My comment was just to point out how silly the Victorians were. I often commented that, in their view, more, more and more was always "better." Their furnishings were almost comical as well. Beautiful, but waaaaaay overdone.
The Vickys just got plain ridiculous after a while. It was about very fine class distinctions though. Brits are pretty good at that (don't mean to insult any British reading this, I don't think Yanks can complain about manners from the high ground ever again given this presidential campaign).
There is a worse alternative, one of my medieval studies professors in school used to have his more serious students over for *medevil* meals where we were all expected to bring a belt knife, eat off a trencher and bread plate, and not use any other silverware at all! I had a couple suitable hunting knives, but I'd always slightly piss him off by breaking the mood and using my swiss army knife, hey, he served crab. The hook on there is excellent for getting out that elusive claw meat.
Do think that having a melon fork and a fish fork, etc... is a little overblown; mainly done to create imaginary distinctions, oh, Mr. Doubghtmire, are we using the melon fork for fish today? How very Linconshire, but this is London society.....
I am rather confident that anyone who has taken my patented youtube erehweslefox FORK USE COURSE, can, after several seminars identify a fork, use any fork you find, or even in the advanced class fork-like tools (a spork certificate is offered), to eat most foods. ***please note, some processing of food is required before techniques are used, particularly any live food might not take kindly to being stuck with a fork****
TBS
