Something's driving me pottery

Chalice 1 - Pottery thingy

Spoke to Abbot Charlie at Trollfast this morning. It took me a while to get through. I kept getting  the gardener, and then the beekeeper. Dreadfully bad buzzing noise from the hives or the lawnmower or similar. Eventually I got Mrs Cutley to ring from her daughter's mobile, and finally got Charlie, much to his surprise and mine own. I think the gardener and the beekeeper may be related, because they sound awfully similar to the Abbot. It rather threw me, I must admit, because I remembered that there are only two monks left at the Abbey, which is why they are "downsizing" to a rather nice 6 bedroom architect designed glass and concrete pile on the London Road, which is handy for Budgens, apparently. Anyway, Charlie explained that three chalices were not really required, so they had been convinced by the lay committee that advised them on finances to flog off one of them to pay for a set of comfy pews from this place. http://www.heals.co.uk/furniture/armchairs/icat/armchairs Jolly pricy I understand, and they had already promised their old ones to some cove from Brighton called Fr Blake (chap who does all his own DIY, by the look of the blog) who needed them for some down and out mendicant friars he had met at his soup kitchen. http://marymagdalen.blogspot.com/2012/02/some-needy-monks.html. 

Chalice2 - Green Thingy

So, to cut a long story short, they had had a show of hands, and voted which chalice to keep. They were mindful of the fact that Chalice 1 was a gift from Monsignor Porter, on his return from Rome in 1964, and which had been personally thrown by one of his dear friends there, a Sr Cain. ("Not far enough" said Mrs Cutley when she saw it, but her metiers are flower arrangements and organising the strawberry pavlovas for the Summer Fair, so not much of an expert.)

Next there was a green glass thingy, with an unusual design. I thought it might be have been an an attempt by an etcher with dyscalculia to make a Star of David, but Fr tells me it is actually a timeshare chalice which is kept specially for a group of 13 ladies who meet to discuss gemology and candlemaking, and to do free veterinary work on local cats, once every (lunar) month. He didn't want to get into ownership arguments given all the fracas in Ramsgate recently, so, wise old bird that he is, he suggested that he had been correct in selecting Chalice 3 for disposal.

Chalice 3 - Old thingy dug up from ground

When he showed me a black and white picture of this (I dug this one out later), I must admit I thought that it had been dug up from a field. In fact this is exactly what had happened back in 1840-odd. While old AWN Pugin was beavering away in the North Transept, young Edward and Agnes were digging about in the foundations during the hols, and unearthed it. Louisa, their mater, buffed it up with some Goddards or whatever they used in the mid 1800s, had the chaps from the British Museum give it the once-over, grabbed it back and smuggled it out under her cape, and presented it to the monks (then about 120 strong, so it was a handy size). 

Anyway, I have decided to have a word with the chap upstairs, and attend the auction later this afternoon, and see what transpires. TTFN.