The General Chat Thread (2025)

MypinchofItaly said:
Yes they are good people, we also share food sometimes like cakes, biscuits, etc. I think they didn’t realise that it was so early and I am sure the apologies were sincere.
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Thats nice to hear. I immediately imagined inconsiderate neighbours which is a whole different ball game.
 
I’ve just discovered something quite disappointing about my Willow pattern tea set.
Lead was commonly used in the paint and glaze right up until the 90’s when lead paint was banned in the UK!
Some of it contains very high levels and the only way to know is to test it.
So I’ve ordered some lead testing swabs and will have to check it all before I use it.
As the back stamps vary it was clearly collected over time from different sources. I imagine I’m going to have to disregard a chunk of it.
 
SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
Got a lot of work done so now I’m easing off the gas and trying to summon up the enthusiasm to swab lead coated tea set!
I wouldn’t mind if just one or two pieces were ok, particularly the cake stand.
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I have my grandmother’s tea set, and it’s of the vintage where the glazes are probably leaded. I don’t worry about it too much; I only use those dishes a couple times a year at most.

I wouldn’t allow children to eat off those plates (lead is worse for developing brains), but I don’t have any so it’s not a concern for me.
 
Herbaceous said:
I have my grandmother’s tea set, and it’s of the vintage where the glazes are probably leaded. I don’t worry about it too much; I only use those dishes a couple times a year at most.

I wouldn’t allow children to eat off those plates (lead is worse for developing brains), but I don’t have any so it’s not a concern for me.
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I agree if it’s occasional use then so what and I wouldn’t give them to children to use either.
But I also prefer to minimise consuming any heavy metals myself, neurotoxins are on my no thanks list, especially with a family history of dementia and heavy metals being a proven neurotoxin.

But I have ordered some doilies (remember them?!) so the cake stand will get used regardless!
They’ll be here later today 😊
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SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
I agree if it’s occasional use then so what and I wouldn’t give them to children to use either.
But I also prefer to minimise consuming any heavy metals myself, neurotoxins are on my no thanks list, especially with a family history of dementia and heavy metals being a proven neurotoxin.

But I have ordered some doilies (remember them?!) so the cake stand will get used regardless!
They’ll be here later today 😊
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My dad sometimes decorates desserts (cakes etc) by putting a doily on top, dusting with icing sugar, and then removing the doily. Voila, pretty pattern!
 
SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
Got a lot of work done so now I’m easing off the gas and trying to summon up the enthusiasm to swab lead coated tea set!
I wouldn’t mind if just one or two pieces were ok, particularly the cake stand.
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You can always use parchment or a cardboard cake round as a liner.

ETA: Saw you got doilies after posting.
 
My 1990’s full-o-lead Corelle dishes are frequently displayed here. Here’s a platter, which still looks fairly new because we don’t use it very often:

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Here’s a plate that’s in regular rotation:
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Needless to say, that’s got a little fading going on!

Corelle, to the best of my knowledge, have always maintained that while their dishes before a certain time contained lead, they weren’t a danger as long as the dishes weren’t chipped through the paint or otherwise damaged, but from what I can find now, they’ve since come out and said to use dinnerware from this era for presentation only, no eating.

I’ve been itching to get new dinnerware for quite a long time, now I can get MrsT to agree.

Also, a quick search shows our wedding-present Noritake stoneware (which appears here occasionally), received in 1990, also has lead in the paint - she won’t be talked so easily out of those.
 
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