Ideas & Ingenuity

Thirsty work

NEVER trust a man, who, when alone in a room with a tea cosy, doesn't try it on his head. This is the code by which Billy Connolly has lived his life, which explains why the madcap funny man is enthroned, like the national treasure he is, in the garden of his Candacraig country seat, crowned with a tea cosy and hugging an exuberant silver teapot on wheels.

It's a deliciously witty, surreal image, typical of a chap who drinks several cups of tea a day and enjoys them immensely, despite tea being only his second favourite drink. It's no surprise that the Big Yin's first choice would be alcohol, but unfortunately he's no longer allowed that, since he freely admits that he drank his share all at once, "Not knowing it was supposed to last me a lifetime." Connolly's ideal companion for a cuppa would be God. Should the Almighty be otherwise engaged, he would like to ask Keith Richards or Nelson Mandela round to his Aberdeenshire estate.

The great South African lawyer, statesman and Nobel prizewinner is also the man with whom violinist Nicola Benedetti would most like to share a comforting mug of her favourite drink - dark, gloopy hot chocolate topped with whipped cream - while huddled in companionable silence on the peak of the Cairn Gorm. This is one reason she's cheerfully balancing that sleek silver hot chocolate pot on her head.

A tweedy, smiling Sir Sean Connery - cradling a gold-lined silver quaich and sporting a lion rampant on his forehead - is dreaming of sipping one of Scotland's finest malt whiskies with Ataturk, founder and first president of the Turkish republic. The Hollywood star admires the leader's self-discipline in bringing his country together, because the great general and statesman "did not give in to the temptation to follow a policy of expansion".

Singer Sharleen Spiteri wants to throw a tea party in her back garden for Marvin Gaye. She'll be mum, pouring the tea from a glamorous, tasselled silver pot that resembles a chrysanthemum, on which a scattering of diamonds sparkles like drops of dew on its gold-tipped petals.

This may sound like something out of a fairytale, but it's all true, and down to an ancient organisation.

The Incorporation of Goldsmiths of the City of Edinburgh, which was set up in the 15th century, is the oldest and perhaps most prestigious trade body of its kind in Scotland. Not only does it protect the interests of consumers, it promotes those of goldsmiths, silversmiths and jewellers, which means that it's still doing exactly what it set out to do in the 1400s. The Incorporation also runs the Assay Office, which tests and hallmarks precious metals.

To mark its 550th anniversary, the organisation has come up with a special charity project, Silver of the Stars. Ten distinguished Scottish celebrities from the fields of film, fashion, music, theatre and literature - including Ewan McGregor, Sir Cameron Mackintosh, Lulu, Robbie Coltrane, Alexander McQueen and Ian Rankin - have been collaborating with ten of Scotland's finest silversmiths to create unique pieces of silver for that most civilised of moments, a drink with a close friend. The end result is a celebratory collection of stunningly beautiful drinking vessels that is valued at considerably more than £1 million and ranges from the most exquisite teapots and a very butch coffee pot to convivial claret and Irn Bru jugs and decadent goblets.

The stars were each asked to name their favourite drink and the person with whom they would most like to share a refreshment. The answers astonished and amused in equal measures, says project manager Mary Michel, who accompanied award-winning Glasgow photographer Alistair Devine as he captured portraits of the celebrities with their unique pieces.

Robbie Coltrane, for instance, would relish a dram or two with Rembrandt on the Grand Canal in Venice, and Lulu, who says she's crazy about Catherine Tate, wants to have afternoon tea at the Ritz with the comedian.

After offering his priceless aphorism about men and tea cosies, Connolly raced back into his house and returned with his own right royal cosy on his head. Would Connery demur at the photographer's plan to project the lion rampant on to that craggy brow? Not at all - that's why he's laughing his head off, according to Michel. "I was quite nervous that he might object, but he absolutely loved the idea - and the photographs when he saw them."

Connery even chose his own silversmith. He had dined at Bute House and greatly admired the water jugs designed by Castle Douglas artist Michael Lloyd, whose work pays homage to Scottish landscape and to weapons of peace. Lloyd engraved Connery's quaich with an apple motif, the fruit of knowledge.

