Are you a thoughtful host who likes ot make a great impression or are you a scuzzy student or maybe a stingy tightwad? You can tell an awful lot about a person from the quality of their crockery and tableware.

An old friend, with whom I once shared a house, has never really grasped the need to keep his mugs clean. He serves his guests tea and coffee in thickly stained mugs that really should be thrown out. I don’t think he owns even one mug that isn’t chipped, cracked or stained.

He is stuck in a state of arrested development. He has never recognised how guests appreciate refreshments served in clean mugs without risk of contracting food poisoning. He is a lovely chap but he is completely oblivious to the state of his crockery and what it says about him.

We have some other friends who are the complete opposite, using nothing but the finest quality bone china dinner service. The hostess is continually updating her kitchen and dinnerware so the local charity shops get a constant supply of good quality products to sell. But her need to constantly change and update her home accessories is not limited to her dinner service and cutlery. She spends what must be a small fortune on redecorating her house, which she appears to do about 3 times a year, which is probably why her husband spends so much time away on business.

Then there are several friends, male and female, who don’t like to spend any money on their crockery. They will buy all of their plates, bowls and mugs from their local charity shops, probably the ones that our other friends have donated. Their crockery is a mix of disparate designs and sizes, some with patterns, some plain and all in a variety of colours. When they entertain its often a problem for them to find enough plates and soup bowls.

So what does your crockery say about you?