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Sunday, October 30, 2005  

Belleek Newslettre (# 9.4)

** HAPPY HOLIDAYS !!

Due to our calendar FULL of Holidays,
scheduled
within the next 60 days, this
will be my Holiday
Issue and hopefully a
'double issue' !! May this
Holiday Season
shine its light on ALL
Belleekers, and
their loved ones, keeping them joyful and
prosperous and
secure !!

** 2005 BELLEEK HONOUREE !!

Mr. Roland Glendinning was honoured this
year as our 20th, I believe, Belleek
Honouree for 2005 !! Other than a
Belleek enthusiast, Roland
has both
extensive Theological and Educational
Backgrounds !!
More detailed information
is available in our latest
B.C.I.S.
Newsletter, as well as his Gallery
Photograph !!
It will be a privilege to
admit Roland into our Honouree's

Gallery !! CONGRATULATIONS ROLAND !!

** WELCOME NEW PRESIDENTS !!

Charlotte, again in our latest B.C.I.S.
Newsletter, has
Updated ALL the current
information regarding our
Chapter Presidents !!
Salutations to those of you whom
have
recently assumed your duties and MANY
KUDOs' to
those of you whom are continuing
your positions !!


I have revised my Chapter Mailing List and
ALL those of
you whom have E-mail Addresses,
will be receiving my
latest Newslettre !!

For those of you who were on my previous
President
Mailing List, but are no longer
a President, I have
MOVEd your E-mail ID's
to my E-Correspondents List !!


I am ALWAYS appreciative of those recipients
whom
forward my Newslettre on to their
Belleeker acquaintances !!


** MAILING LIST ??

AGAIN, if you read my Newslettres regularly
and would like
to be in on my 'Automatic'
Mailing List, ALL you need
do is to drop me
a SHORT note indicating 'that you
would like
automatic notification of new Newslettres' !!

And, BINGO, I'll ADD you to my
E-Correspondents and you'll begin
receiving
upcoming Newslettre notifications !!

For those of you I've 'lost contact' with,
if you WERE
receiving my Newslettre and have
NOT received one in a
bit, it's MOST probably
due to a Change in YOUR E-mail
ID !! Post me,
i.e., E-mail, your current ID and I'll
get
you back on our list !!


** MICHIGAN WAS ALIVE
IN 2005 !! **

Well, the Convention is OVER, BUT all in
attendance,
I believe, came away with fond
memories !!


My fondest were, of course, in meeting all
those fellow
Belleekers, whom, up to this
time, one only has a name
to associate with !!
In fact, one couple arrived the
first day
whose sole intention was JUST to see the
faces of those they were
continually bidding
against on E-Bay !! A STRONG
point was made
to INCLUDE one's 'Bidder ID' on
your Name Tag !!

As to the program that had been arranged
for us, I MUST admit, it was SPLENDID !!
KUDOs' to
Phyllis and ALL her Chapter
Members for their
exquisite Convention !!

My favourites, included David Reynolds'
engrossing talk on
'Belleeking the U.K. Way'
and Fergus Cleary's
marvelous presentation
on the (Master) Molds he has been
able to
identify from the old mold room at the

Pottery !!

Another talk, actually scheduled for a
panel
discussion, which, I REALLY was
interested in,
was unfortunately skipped
over due to time constraints !!
It was to
be a discussion on 'How to Dispose
of a
Belleek Collection' !!
Hopefully, Angela
can include this in our upcoming
Convention ??
PROGRAM HINT !!


** UPCOMING CONVENTION ??

Speaking of which, Angela has made an
OFFICIAL
announcement that our next
Convention will be the
150th. Anniversary
of the Pottery Convention to be
held at
the Belleek Pottery in 2007 !! It is
currently
slated to be a SPRING convention,
tentatively scheduled
for April of that year !!
SO, it's ONLY 18 months away,
time to start
making arrangements !! And for those of

you whom are persistent procrastinators,
like myself, we had
best begin packing !!

