Tuesday 8 March 2011

Symbol of the times



This old biscuit tin is one of those things
 that was just always around at home,
mostly hidden from view in a cupboard.
I stopped seeing it long ago.
It contains the most beautiful jigsaw,
the Circus Jigsaw.
But today, for the first time 
I stopped seeing it as the Circus Jigsaw tin
and noticed the lid with its
rain splashed
daffodils, lilac, anemones and ranunculus
and thought it was time it had its five minutes of fame.

The brand was Symbol Biscuits (1944)
with an elephant head logo and
Never Forget in gold on the side.
Once they held forty different types of 
sweet dry and savoury biscuits.

Now tins like these serve out their days
demoted to less glamorous duties -
(shoe polish and string holding chief amongst them)
until a house clearance brings them out into 
a world that eschews biscuit assortments,
but gives them new life as vintage chic accessories.


5 comments:

  1. "vintage chic accessories.."
    I believe I see a new role for myself coming on...

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  2. Lovely, evocative post! When I was very small, my mother's sewing tin (post-biscuits) showed Sir Joshua Reynold's portrait of Mrs Siddons (not the Tragic Muse, but the other one, with the lovely black hat) and without having a clue who this vision might be, I loved it greatly.You are so fortunate that your old tin didn't get cleared out years ago!

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  3. I do wish biscuits - and toffees - still came in tins. I think the only thing we get in a tin now is the Christmas Panetonne - and it's not a tin worthy of keeping.

    Your spring flowers are so very pretty.

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  4. Oh, I love all your jugs! So pretty.

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  5. Indeed, a very pretty tin. I have a special one from Peak Freans - a vintage Hawaiian motif. It serves as my mending box now.

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