
Hugs!
They're lovely, and perfect!
ReplyDeleteVery nice replacements, I say!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful story. "Change is as good as a rest" they say.
ReplyDeleteThey are very lovely and the light will bounce off and through the glass.
ReplyDeleteparsnip
Glass is good, no polishing.
ReplyDeleteLovely x
ReplyDeleteI share your like of cleaning silver. There's something so rewarding about it. Like the sun coming out on a cloudy day. (I like candlesticks as well.)
ReplyDeleteThe candle sticks are beautiful and will look lovely on the table as well when you have someone over for dinner.
ReplyDeleteNice replacements, just a dunk in a bowl of soapy water every few months and they will always gleam. You have much more exciting things to look forward to than polishing silverware ;-)
ReplyDeletePerfect!!
ReplyDeleteSurround yourself with things that make you happy.
ReplyDeleteExcellent! I kept my "marital" home in the divorce. I repainted every single room, moved furniture all around. I have bought, when I can, some simple things. It is my home now in every sense of the word. So I completely understand about the candlesticks.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. I have a pair of antique brass candlesticks. I used to polish them religiously until I was told that reduces their “value.” They no longer shine. I’m going to polish them again. Screw their “value.”
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother had a pair of brass candlesticks on her fireplace. Her daughter who had been estranged visited from Canada, she admired the candlesticks and was given them to take back to Canada. Nana missed them so much she bought herself more. I have a pair of brass candlesticks on my mantle. I'm sorry to say they don't shine.
ReplyDeleteHelen
John that candlestick story could be seen as a metaphor for this stage of your life and for your valiant effort to overcome it - I am proud of you!
ReplyDeleteThey look beautiful.
ReplyDeleteBarb
They look great! I definitely would NOT miss silver polishing. (I used to polish silver at my grandmother's house. What a chore!)
ReplyDeleteEX-husband.
ReplyDeleteI remember when possessions were being divided up between me and my ex. He wanted two of our four table cloths. I was outraged because I had made them! Not to mention washed, ironed and lovingly folded them for ten years.
ReplyDeleteHe got the two that had curiously developed a couple of little holes......
Silverplating was developed after 1830, so the candlesticks could not be both Georgian and silverplate. There *was* an earlier process, c.mid-1700s called Sheffield plate.
ReplyDeleteBe kind to yourself after the slaughter of a split from a long term relationship.
ReplyDeleteYou will find yourself among the ruins.
Then sparkle in a better light.
They do need candles, however.
ReplyDeleteAnd your sister understands you enough, and loves you enough, to let you keep them whatever. They look nice John. But I would say that as a glass lover. Keep being you.
ReplyDelete