Candlesticks


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!!!




69 comments:

  1. it's the relatively small things that matter.

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    1. And twang at your heart when you don't expect x

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  2. A very nice substitute. But where are the candles?

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    1. How remiss..I will buy some this week

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  3. They look splendid there and will be useful when the post-Brexit power cuts happen.

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    1. I always have candles in just in case

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  4. Glass is more easily cleaned than silver. Good choice.

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  5. Great! 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!

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  6. Silver linings.......to go with the end of devotion to ardent polishing of hopefully obliterated hallmarks.

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    1. Then it's another silver lining that you are no longer polishing second class crap.

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    2. They were very sweet. Mave

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  7. What a lovely cosy photo. That looks like a room to relax in x

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  8. another load off your back.

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  9. And they are yours, all yours! This feels like an apt metaphor for your bringing the light back into your life through your own determination.

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  10. Joan (Devon)8:24 pm

    I 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.

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    1. I'm waiting for tom Stephenson to pop up at the name candlestick

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  11. Those 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.

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  12. 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

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    1. I made the cottage a home over 13 years Athena

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  13. You don't have time to polish now anyway, you're way too busy so these are just perfect for your new life. xx

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    1. I do have some silver items to polish including a solid silver teapot mymother gave me when she was drunk x lol

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  14. My 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!

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    1. So is the cottage
      I have candles , and lots of lamps

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  15. 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!

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  16. I have NEVER shared your enjoyment of polishing silver. Those glass candlesticks are lovely!

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  17. Now 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.

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  18. Just like life - didn't realize it but you were going to get a better easier fit out of the deal!!

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  19. I think eventually things do return to make us happy again in a new way x

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  20. I 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?

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  21. Oh, they are perfect!
    I 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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  22. Anonymous10:37 pm

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  23. Anonymous10:43 pm

    They are nice but you will have to wash them at times.

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  24. You haven't forgot how to live!

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  25. I 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.

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  26. Silver 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.

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  27. Barbara Anne12:12 am

    I love your new glass candlesticks and their shine and sparkle in the candlelight of your other candles.

    Since 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!

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  28. They're lovely, and perfect!

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  29. Very nice replacements, I say!

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  30. What a wonderful story. "Change is as good as a rest" they say.

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  31. They are very lovely and the light will bounce off and through the glass.
    parsnip

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  32. Glass is good, no polishing.

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  33. I 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.)

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  34. The candle sticks are beautiful and will look lovely on the table as well when you have someone over for dinner.

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  35. Nice 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 ;-)

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  36. Surround yourself with things that make you happy.

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  37. Excellent! 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.

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  38. Beautiful. 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.”

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  39. My 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.
    Helen

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  40. 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!

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  41. They look beautiful.
    Barb

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  42. They look great! I definitely would NOT miss silver polishing. (I used to polish silver at my grandmother's house. What a chore!)

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  43. I 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.
    He got the two that had curiously developed a couple of little holes......

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  44. 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.

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  45. Be kind to yourself after the slaughter of a split from a long term relationship.
    You will find yourself among the ruins.
    Then sparkle in a better light.

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  46. They do need candles, however.

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  47. And 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.

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