You know the old saying “they can send a man to the moon but they can’t…(please insert your personal gripe here) well, I’d like to add “but they can’t make a teapot that doesn’t leak.”

I don’t know why it’s so hard to design a spout that won’t do those few drips at the end of the pouring.

We went to the Shopping Mall today to exchange the toaster we had bought a couple of days ago. The thermostat was kaput and was burning our toast. I had to exchange a wool and cotton spencer which I had bought to ward off the cold weather in Melbourne. It was perfect for a few days and then the garment began to grow. It got longer and longer, wider and wider and for the exorbitant price I had paid it should have kept its shape.

So back we went to the Shopping Mall. We can always be guaranteed at least two trips when we buy anything. The purchase trip and then the exchange trip. I’m not even surprised any more. It seems as if I have to do the quality control which should have been performed by the manufacturer.

Since my favourite teapot had taken to weeping, I decided to search for a new one. There aren’t many around. There are white porcelain ones. There are Star Wars types in shiny stainless steel that cost a fortune and glass ones which look very fragile and rather pretentious in a bodum kind of way.

Sadly, the choice has disappeared. Where there used to be many different brands and styles, the pickings are pretty meagre nowadays. You might as well be seeking the holy grail.

I settled for one that looked more promising than the others with a robust spout and a lid that wouldn’t fall off.

It leaks.

Is there one out there that doesn’t leak?