This Is Another One Of Those

'I wish I had one of these posts', well two in fact, measuring just 7.5 inches long and 6.5 inches high, the Asian elephants have tusks and were made by China's finest craftsmen, it is thought they were brought to Britain in the 19th century before becoming the treasured possessions of Mary Anna Marten, OBE, who died this year aged 80, but this is the good bit, these 250-year-old jade elephants are expected to fetch millions of pounds at auction, John Axford, from the auctioneers-said: 'In the Qing Dynasty, elephants carrying vases on their backs appeared in processions to celebrate the emperor's birthday.' He added: 'These examples are extremely important, they were made in the 18th century, probably in about 1760 or 1770, and are stunning pieces of green-grey jade, what makes them particularly desirable is that they have the Qianlong mark, you don't often see this.' Qianlong ruled from 1736 to 1795, a period of China's history famous for its arts, now where were my family when jade elephants were being given out? I know at the back of the queue!