Washing all of our mugs this afternoon, I wondered how on earth we ended up with 22 of them. I mean, with only two of us in this house, we really don’t need anything like this many.
Then I remembered the time I was helping to clear my mother’s flat after she died. I had been amazed then at how many mugs, cups, tea sets, plates, cutlery and so on she had – there must have been enough for 30+ full place settings. An old lady living on her own, with few visitors – what on earth did she need so many for, I wondered.
But now I think I know. Like me, Im sure she was holding onto all this china and cutlery just in case she was descended upon by a coachload of hungry, thirsty visitors; she wanted to be prepared for any eventuality, and would have been devastated if there hadn’t been enough plates and forks for everyone.

So, if a coach party were to drop by my huse – I could rustle up tea for everyone!