Some thoughts on silver … and going for the gold

This weekend, I did some silver polishing, and for a timely reason. I was cleaning out one of Alex's old desks the other day and came across three silver forks engraved "Liddell." The McRae family tree includes some Liddells, and a family history I've read says this was Mrs. Liddell's wedding silver. A cousin passed these along several years ago, but alas, there were only the three forks, and I sure wished I had a fourth, because four could be used for a small tea party, right? But I kept staring at the pretty design and thinking, "Where have I seen this before?"

Then I remembered: Not long after we were married, Alex handed me a pillowcase, I believe it was, in which he'd wrapped a few silver pieces that belonged to his late mother. He said he thought I might like them, and indeed I did (and do). So now, I have four forks from his forebears—three of the seven-inch forks engraved "Liddell" and one 7-3/8-inch fork engraved "McRae." They're made of coin silver, which isn't quite as pure as sterling, but they all cleaned up beautifully with my beloved Wright's Silver Cream.

I also polished a large silver serving spoon Alex presented me with, and it, too, came via his mother. It's engraved "Mary Irvin," and I learned from a family history book that she passed away in 1861.

Another piece I've started polishing (so much that I actually ran out of silver cream!) was Alex's baby cup! I'm thinking of having a silversmith repair it by getting out the dents and dings, but first, I wanted to make sure it can be polished. 

I've still got work to do, but I think this is a vast improvement.

And after staring at that "Liddell" engraving handed down by my husband's family members, who came from Scotland, it dawned on me that "Liddell" was a name I'd heard before, and you may have already made the connection about Eric Liddell, the "Flying Scotsman," who won a gold medal for the 400-meter race in the Paris Olympics of 1924. I've found no evidence that "our" Liddells have a direct connection to the famous runner, but I still like sharing a name with someone who honored the Lord by refusing to run on the Sabbath yet went on to win the gold. And if I had ever seen Chariots of Fire, the 1981 movie about Eric Liddell, I'd certainly forgotten it, so I watched it twice this weekend. Highly recommend!