Margaret’s Tea Towel Story

The project I started, on the first day of Lockdown Number 3, has confused people somewhat. I had asked for pictures of people’s own tea towels which I promised to put in the Virtual Tea Towel Museum. I never realised that I would get so many tea towels, or so many interesting tea towels. As we emerge out of Lockdown Number 3, I hope to have the time to just insert them all in the Museum; in the meantime, I have incorporated them into Tea Towel Blogs and have invited a few people to become Guest Tea Towels 2021, because of the uniqueness of their tea towels.

Let me introduce you to Margaret. Margaret listens to BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester, to the Malcolm Boyden Show. I know that because she heard the short interview I had with Malcolm and Nicky (who owns a tea towel from Feckenham School). Margaret was one of the people who responded to my request for pictures of tea towels. Margaret doesn’t use Twitter (where #TheGreatTeaTowelSharing project started) so sent her two tea towels in by email. I was astonished; these were two tea towels from the Falkland Islands. The Falkland Islands? Where Margaret Thatcher was involved in a war around some islands very few people had heard of? Hardly a tourist hotspot, not on everyone’s list of places to visit when Lockdown is over. The Falkland Islands (East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 other smaller islands) currently has a population of just over 3000, why did they have a tea towel (or two)? A print run would mean everyone needed to buy one. This is a great Guest Tea Towel 2021 Story, without a doubt. So here is Margaret’s Story:

“This is just a bit of information on the Falkland Islands tea towel. My son sailed out to the Falkland Islands in 1984, on HMS Southampton. It was after the conflict there. All he can say about it was that it was very barren, more like a farming environment. I think that the tea towels came on the scene after the conflict, as they were getting visitors to see the Islands, to see what it was like, as people didn’t really know they existed.

I have kept the tea towels as memories of my son while serving in the Royal Navy, and where he visited in the world. I’ve never used them!”

Certainly, some very poignant memories. Thank you Margaret.