In the absence of a Susie Cooper plate, this Clarice Cliff bowl will have to do!
This plastic film
is dangerous —
suddenly after all these years
the experts say.
But wait —
in order to allay our fears and cheer us up
here’s what to do about it:
put the food into a bowl
and cover it with a saucer…
Well I never did! Oh my!
The March of Progress.
I can see my mother
putting that Susie Cooper plate
on top of a half-eaten jelly
in that orange and green fruit bowl.
I can see her quite clearly
and that was 1938.Charlotte Mitchell
Another of my favourite poems… partly because it sums up our modern world and partly because it mentions Susie Cooper, an Art Deco potter working at the same time as my great aunt, Clarice Cliff.
Like previous poems I have quoted, this is with the permission of Candy Guard, Charlotte Mitchell’s daughter, and is from Just In Case: Poems in my Pocket published by Souvenir Press, 1991 ISBN 0285630601. Currently out of print, but available secondhand from Amazon.
The Snail of Happiness 
cambridgearomatherapy
/ February 1, 2016Reblogged this on Cambridge Aromatherapy and Massage and commented:
As Jan says it sums up so much of modern life.
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writinghouse
/ February 1, 2016And how cool is the Butter Ball thing at Chez Snail? Cool enough to keep butter from going off with no electricity in sight, that’s how cool! Progress doesn’t know where it’s going, but it ought to remember where it has been! 🙂
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The Snail of Happiness
/ February 1, 2016Or even butter bell!
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writinghouse
/ February 1, 2016Oh yeah, butterballs are American Turkeys aren’t they? Probably couldn’t keep butter fresh in one of them!
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The Snail of Happiness
/ February 2, 2016I wouldn’t want to eat my butter out of a Turkey…
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Karen B
/ February 1, 2016You are related to Clarice Cliff ???!!! Wow! Do you have lots of her gorgeous china? Love that poem 🙂
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The Snail of Happiness
/ February 1, 2016Yes, I am… I did know her when I was a little girl. I only have a couple of pieces – they were never particularly valued by the family because they were just ‘Aunty Clarice’s pots’!!
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Karen B
/ February 1, 2016Oh how lovely! I have always loved her China. As a child I was totally in love with the pretty China in my Great Aunt’s cabinet. She had some Shelley, but no Clarice Cliff. She did have some Coalport (is that what I mean I wonder? The green ones like lettuce leaves)
She left it to me in her will, all the China.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ February 1, 2016Coming from a family of potters, I think we took it all for granted – we had plates on the wall not pictures!!
By the way… we have booked a week in Cornwall in May, so we will be passing near you!
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Karen B
/ February 1, 2016Now that is good news! Please come for lunch, or afternoon tea on the way down. Whatever suits you best and fits in with your journey .
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The Snail of Happiness
/ February 2, 2016I’ll send you an email…
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nettyg
/ February 1, 2016I’m a little the same….forget the plastic wrap….you’re related to Clarice Clift? ( awed and hushed tones) I don’t have any of her china but have loved her work for years. No wonder you’re so creative, it runs in the family. I haven’t bought cling wrap for years, I have a few bee wraps I was given, but mostly use that ,’new fangled idea’, a saucer on top of a bowl.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ February 2, 2016It’s my only claim to fame!
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thecontentedcrafter
/ February 1, 2016That’s a great poem Jan! However I have to leap to the defense of cling film….. it is simply the best thing going for making really pretty and random painted backgrounds. Lay down two or three colours, place cling film over and gently scrunch it up and around, just a little, and then lift off. Leave the painted paper to dry. 🙂
Your families familiarity with Clarice Cliff’s work is pretty typical of how an artist is ignored on their own patch and in their own life time 🙂
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The Snail of Happiness
/ February 2, 2016My grandfather used to bring home seconds pots from the factory where he worked, so as a child my mother made mud pies in Wedgewood! We really didn’t have much idea of what surrounded us!!
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thecontentedcrafter
/ February 2, 2016I wonder if we will say that about nature in the eons to come……… [Sorry haven’t had my morning coffee yet 🙂 ]
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katechiconi
/ February 1, 2016I think I have a roll of cling film somewhere in the back of a cupboard, unused. The bowl and plate or saucer is so much more practical, for the simple reason that *you can put something else on top*, unlike cling film. Since our fridge contents are a good 25% leftovers waiting to be turned into something else, this is a consideration! Your Auntie Clarice did beautiful work – I think you’ve mentioned the connection before somewhere, but I forget the subject of the earlier post.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ February 2, 2016I don’t think I have any cling film any more…. I really could never get the hang of it, although someone told me last week that it’s good for poaching eggs in.
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katechiconi
/ February 2, 2016I don’t think I like the idea of food in direct contact with hot cling film. I use little flexible silicone cups called Poachies, which are washable and do an excellent job!
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The Snail of Happiness
/ February 2, 2016I use those too – I think they are called poach-pods here… this particular friend doesn’t like them for some reason although I think they are great.
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Born To Organize
/ February 2, 2016We use those silicone poach pods as well. Aren’t they terrific? Perfect poached eggs every time.
That’s a great poem.
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