What started in 1996 as a simple gift of her late mother's teapot to Joan Moore has mushroomed into a collection of more than 257 today.

Not that Mrs. Moore is complaining because the teapots are great conversation pieces, some are collectors' items, and others are used when she entertains her friends and seniors, but the reality is that every available space in her small but charming dining room is now filled with them, and the collection is beginning to spill out into the hallway.

Just how Mrs. Moore arrived at this state is all down to house sales and the generosity of friends and relatives.

Once Kathy set the benchmark with Teapot One, Beverley weighed in with three more as gifts to Mrs. Moore on special anniversaries, Sharon became an enthusiastic donor, and it just went on from there.

"At first I stored them in a cupboard, then one day I decided to bring them out and start collecting teapots,'' Mrs. Moore said.

The decision has since made her a devotee of newspaper advertisements and also taken her to house sales up and down the Island, where her sole focus is on the latest object of her affection.

"See this one,'' she says, picking up a fine specimen,"one dollar at a house sale.'' Of another, she remarks: "This came from a National Trust sale. Three dollars!'' Indeed, Mrs. Moore can take you through her entire collection and remember, with pinpoint accuracy, how each was obtained -- whether by gift or purchase -- plus a host of other details, such as price, type of material, history, and country of origin.

As word of the teapot collection spread, people dropped by to see it, which in turn inspired them to not only donate teapots themselves, but spread the word among their friends.

"At that time I had about 14,'' she remembers, but as the numbers began to mount Mrs. Moore took stock of her situation and felt it had to end.

"I said I would go to 100 and then stop, but people said to me, `You're not going to stop', so I decided I'd go to 150, then I went to 200, and still collected,'' she laughs.

Now, all shelves, the top of her buffet, and two large china cabinets -- one of them especially made in cedar by a neighbour -- are filled with all manner of the teapot maker's art.

There are "gimmick'' pots in the shape of birds, animals, fruit and household appliances; others in the form of miniature cottages, village shops and pubs; still more featuring "scenes'' such as a carpenter's shop, tables set for tea, cats asleep on sofas. Then there is an upright piano, sewing machine, fireplace, wedding bells, Christmas tree, and Valentine's heart.

Human figures include a can-can dancer, a Grenadier guardsman and a jockey.

There is even a teapot from the old Castle Harbour Hotel, as well as one marking the 100th anniversary of A.S. Cooper's.

Materials vary from fine china to clay, terra cotta, ceramic, enamel, pewter and aluminium. A few have heat-retaining outer covers, and some are antiques.

Spouts and handles range from very plain to ultra fancy, and the latter also include wicker, bamboo and wood.

"These teapots come from all over the world -- China, Japan, Australia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, the Azores, Korea, Mexico, France, Luxembourg and England -- just everywhere,'' Mrs. Moore says proudly.

Asked which ones makes the best tea, the busy hostess replies without hesitation: "Fine china. It retains heat longer.'' She also points out that, while many of the pots are functional, some are purely decorative or collectors' items, and therefore not usable. In addition, there are a considerable number of miniatures which are also for show only.

Among the most recently acquired are two collector's items: a vessel dubbed the QETea, and a ship's life ring.

"They only make so many of these, and then they destroy the mould,'' Mrs.

Moore notes.

"When I say I have 257 teapots that's not counting the ones you can't put water in,'' she explains.

The collection is regularly cleaned, first with a damp and then a dry cloth, so that it is always seen at its best.

While she does not have a favourite teapot herself, Mrs. Moore says the same does not apply to everyone else.

"This is the favourite,'' she explains, holding up a teapot which plays "Tea for Two'' when lifted.

Since she continues to receive more teapots with every birthday, anniversary, and other special occasion -- last year she got 13 for Christmas! -- and space is running out, Mrs. Moore has come to a decision.

"I want to donate 200 to PALS, and they can do what they like with them to raise money,'' she said. "Two of my sisters had cancer, and PALS was so good to them that I would like to give something back.'' Asked how she will choose which ones to donate to the cancer charity, Mrs.

Moore says her first criterion will be to keep those which she received as gifts. As for the rest, her voice trails off. Clearly, she knows it won't be easy, but at the same time she has no plans to discontinue collecting teapots either.

Even if she did, it wouldn't be the end of her collecting `bug', which includes well over 2000 Christmas tree icicles, most of them crystal, and components for a sprawling winter village scene.

But that's another story.