Should the Silver of the Stars collection eventually be bought by a museum, the proceeds will be divided among various charities. "I hope it will stay in Scotland, because it is absolutely priceless," says Connery. All of the big names involved gave freely of their time. Nicola Benedetti, for example, emerged from a gruelling day of rehearsals innocently fresh-faced, but happily refusing all offers of professional stylists and make-up artists. Devine's photograph of her is therefore delightfully informal, capturing the talented young musician's sense of fun and her mischievous personality. And looking chic in an elegant black trouser suit with trainers, Lulu merrily climbed on to the banisters of the majestic sweeping staircase at London's Grosvenor House for her portrait.

The answers to ten questions put to each of the stars elicited replies that offer intriguing and sometimes revealing insights into their lives, likes and even loves. They were asked to recall their most memorable drink. In addition, they were invited to name their favourite piece of Scottish art and to speak about what most inspires them. "Their favourite drinks often surprised us," says Michel. Indeed, she agrees, you might have expected such luminaries to opt for silver champagne buckets, say, but they clearly still enjoy cups of tea, coffee and chocolate, as well as Scotland's national drink. Lulu and Spiteri asked their collaborators to create beautifully feminine, non-drip teapots. As for the guys, well, it's boys and their toys - Coltrane and his Cadillacs, Connolly and McGregor with their motorbikes, and Ian Rankin's big bridges. Each design, of course, bears the globally recognised hallmark of the Assay Office, which includes the maker's personal mark, and is signed with the star's autograph.

"A nation is defined by its art," says Michael Laing, an Edinburgh jeweller who is also deacon of the Incorporation of Goldsmiths. As the Silver of the Stars exhibition embarks on a year-long world tour, starting in London on January 31, Laing says he hopes that it will reveal much about the inspirational and innovative centre of excellence that is modern Scotland. "I'm immensely proud of this collection," he says. "It's a snapshot of our time and of talented Scots who are shaping the world today, putting their hallmark on the fields of image, the arts and entertainment."

NICOLA BENEDETTI - The hot chocolate pot and mugs is by Professor Roger Millar, from Glasgow, whose work is in many notable public and royal collections. These pieces, which subtly reflect Benedetti's musical influences, were made by seaming the metal and spinning it. Insulating bars between the body and the handle of the pot and mugs make the design as practical as it is aesthetically pleasing.

With hands wrapped tightly around their mugs of hot chocolate, Nicola Benedetti says she and Nelson Mandela will talk about art and music, and her admiration for the work of composer James MacMillan and the paintings of Hornel. She and Mandela will speak in turn about what inspires them about their own countries - in Benedetti's case, it's the view from her home on the west coast, overlooking the Isle of Arran, Kyles of Bute and Mull of Kintyre, with its "exotic" sunsets. "The air and atmosphere there are equal to none," she says. Supporting charity Ayrshire Hospice

ROBBIE COLTRANE - The whisky set, with a silver tray, is by Grant McCaig, from Edinburgh. His work is in Bute House and Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery. The 1950s-inspired set nods to Coltrane's passion for Cadillacs and jazz.

Miraculously, Robbie Coltrane will have learnt Dutch for his meeting with Rembrandt on Venice's Grand Canal. They will talk over the noise of the vaporetto Riva, "with a V-8 engine, burbling in the background".

Coltrane's most memorable drink to date was during the filming of Huckleberry Finn. He spent a terrific evening with Jason Robards, sipping whisky and watching the Mississippi flow by as the Hollywood actor - "an interesting guy with a wry sense of humour, who's a survivor and a great talent" - told tales about his life in the movies, "and so much more." Charity Sense Scotland.

SEAN CONNERY - The silver quaich, with apple motif, is by Michael Lloyd, from Castle Douglas. He made the mace for the Scottish Parliament, and his work forms part of the Millennium Collection at Bute House. It also features in collections at the Victoria & Albert Museum, the National Museum of Scotland and 10 Downing Street.

