Napery Japery

Do you say ‘serviette’ or ‘napkin’? My Mum said the former, as she considered ‘napkins’ to be connected with babies bottoms [note for US friends – Brits say ‘nappies’ not ‘diapers’]

But that’s terribly ‘non-U’ [if that sort of thing bothers you!] Consequently, my Dad had a linen serviette, kept in a shiny chrome serviette ring. Our family only had the one ring – everyone else just had their white damask square folded by their plate. And serviettes were only used for Sunday lunch.

I have just treated myself to a set of six napkin rings from IKEA. We’ve been using cloth napkins for a while now and these hold them neatly [and they don’t roll!]

They also have a neat little slit along the top, so you can tuck a name card in if you want to mark people's places at the table.

This napkin is red linen – and has a crest embroidered into the weave at regular intervals. It says “Laker Airways” – which few people remember these days. They operated from 1966-1982, when the owner Sir Freddie Laker went bankrupt. His ‘no frills’ airline was the original model for EasyJet, RyanAir etc.

I got a set of six napkins for £1 in 1982 in the Bankruptcy Sale! They were unused, so I don’t think they had been anywhere exotic on a plane. Serving up the evening meal by candlelight accompanied by red linen napkins certainly adds an air of sophistication to our repast [even if it is reheated leftovers from the night before!]