Ariel branded motorcycles are officially back on the road to success… and they are being made in Britain!

Those that read our blog regularly will likely know that I am a mad-keen motorcycle fanatic and may recall that last year I bought a brand new Triumph, which I still love BTW. Some of you may also know that I run the worlds largest (and only) forum for Triumph and BSA branded scooters. So, you can imagine my excitement at hearing the news that classic British motorcycle marque, Ariel, has been bought back into production. If that was not exciting enough… they are being made in Somerset!

Back in the 1950 British motorcycles were the best in the world. Renowned for their innovation, reliability and most of all speed! Brands like Norton, BSA, Vincent and Triumph were enjoying the golden age of two wheeled motorised transport. But  by the mid-1960’s it was all over. All but a few British brands still existed,  hit by the burgeoning market for imported Japanese bikes and the same oversights in quality control that killed off British automotive prowess. The 1970’s, 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s have seen an almost total dominance of Japanese branded cycles and today only Triumph remains made in Britain (oh, and Norton – Thanks Tim).

Seeing the Ariel marque  again will undoubtedly stir emotions in any aging rocker  but the new incarnation appears to have very little in common with its roots. While the Triumph range is dominated by retro designs, harking back to its 1950’s glory days, the new Ariel appears to be absolutely modern looking… almost futuristic. A bold move, but in my humble option a very wise one. However, before you run down to your local dealership, Ariel are planning to make just 150 units each year and will have a price tag a little over £20,000.

Would I buy one? In a heart beat. If money were no object a new Ariel motorcycle would definitely be on my Christmas list.

– James

We are looking to give a young entrepreneur a kick start at our British Family Fayre this year. Has your business been started in the last 6 months, do you have limited funds and do you manufacture your product in the UK? If the answer is yes we have one free/sponsored space at our British Family Fayre this year to help give you a little more consumer exposure.

The British Family Fayre is a not-for-profit event that supports our own charity – the British Family Foundation. As part of our efforts to help young entrepreneurs we are able to offer one free exhibition space at our event on the 30th August. The idea behind this is that we can  put you in contact with 1000’s of consumers on a single day and promote you nationally. Hopefully this will give your fledgling business a valuable boost in both cash and confidence. We ran this same scheme last year and that business made over £800 in profit, which was a boost that business at a very early stage of their development.

If you are interested in putting yourself forward for this offer please email james@britishfamily.co.uk outlining the current situation with your business and why attending the British Family Fayre would help you.

We would love to help more businesses in this way, and hopefully one day we will, but this year we have resources to help just one new business. Please get in touch.

James & Emily

The British car manufacturing sector is now well publicised as being amongst the strongest in Europe, but did you know that there is a 1000MPH car being made in Bristol? It is called the Bloodhound SSC and is expected to be driven/piloted/held-onto by Brit Andy Green. His attempt at breaking the land speed record in 2015 will see him go supersonic.

In reality this machine has very little in common with the old jalopy parked in your garage. It is actually based on an RAF Eurofighter Typhoon that alone provides about 40,000hp. In comparison the famed Bugatti Veyron can just about splutter on with the power of only 987 horses.

So far only the cockpit has been completed, which has been hand crafted in the UK by URT Group taking more that 10,000 hours to design and produce.

This endeavor must surly bring back memories of Britain’s past glories and figures like Donald Campbell who risked so much to keep Britain great! We wish them every success.

– James

Last year we raised close to £2,000 for charity from British made goods donated by 24 fantastic British companies (listed below) in our charity auction at our British Family Fayre event. We were certainly overwhelmed by the out pouring of generosity and it is hoped that this year we can exceed this total.

We are once again calling upon your generosity, this time to help us kick start our own charity – The British Family Foundation (www.britishfamilyfoundation.org) – which will be officially launched at the British Family Fayre 2014.

The charity aims to provide education and resources to help disadvantage young people wanting to pursue careers in UK manufacturing and farming.  The lack of a skilled workforce is now the biggest problem that manufacturing in the UK faces. We hope to address this by providing career support to those young people who need it most by directing them towards a rewarding future in UK manufacturing and farming.

British businesses please donate!!!

We once again call upon your generosity to donate to our charity auction as we know that you will consider our charity a good cause and are confident that we can once again rely on your help.

