Bone China & Airport Security

For Kelli's 'Show and Tell Friday' I would like to share the tea set which I bought July 1979 in London, England. The pattern is "Consul" by Spode. It is a simple cream china with a band of cobalt blue and thin gold lines. I got the tea set, four dinner plates and a serving bowl. (I would later order more pieces from the same store.)

At Gered, the store where I bought it, I let them know that I would be travelling by plane with this china. So they packed it very well in a compact box with a carrying handle.

When I arrived at Heathrow Airport I checked in my baggage, but the box of china, of course, was going on the plane with me. At the inspection station, when the inspector asked me to open box, I showed bill of sale from the store, which listed each item. He informed me that I had to open the box for inspection. However, I asked him, "But who is going to pack it up again? I don’t want anything broken."

So there we went, back and forth... the inspector firmly indicating that I had to open the package, and me questioning who would pack it up again. Finally, he decided to let it pass and I went on my way to the gate. Was I ever relieved to escape dismantling the well-done packing and then trying to get the pieces back into the slim box!

Of course, that was long before September 11, 2001, and the subsequent restrictive security measures that passengers have to cope with.

For more Show and Tell visit Kelli at There’s No Place Like Home. Thanks again, for stopping by.