VASE

I rescued this vase from Mum's. It was always there, wherever we were in the world, and none of us liked it. We all thought it was a bit of a Victorian monstrosity when we were growing up. Nobody else wanted it, and I feel slightly warmer towards it so brought it home and put yet another bunch of left-in-the-bucket bargain roses into it. Mum told us it was passed down to her, and the story was that some ancestor had bought it at the Great Exhibition in 1851, but there's no manufacturer's mark on it, just the word "England" and a number. If it was bought there it was probably at a souvenir stall. My Mum was a talented flower arranger and I inherited absolutely nothing of her skill. She'd probably be horrified at what I've done and would tweak a couple of stems slightly, add a hint of greenery and turn it into something gorgeous!