Happy and glorious

ICAN’T remember when I last used my 12 Fabergé after-dinner coffee cups. Americans call these little cups ‘demitasse’, which is about as bi-lingual as we get. Mine come in five colours and I treasure them, although I’ve reached the age where my guests are fewer in number and tend to opt for mint tisanes after dinner.

I first saw Fabergé porcelain at Mount Congreve in Ireland, where Ambrose Congreve adhered to the of separating after dinner. The men adjourned to the ‘smoking room’ to enjoy Cuban cigars and Port and the women were guided to the ‘little drawing