19th Century English Rummer

A friend of mine has an early 19th century English rummer, which he uses to drink his red wine. It's about 6 inches high and with its large ovoid bowl it certainly holds a fair bit of wine – but that's not my point! He rarely drinks his red wine from anything else and he's had it for about twenty years and so it's seen a good bit of use. One day another friend was with him having dinner and they got talking about the wine glass. When his friend asked him how much it was worth he turned to me and I said, "somewhere between £60 and £70."

"Aren't you afraid by using it so often that you're going to break it when you’re washing it up?" Asked his friend.

"Well, that's a chance you take. Many years ago Judith bought me a pair of rummers just like this one and a friend washed both together in the sink and smashed them. Naturally I was upset but hey-ho these things happen. The fact is that I was able to buy another and it has given me immense pleasure. Drinking even an ordinary claret from this glass makes it taste twice as expensive as it cost!"

That really is the point of having nice things. Use them, enjoy them and gain pleasure for yourself and your friends. Next time I'm visiting the friend perhaps I'll ask him if I can have my red wine in his glass.