** BELLEEK LIVING !!

Another item, not only introduced, but
discussed at
length during the Grand Rapids
Program, was that of
Belleek's 'NEW' Lines !!
These will include, as I understand
it all,
TWO separate lines of China that will
ACTUALLY
be produced in (the country of)
China !! YES, you read
it correctly,
"MADE in CHINA" !! The first of these

will include all the ornaments and cake
toppers, etc.,
that are currently produced
at the Pottery in Ireland !!


The second line will consist of a COMPLETE
line of 'everyday' table ware, which, can
go from fridge to
microwave to table to
dishwasher, etc. !! Following
the Convention,
I had the honour of relaxing at Lady
Marion's
Estate for a week and we all visited the
Pottery
one day and I was able to view the
complete (or fairly
complete) line of Belleek
Living Ware !! I was VERY
IMPRESSED !! It's
quite 'simple' in design BUT I would
have to
say VERY utilitarian and functional !! And
keep in mind, that
this is China, NOT Parian
ware !!


Editor's Note : While at Marion's, I
learned JUST
about everything I ever
wanted to know regarding
the raising of
chickens and ALL other assorted fowl !!

I now TRULY respect the fact that one can
purchase
fully 'prepared' fowl in
supermarkets and restaurants !!
BUT, as
someone else has said, "This is another
story ..
for another time .. in another
dimension .." !!


BOTH new lines, will carry their own
distinctive mark,
BUT NEITHER will
incorporate the 'traditional' Harp,
Hound
and Tower which, we ALL so cherish on our

collectibles !! Each item will also carry
a little 'China' sticker, which, should
wash off easily, but is required
of any
product to identify country of manufacture !!

Angela also stated that these lines will
be shipped in
red coloured boxes as opposed
to the Parian Belleek
which, is shipped
in green boxes !!


It was somewhere, about this time, that,
I believe it
was Fergus, interjected that
the Pottery would NOW
be able to concentrate
on more 'limited' edition Parian items as

well as society collectibles !!

I might interrupt here myself, to note, as
I traveled
about Ireland, the Belleek shops
are now being named
'Belleek Living' stores !!
And they are stocking BOTH
the Pottery's
Parian ware as well as the new Belleek
Living
line of China !!

So, what does all this mean in a nutshell ??
First, ONLY
items produced at the Pottery in
Ireland will carry the
(original) Harp,
Hound and Tower Mark in ANY variation !!

ALL Belleek produced OUTSIDE Ireland, will
have its
own appropriate Mark, but there
will NEVER be a Harp,
Hound or Tower on ANY
of these foreign produced wares !!


Angela correctly stated that ALL other
glass and china
manufacturers have had to
'outsource' their production !!
This is NOT
unique to JUST Belleek !! In fact, Belleek
is
probably one of the last, if not THE last,
to outsource some
of their production !!

What does this do for Belleek ?? Again,
as Angela properly
stated, it allows the
Pottery to produce an 'entry' level of

porcelain (actually China), that can be
produced and exported
and imported
relatively inexpensively !! Hopefully,
this will
achieve a greater worldwide
recognition of the Belleek 'Name'
and
will consequently increase sales, etc.
of our beloved
Irish Parian !!

PERSONALLY, I believe that this will
INCREASE the values
of ALL 'original'
Belleek, i.e., those items currently in
production
at the Pottery AS WELL AS ALL
those precious collectible
antique and
historic items from Belleek's past !!


I'm sure that we'll all be presented with
additional details as
everything falls in
place !! ALL comments are welcome and
I'll
publish ANY updates as I receive them !!
THANKS !!


** TERRORISTS !!

If any of you have been following the
news lately, there's been
several severe
TERRORIST shark attacks off both coasts of
the
United States in the past several months !!
And these fools
claim there are NO sharks in
US waters ?? Of course, we
ONLY hear of the
idiots who survive their attackers !! What

about the folks who are just simply digested
as dinner ?? I for one suffer
from SEVERE
and abnormal and persistent fear of sharks !!

It's a phobia classified as Selachophobia !!

** SHARK TRIVIA !!

Most men's pupils get 1/3 bigger when
looking at pictures of sharks, but shrink
in reaction to pictures of babies.


