Portmeirion Pottery Chelsea porcelain factory's "botanical" designs of the 1750s. It was launched in 1972 and, with new designs added periodically, is still made today, the most successful ceramics series of botanical subjects. More recent designs have included Sophie Conran's "Crazy Daisy" and "Dawn Chorus". On 23 April 2009, Portmeirion Potteries Ltd purchased the Royal Worcester and Spode brands, after they had been placed into administration the previous November. Portmeirion Potteries has since changed its company name to Portmeirion Group to reflect this acquisition. The purchase did not include the manufacturing facilities of Royal Worcester or Spode. The manufacture of much of
The Name of the Rose (film) The Name of the Rose (film) The Name of the Rose is a 1986 Italian-French-German mystery historical drama film directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, based on the book of the same name by Umberto Eco. Sean Connery stars as the Franciscan friar William of Baskerville and Christian Slater is his apprentice Adso of Melk; they are called upon to solve a deadly mystery in a medieval abbey. As an old man, Adso of Melk recounts how, in 1327, as a young Franciscan novice (a Benedictine one in the novel), he and his mentor, Franciscan friar William of Baskerville, traveled to a