Dinner Sets or Pizza

It might not be politically correct to say this, but women mold the space we call home. It was like that in the twentieth century. It is like that in this Wi-Fi century, where both parties work.

Women still make the four walls functional: see to it that there’s enough bathroom tissue, milk in the fridge, kids’ uniform clean and inviting family and friends over.

That is the bitter truth, which brings us to the dinner set. Stores have them on half price because they are not moving. Times have changed, living conditions have changed, growing kids have changed, so serving elaborate dinners is rare. 

If you have a dinner set or two, when last did you use it? When last did people arrive scrubbed, shaved and well-dressed for dinner? You can’t remember.

Stores are not the only ones hanging on to the dream of dinner sets. Wedding magazines too. They not only feature brides’ dresses, but  carry ads of gleaming pots and expensive dinner sets laced with gold trim.

But where does the dinner set come from? From the olde' world where lords of manors had long tables, where they entertained people closely and remotely related to the Queen, like dukes and duchesses.

This upper class was served by the working class, who constantly bowed ‘Mi’ Lady and Mi’Lord. They cooked, laid out dinner sets and washed them afterwards. But the Industrial Revolution and two World Wars happened. Working class women left kitchens and bed chambers for factories.

The aristocracy didn’t like the migration one bit, but they scaled down. They entertained less. Therefore, dinner sets have a long history of losing colour and relevance.

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.