** SPEAKING OF PHOBIAS' !!

Dean Bagnall, coincidentally, Phyllis' beau,
is DEFINITELY NOT a Mageirocophobic !!
He
spent TWO Days (and nights) baking up SIX,
I believe, of the
recipes, submitted by
members for the Convention Dessert Cookbook !!

These were DEFINITELY the culinary highlite
of the Convention Food !!


** PENGUIN OR PLASTIC ??

On my return from Lady Marion's, I flew out
of Belfast Harbor
Airport !! Marion was
generous enough to present me with
a pair of
glass penguin paperweights prior to my
departure !!
MUCH to my surprise, upon
entering the airport, I was requested to
like totally unpack my luggage as apparently,
LEADED glass
'appears' IDENTICAL to PLASTIC
EXPLOSIVE !! This happened
twice, so my
advice to others and a remembrance for
myself, is
to SHIP your glass home !!


Leaded Glass Penquin Paperweights !!

Pair of CUTE 'DYNAMITE' Penguins !!

Editor's Note : Upon arriving at Heathrow
Airport, London, less than an
hour later, we
were going down the escalator to the first

floor exit doors, when the alarms sounded,
EVERYTHING
'shut' down, including the
escalators, and armed police
forced us all
back up to the second level where we had

to exit to OUTSIDE stairways down to the
first level !! BUT,
now, we're ALL outside
and the airport didn't reopen for
like an
hour, so by this time, I'd ALMOST missed
the LAST
transportation out to the hotels !!
I HOPE IT WASN'T
MY PENGUINS AGAIN ??!!

** TRAVEL POWER !!

A wee hint for travelers abroad, whether
that be from the UK
or the Continent to the
US or vice versa or ANY other combination !!

IF you expect to carry a LapTop or NoteBook
Computer along with
you for use at your
hotel, etc., BE SURE to include the proper

wall plug adaptor for the country(s) you
will be traveling in !!


MOST LapTops manufactured today, are
supplied with 'intelligent'
step down
transformers (power converters), i.e.,
that little 'black
box' that's in-between
your wall jack and your computer !! Look
on
the base of your transformer and VERIFY
that it's labeled
100 - 240 V(olts) 50 - 60Hz
(or 100 - 120V 60Hz, 220 - 240V 50Hz,
or the
equivalent) !! This indicated that your
computer's transformer
is 'SMART' enough to
be plugged into EITHER a US style 110 Volt

power supply OR a European style 220 Volt
supply !!


THUS, ALL you will require, for proper
operation, is a conversion adaptor plug
allowing
you to plug into your 'foreign'
power outlet receptacle !! These adaptor
plugs
may be reasonably purchased at most
electrical supply outlets or
across the
Internet !!


NOW, ENJOY YOUR VACATION !!

** E-BAY HINTS !!

If you sell on E-Bay and utilize their
PayPal utilities for production
of Shipping
Labels, PAY ATTENTION TO THIS !!


IDEALLY, utilize the gummed label sheets
that are designed
specifically for this
size label !! IF you elect to print your
label on 'plain'
UN-gummed paper, when you
attach your label to your package,
take
caution to secure your label with either
glue OR enough
tape to fasten your label
properly !! I.e., suggestion, use
2" wide
clear tape ACROSS the label !!


To make a LONG story short, I had won a
small bid and the
chap shipping my parcel,
produced a plain paper label, and ONLY

secured it to my package via a thin border
of tape around its
perimeter !! Somewhere,
during shipment, MY label 'pealed' off
my
parcel and attached itself to another
parcel due for a
family in Portland, OR !!

I was awaiting multiple parcels that
week, so this one 'looked'
like it might
be one of mine AND, it DID have my Name
and
Address on it !! ONCE I had signed
for it, it's OUT of the
US Postal system,
i.e., it's been delivered, and THAT's
THAT !!
I.e., MY 'tracking number' was
recorded as delivered, ALTHOUGH
my label
was on someone else's parcel !! They,
i.e., the postal
authorities, ASSUME
that the proper label is attached
to the
corresponding parcel !!


