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
The Owl Service (TV series) The Owl Service (TV series) The Owl Service is an eight-part television series based on the fantasy novel of the same name by Alan Garner. Produced in 1969 and televised over the winter of 1969–1970, the series was remarkably bold in terms of production. It was the first fully scripted colour production by Granada Television and was filmed almost entirely on location at a time when almost all TV drama was studio-bound. It used editing techniques such as jump cuts to create a sense of disorientation and also to suggest that two time periods overlapped. For the series, the book