Spode Portmeirion Group's factory in Stoke-on-Trent. Spode's "Christmas Tree" is a popular pattern of Christmas china collected by people around the world. Though Spode began making china in the late 1700s, it wasn't until the 1930s that the Christmas pattern was created. The collection started with only a plate, but now includes place settings, serving dishes and even flatware. Spode Spode is an English brand of pottery and homewares produced by the company of the same name, which is based in Stoke-on-Trent, England. Spode was founded by Josiah Spode (1733–1797) in 1770, and was responsible for perfecting two extremely important techniques
A Line in the Sand (TV series) A Line in the Sand (TV series) A Line in the Sand is a two-part British television mini-series, adapted by Gerald Seymour from his novel of the same name, that first broadcast on ITV on 7 June 2004. The series, directed by James Hawes, stars Ross Kemp as Frank Parry, a former MI6 spy who tries to escape his past by hiding out in a remote village on the Suffolk coast. The series was originally scheduled for broadcast in September 2001, but was later shelved until June 2004, due to a major plotline which involved Middle-Eastern terrorists, which was deemed