How to catch a thief!

Happy Anzac Day to Heart Hanworth House followers.  As HH residents must have paid their respects on ANZAC day for years in the past,  the post today starts with a gesture of regard and thanks for all those who fought for Australia and all that they stand for. We are forever in your debt.

So let me share some ultra exciting news.  Remember on the night before the fire I was super excited about how fantastic the dining and ballrooms were shaping up? And remember how I was so excited that I even went to the trouble of polishing the "never been polished" black marble fireplace? And putting my parents furniture into the rooms? And calling husband HH to come and see the rooms? And took photos? And delighted in how clever I was with the choice of colour for the contentious raspberry wall?

Here's a visual of the rooms from that night... sans furniture...

and after dining furniture was moved in ...

Well look closely at this next photo

Apart from the spectacular roses - did you notice the silver teapot in the background, strategically placed on the fireplace mantle?

What I haven't already told you is that I was so obsessed with making the room look loved that I sorted through some of my mother's plates and crockery, and coffee/tea sets to add to the room.  I stumbled on the exquisite silver teapot and decided to give it pride of place in the dining room on the mantle to make HH look more like a home than a house.

My beautiful mum loved to go to the Tender Centre and, from time to time, pick up things. Sometimes I used to wonder why she bought what she did. We used to laugh a lot about it. That reminds me, I have never posted a photo her - here she is.

I love this photo of her. It was taken in 2004 - she was just as elegant in person as she looks in this photo. She was pretty magnificent at everything she set her hand to but dressmaking and painting were two of her particular gifts and passions. He made her outfit in this photo (as she made so many of mine over the years). Her name is Romana.  And I could never have wished for a more perfect mother. I will post lots of stories about her in the future as she is incredibly important not only to HH but to so many, and especially to me.  From now on she will be known on this blog as Mamma HH. She would love that!

Anyway, as I said, sometimes we would wonder why she would get so excited about showing us her latest purchase and I well remember the day she purchased this teapot. She thought it was so beautiful.  It sits on a small base which you can light and it magically keeps the water and tea hot. So clever.  I also now love it, probably more than I ever have.

After the fire I sorted through the rubble left on the dining room floor.

And buried right under the Nilfisk vacuum cleaner look what I found...

Hooray - It was the base of the silver teapot. I was convinced the arsonist had also by now become a thief as my guess was that he had stolen the teapot.  He also stole some other things - nothing fabulous - just some wine and some silly things from the office. However, the stolen teapot incensed me!

The police told me that arsonists generally like to do a few things - light a fire (obviously), but also steal something from the scene (my teapot!) and then return to the scene to watch the fire as an innocent bystander (well I added the bit about "as an innocent bystander") but I know they do like to return. Some of my neighbours saw him do so.

So, whilst I am no investigative journalist, I felt that the teapot must be somewhere.  I searched everywhere at HH (to no avail), I combed the street and the surrounding land, went through the bins... I was only half convinced it was lost. I must have held some hope it would be found as I kept the base (and even got it polished!)

Anyway behold what happened yesterday...

My newly introduced neighbour HH had heard I was looking for a teapot. He was the owner of the house in which the said arsonist lived (Arsonist HH lives there no more - he is now in the salubrious confines of a prison cell). Neighbour HH sought me out and returned the teapot to its rightful house and owner.  He joins Baker HH as deserving of a HH Blog's Award for Community Service.

I was so so happy - it was a wonderful gesture on his part - and made for a wonderful day on mine.

The teapot looks even more magnificent now and has been reunited with its life partner - see!

I hope they two of them will be eternally happy together and they seem destined to spend their living days together on the mantlepiece of the HH dining room.

This reunion deserved applause and a drink in its honour.  Of course, you can always rely on me for that.... so on the Anzac day afternoon beneath the 100 year old pines, husband HH, Miss HH and I popped open this bottle of magnificence circa 1998

and, according to she who must be obeyed about everything champagne (the most fabulous Bernadette - Champagne Consultant HH), should be complemented with citrus (so we obeyed!)...

and as the sun set magnificently on HH on Anzac Day 2013

we celebrated the Anzacs, the teapot reunion,  and how we caught the thief!
Hope your Anzac holiday was wonderful too 

x HH