I don’t know about you, but I always try to bring home a memento or 2 from each city I visit.

When I visited England in 2010, I spent a couple of days in the wonderful village of Thornbury. Before heading out of town, we went exploring and wandered into a small boutique with gifts and knick knacks. The moment I saw the Zair Pottery collection, I knew I had to buy something. I ended up coming home with this handmade Zair Pottery mug.

Unfortunately, I tried to cram it into a too tight space in my dishwasher a while back. Now the mug has a big chunk missing and a hairline crack.

As soon as it happened, I went online and tried to find a website for Zair Pottery so I could replace the mug. No luck.

I finally located the store where I bought it (I no longer remember the name) and I sent them an email asking if they still carried the mugs and could I buy one for them to ship to me. No response.

Tonight I came across the picture of the mug while I was cleaning up my computer and decided to search online one more time.

I don’t know why replacing this mug means so much. I really do love the mug. It’s artistic and unique and feels solid in your hand while sipping coffee. But more importantly, I really loved the trip. Thornbury Castle, the town, the people we met and my traveling partner Pamela all just combined to create the perfect trip.

I’m sad to lose my memento. I still use it, but it’s not the same

Maybe someone else searching the online for Zair will stumble on this post and tell me where I can find a replacement.

If not, I might just have to make a return trip.