Editor's Note : ALWAYS INCLUDE INSIDE
ANY parcel you
are shipping, either your
'card of introduction' or business card

or a copy of the auction or ANYTHING which,
specifies either
the shippers (and
preferably the receivers) address !!
This allows the postal inspectors, IF
your parcel is lost, the opportunity
of
discouvering its origin or intended
destination when they
open your package
in a final desperation attempt to complete

delivery !!

** IRISH TRIVIA !!

Jack o' lanterns originated in Ireland
where people placed candles in hollowed-
out turnips to keep away spirits and

ghosts on the Samhain holiday !!

Research defines Samhain as the first day
of November, celebrated by the ancient
Celts as a festival marking the beginning
of winter and of the new year according
to their calendar; All Saint's Day or
Hallowmass !! Samhain Eve became known
as All-Hallows' Eventually, corrupted to
Hallow-e'en and now spelled Hallowe'en
or Halloween !!


** THE HARVEST MOUSE !!

In 1970, Belleek begin producing Christmas
plates to commemorate
the season !! The
first series of 7 (seven) plates were
basically representative of Irish heritage,
peace and historic monuments !!


The second series of plates, beginning in
1977, were designed to honour the native
animals of Ireland !! As chief modeler and
designer, Fergus, in his usual methodical
fashion, combined with exhaustive research,

decided in 1978, to utilize the Harvest Mouse
of the British Isles
as the representative
animal prototype for that year !!

Painstakingly, drawings were sketched, molds
were crafted, etc., and finally,
a finished
product, a beautiful Christmas plate for 1978 !!

Unfortunately, for all concerned, those that
previewed Fergus'
craftsmanship felt that his
beautiful image was more representative
of a
ravenous rat !! They had absolutely NO
appreciation for
his beautiful Harvest Mouse
creation !!


SO, back to the drawing boards and, eventually,
the 1978 Christmas plate was redesigned to
honour the Leaping Salmon !!
I mean, salmon
ARE nice, BUT, you can obtain salmon
just
about anywhere !! We can even purchase FRESH
salmon
just about year around out here in Puget
Sound !!


In any case, the Harvest Mouse plate eventually
found
its place of honour in the collection of
one of our very
fond Belleek International
Collector Society Honourees !! I was fortunate
enough to acquire this 'one of' plate from

this collection and here it is for your perusal !!


Belleek 1978 Proof Plate !!

The Prototype One Of 1978
Harvest Mouse Christmas Plate !!


There's an ecological and environmental strip
in our Sunday Seattle Times PI Newspaper
Funnies Section, designated Mark
Trail by
Dodd & Elrod !! I subscribe to this edition
ONLY so I'm able to read the Sunday funnies !!
In any case,
one edition last fall, I came
across this insert which, is exactly
what
prompted this editorial !!


To quote Dodd & Elrod :

"Except for the pygmy shrew, the Harvest
Mouse
is the smallest mammal in the British
Isles .. It is about 5 inches long including
its tail


"It lives mainly in the ditches, pastures
and fields
of cereal crops, and its most
noticeable features
are its agile climbing
ability and its cleanliness


"The tiny rodent is one of the most assiduous
bathers
of all creatures and spends much of
its time grooming


"Only when it is thoroughly clean does it
turn its attention to other matters


"Even the face-washing house cat is careless
compared to the Harvest Mouse

"Several times a day it stops what it is
doing and tidies up by licking its small
pink
paws then scrubbing from head to tail ..

"Jack Elrod"


A Cute Harvest Mouse At Play !!

A REALLY Cute Little Harvest Mouse
Playing in the Crops !!


A Closer View !!

A Closer View of His Antics !!

Wildlife pictures, compliments of :
http://www.surfbirds.com/ !!

This is basically THE Site for Ornithologists,
i.e., Bird Watchers,
BUT they also maintain a
voluminous picture collection
all rare and
endangered species of animals !!


Belleekingly,

Del E. Domke, Belleek Consultant
16142 N.E. 15th. Street
Bellevue, WA 98008-2711
U.S.A.

Telephone : 1 (425) 746-6363
Message : 1 (425) 746-6363
FAX : 1 (425) 746-6363
E-mail : delyicious@comcast.net
Web-site : The Beauty and Romance of Irish Belleek (or) :
 http://delyicious.magix.net/public/index.html