Cake Stand - Mark II

The Ups and Downs of Owning a Beautiful Cake Stand!

I was more attached than I realised myself to the cake stand that I found at my grandma’s house in January this year.  I know I was delighted to find it, and I wrote about it in “Cardiff and Cake Stands” and later in “Tea in the Ladies’ Room – Classy”.

But I didn’t realise how attached I was to it until Mothers Day this year.  Vicky gave me some gorgeous little chocolates in the shape of cakes and I put them on the Cake Stand.  Look, I even took a photograph of it! Then, I popped them on the floor next to the sofa and settled down with a cup of tea.  The phone rang, I jumped up, forgetting the cake plate, kicked it and both of glass plates smashed.  I am still shocked at how upset I was and it was so unexpected that no one else know how to respond or help.  I was sobbing, really sobbing for ages and felt gutted for days whenever I thought about it.  When I saved that photo onto my laptop, I named it "RIP Cake Stand" and I wasn't even being funny.

Apart from Chris, Vicky and Paul, there’s only one other person who knows of this catastrophe and even then, I only told the tale after the 'find' (see below).  I knew if I spoke about it, I’d just make myself miserable (an activity I tend to avoid!).  I was probably trying to pretend it hadn't happened. 

Chris and Vicky wanted to buy me a new one, and look for something really special.  I felt like if I was going to get another one, it should be a second hand one from a junk / antique shop so that at least it would be ‘old’ like my grandma’s cake stand.

I haven’t gone out of my way to look for a replacement, but have just idly glanced in second hand shops / market stalls if we've passed them. We scanned a few market stalls when we went to London last month.  I think if I'd set about looking in earnest, I'd have just felt repeated disappointment. 

Then, would you believe it, last week we went to Hemswell Cliff Sunday Market and Car boot Sale, and there in one of the brick-a-brack shacks were two glass plates with gold trim – exactly the same plates as those on the deceased cake stand!  I couldn’t believe my luck – especially as they were on a pile labelled “oddments - £1 each”.  Only one of them had the hole in the middle for the fittings but we were able to get a hole bored into the other at Middleton’s Glass down Wellington Street, Grimsby, who gave quick service at a reasonable price.  

I found some cake stand fittings on eBay and Chris put it all together for me yesterday.  And here it is.  Beautiful.  Just like my grandma’s Cake Plate.

 I know that it is a replacement.  I know it isn’t really my grandmas cake stand.  Yet it honestly feels like it is.  All the sadness about my clumsy accident has gone.  It really feels like that day didn’t happen.  That’s why I can now talk / write about it.  It’s all worked out well and I feel SO lucky to have actually been in the right place at the right time to find them.  So, today is my last day off work and it seemed fitting to make cakes.  Simple pleasures – again.