We thought it would be fun, for this post, to look at what was currently available on Ebay that is/was made in the UK. Ebay can be the home of the weird and wonderful so lets see what cool stuff we can find…

REGA PLANAR 2 TURNTABLE

Rega have been making record players, amplifiers and speakers since the 1980’s… and I am please to say still make in England. This classic planar turntable from around the mid-80’s will set you back  £175. Rega’s latest range of players cost between £250 and £1000.

Hornby Trains. MALLARD LOCOMOTIVE & TENDER

The Mallard is one of the UK’s most recognisable steam locomotive built at Doncaster in the 1930-40’s. Around the same time Hornby launched their first 00 gauge train sets. This replica Mallard train was made in Britain before Hornby moved production to the Far East in the 1980’s, along with the rest of the UK toy industry. Recently there have been mutterings of Hornby moving some production back to the UK… fingers crossed.

VINTAGE MENS TIMEX WATCH

Back in the day Britain made some fine quality watches and clocks. The names of Smiths, Ingersol and Timex were known throughout the globe as a mark of quality timekeeping. Smiths, as I understand it, still make specialist instrumentation in Derby but sadly non of these once great names make watches in the UK any more. So the only way to own a low cost British made watch is to go vintage. This Timex from 1975 is a great looking piece and at £17.50 it is less than the price of a crappy plastic Swatch.

Girls back to school single pleat pinafore dress

Made by Pex of Leicester this girls school pinafore dress is included in this list because of the fantastic £7.38 buy it now price tag. A British made dress for under £10???( and people do not understand our annoyance when people say that clothes cannot be made at a competitive price in the UK).  That being said, I do not believe that all Pex clothing is made in the UK.

Vintage Boxed Spenby Exercisers – Chest Expanders

Dating from the 1960’s this bit of vintage exercise equipment is boxed, looks in usable condition and comes with full instructions. The Spenby brand, based in Lancashire, was quick to catch on to the men’s fitness trend coming from across the Atlantic with their own range of products aimed at the UK market. This, and an expanded chest, could you yours for just £9.99.

Reviewing and finding out about these products from Ebay has been great fun and I suspect that it might become a regular feature on our blog. If you have any memories or recollections of these products or find something interesting on Ebay please do comment below.

Like most people throughout England we were overjoyed to wake up to news that our Scottish brothers have chosen not discard the kinship that makes us all British.

However, it would be easy now to forget about the 1.6 million Scots that did vote for independence. We would like to think that this was perhaps not borne from a centuries old resentment of the English but more a recent disenchantment with Westminster. If that is indeed the case then we suspect it is not a view unique to the Scottish population of the UK.

That being said, the idea of being ‘Better Together’ won through and we can only hope that, in this case, the old adage of ‘what does not break us makes us stronger’ proves true.

Congratulations Scotland the brave.

Fed up of powdery and tasteless apples? Buy them in season and you can be assured crisp and juicy apples all year long. Here is our guide to which British apples to buy and when:

Bramley  – August to July
Discovery – Early August to early September
Zari – September to October
Cox – Mid-September to early April
St Edmund’s Pippin – Mid -September to mid-October
Gala / Royal Gala – Late September to early May
Russet – Late September to early March
Red Pippin – October to November
Rubens – October to January
Golden Delicious – November
Jazz – November to May
Braeburn – Late December to May

Support British apple growers and enjoy!

– Emily

The British family have had a week of experiencing a mainly apple based diet. This is due to the recent gift of a crate of Zari apples from AC Goatham & Son and 50 or so bottles of Brogdale Juice  left over from the bar at the British Family Fayre.

I have personally eaten 4 apples per day everyday this week, washed down with 2-3 bottles of apple juice. The side effects of such a diet are somewhat alarming and perhaps not a subject matter that needs too much attention in this blog. Given the high concentration of apple related products consumed this week you might imagine that my tolerance for continued gluttony would be limited. However, I am of the option in this case that you cannot get too much of a good thing.

I suspect that many of you might never have heard of the Zari variety of apple. Indeed, I was also ignorant of them until our Fayre last weekend where AC Goatham were trying to entice the great British public into trying this little known fruit. The best way to describe a Zari apple is to think about all of the best bits of any apple you have ever eaten and roll it into one single fruit. They are tangy, crisp, juicy and even the perfect size. In short they are the ultimate apple.

AC Goatham are basically the only people growing these commercially in the UK. They have have 80 acres of the things across various sites and I believe that they currently stock Sainsbury’s (I am not sure about the other supermarkets  but I am sure they will let me know and I will add an addendum). I suspect that a Zari crumble or other such recipe is soon the be featured in this very blog. However, if you get a chance to try the Zari apple I really suggest you do.

Our apple adventures continued when we bought a huge stock of Brogdale juices for our bar at the Fayre this year including; apple, apple and rhubarb, pear and apple and blackcurrent. Brogdale were also there themselves on the day as part of our Market Place. It happens that we have a decent stock of bottles left over and so we are well and truly set for juice for the next 3 months or so. That being said, these juices are great especially the apple and rhubarb.

We are currently in the middle of the British apple season so please indulge yourself…. but don’t go overboard!

– James

A chart of which British apples are in season his here>>> 

We are proud to announce that last weekend played host to 2nd British Family Fayre and it was a roaring success. Initial estimates are that we welcomed in-excess of the 4000 visitors we had in 2013. That being said the organisation this year’s event has taken it’s toll on Emily and I. Both of us are totally exhausted, emotionally drained and are now looking forward to having another focus in our lives for a while.

Those that follow our blog closely will have noticed that the frequency of our posts significantly declined over the month of August. We apologise for this and hope to get back to business as usual as soon as possible. In the meantime here are some pictures of a very special day:

James and Emily

If you came to our British Family Fayre last year we are sure that you had a fantastic time, but we can promise that 2014 is going to be something else. We have the support of more British manufacturers, more entertainment, more attractions, more great food & drink, more animals, more vehicles…. in fact more of just about everything. Plus it is FREE! Yes, we are too good to you!

If you did not make it last year then please make sure that you do not miss it this year. No matter where you live in the country we can promise that your day in North Kent with us on the 30th August will be well worth the trip.

What you can do to help us:

1. Tell us you are attending via Facebook and share this link with your friends, family and colleagues : https://www.facebook.com/events/838764929481083/

2. Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BritishFamilyFayre

3. get in touch through Twitter: https://twitter.com/BritishFayre

– James & Emily

It is lovely to see British farming in action. Check out this video from our friends at Farrington rapeseed oil.

Plus you will be able to meet the guys themselves at our British Family Fayre 2014. Farringtons will be there providing demonstrations and tasters of their famous rapeseed products. Yummy!