A table setting is a starting point, an arena primed for action. It is a preliminary to an activity which will inevitably disrupt the order of the setting. It is a place where people interact verbally and physically through the use of objects and utensils. The table can be and was for me as a child, a place where moral expectations were verbalised, but inherent in the settings are expectations on the participants to behave appropriately. Place setting speaks of power relationships and of constraints imposed by elders and parents, of limiting expectations and ambitions and of literally setting a child’s place within society. Companion table objects can hold cautionary tales and whispered memories of shaping and setting, but it is possible that repeated engagement with the rituals of table laying offers a way through and beyond remembered pasts to allow for the reshaping and resetting of lived experiences.