As the quaich (the apple, the fruit of knowledge, symbolises the hunger for learning that has long been a mainstay of Scottish culture) passes between Ataturk and Sean Connery, they will talk about the devotion each of them has for his country. They will also talk about Scotland's most outstanding work of art - Edinburgh Castle - and the Rebus novels, by Ian Rankin. The writer is, says Connery, "Scotland's major creative force". Charity Scottish International Education Trust.

BILLY CONNOLLY - The silver teapot and sugar bowl with banjo-shaped spoon is by Cóilín Ó Dubhghaill, from Glasgow. He held Japan's Monbukagusho Fellowship from 1998 to 2005 and the Ronald J Pearson Scholarship, Haystack School of Crafts, in 1997. The design is based on Connolly's own drawing of a teapot, inspired by the Harley motorcycle on which he toured the world.

Billy Connolly would like to invite God round for tea, as there are several issues that the comic would like to bring to His attention - not least the poor refereeing at Celtic games. But the Big Yin concedes that He's probably too busy in the Middle East right now, and so instead he'd like to converse with Nelson Mandela or Keith Richards over a cup of Tickety Boo tea from his chosen charity. Charity Tickety Boo fair-trade tea.

LULU - The handle-less gold and silver teapot is by Linda Robertson, from Edinburgh, whose work is in Bute House, the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths and the Worshipful Company of Weavers. It is designed to be cupped in both hands when pouring, a gesture reminiscent of Japanese tea ceremonies.

Catherine Tate would amuse and delight Lulu over afternoon tea, her favourite drink because "it's a very Scottish thing". She recalls Proustian memories of her childhood in Glasgow, when she was continually making pots of tea, starting at breakfast. She would always make the first pot of the day for her mother. It was drunk from teacups - "none of this mug business". Today, Lulu usually drinks herbal tea. Nonetheless, the Japanese tea ceremony has always enchanted the singer - the graceful movement needed to pour from the handle-less teapot that she and Tate would use for their tea - "while gorging on sandwiches" - evokes this custom. Charity Prasad (for philosophical belief and altruistic service and development).

SHARLEEN SPITERI - The diamond-studded silver-and-gilt fringed teapot and drinking bowls are by Sarah Hutchison, from Edinburgh, who won the 2006 Dewar Arts Award.

Tea is Sharleen Spiteri's "fave rave". She drinks it all day every day, and can think of nothing more stylish than brewing it in a silver teapot. Laughing and talking with Marvin Gaye in her back garden, Spiteri would refill their cups, which hold only a few sips. Marvin would be cracking a show-stopping smile as he knocks back another cuppa and says, "Bottoms up, Sharleen!" Charity CHAS (Children's Hospice Association Scotland).

EWAN McGREGOR - The chunky coffee set is by Marion Kane, from West Kilbride. Her work features in the Burrell Collection and Bute House. She used reclaimed motorbike handlegrips in the design, as well as riveting the handles. She also laser-engraved the names of all the countries that McGregor and Charley Boorman visited on their 19,000-mile motorbike trip onto the jug and the registration plates of both bikes on to the mug.

Ewan McGregor is drinking alone from an enormous coffee pot that has been hammered to a leather-like finish, reminiscent of a Victorian Highland picnic set. The handles on the jug and mug remind him of the incredible journey he undertook on his BMW motorbike, when he enjoyed the most memorable drink of his life so far - the strongest cup of coffee he has ever tasted, handed to him at the Ukrainian border after he had spent 14 hours trying to get into the country. Charity CHAS (Children's Hospice Association Scotland).

• Silver of the Stars is at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, from January 31 to March 19. The exhibition will then travel to New York for Tartan Week, then St Petersburg, Beijing and Kyoto, before returning to Edinburgh next year. It will be at the National Museum of Scotland from January 25 until April 28, 2008, to coincide with the 550th anniversary of the Incorporation of Goldsmiths of the City of Edinburgh

This article: http://heritage.scotsman.com/ingenuity.cfm?id=95042007

Last updated: 23-Jan-07 17:36 BST