To donate a product, experience or service to our British Family Charity Auction, please contact james@britishfamily.co.uk.

The live auction will be held on the afternoon of the British Family Fayre 2014. Your donation will be listed on our britishfamilyfayre.co.uk, promoted through twitter, through britishfamily.co.uk and appear in our event brochure (distributed to 6,000+ visitors on the day). We will also distribute a national press release about the auction close to the date of the event.

We Thank you for your support.

Our thanks once again go out to those that donated in 2013, including:

Hey Joe kids clothing, Aston Martin Sevenoaks, Comins Tea House, Style Chapel, Royal Crown Derby, Whitby Jet, Rainbow Trugs, Mamnick, British Flat Shoe Company, Vickers Bicycle Company, The Little Wool Company, River Cottage, Tugco, Jacksons Fencing, Go Pak, Marko John’s Socks, Hurst Green Shires, Headen & Quarmby – Kinky Knickers, Josery clothing, Provenance Egg Halo, House of Dorchester, Mathmos, Shoo Rainer, Roadii.

– James, Emily and Lucan

Dinky toys proudly stamped ‘made in England’

With just one month away from our son’s 4th Birthday we are, for a second year, desperately looking for toys made in the UK. Unfortunately, it appears that 12 months has not improved the struggle we had last year.

It is one of our biggest disappointments with the current state of UK manufacturing that there are so few toys made in Britain. This is especially true because of the country’s previous dominance as a nation of toy makers. A dominance that lasted until the 1960’s/70’s, at which point the Far East became the centre of global toy manufacture. So, it is with some sadness that we must announce that toy manufacturing in the UK is still dead.

However, with the rising cost of manufacturing in Asia I predict that it will not be long before the toy manufacturers return. Sadly, this mass re-shoreing of the UK toy sector  is unlikely to occur before the 7th July (Lucan’s birthday). If anyone does know of any toys that are made in the UK would they please get in touch or comment below.

–  James

Taking one for the team!

Today, like 22 million other homes around the country, we received a free copy of The Sun newspaper. The first question I have is “is this what it is like all the time?”. I have not read a copy of the Sun since Linda Lusardi graced the 3rd page, so was shocked at the overall quality of the reporting. News  highlights in todays edition include:

• Read all about it – “The Queen has been voted the greatest living English person”
• Shock horror – “loads of people find Kelly Brook attractive – along with 2 other young ladies that I have never heard of”
• Property section – “Robbie Williams is moving back to the UK from LA”
• The travel section – One of the best things to do in England is visit a branch of Lloyds bank under which is buried the HMV dog”
• Sport news –  “Wayne Rooney has a terrible haircut”
• Food and drink section – “Roast dinner is England’s number one food”

Consider yourself up to date with the latest news and events.

Now, when you receive your copy of The Sun this morning you need not waste your time reading it. I suggest you do any of the following with it: send it back in protest, use it as a fly swat, light a BBQ, fashion a rather flimsy Robin Hood hat, recycle it, make a telescope, use as emergency toilet paper, line a broken window, draw moustaches/glasses/horns on the faces or line a budgies cage. These are just some ideas that are somewhat preferable to reading it.

– James

We have been lucky enough to be given a first bottling of Squerryes sparking wine grown in our own home town of Westerham in Kent…. and you know, it ain’t half bad!

Henry and Claire Warde first planted vines on the Squerryes Estate in 2006 and their first bottle of wine has been a long time coming. We were flattered to be offered a bottle of the first vintage a couple of weeks ago and had been saving it for a special occasion to crack it open. However, reasons for celebration seem few and far between at the moment (long story). So, we decided to simply celebrate the end of a rather hard week instead.

Tasting
Squerryes Brut, 2010, has recently won an International Wine Challenge bronze award, on its very first outing, which is a great first sign. It is made from 40% chardonnay, 35% pinot noir and 25% pinot meunier grape varieties so is really nicely balanced. The fresh and slightly acidic  apple-y-ness of the wine is, for me, the dominant flavour on first tasting followed by slight creamy quality with plenty of lemony vibrancy to follow. It is exceedingly fresh and a fantastic drink for a warm summers evening. [End of poncy wine geekery]

We had ours with a warm salad with Kentish asparagus, poached egg and black pudding. Perfection.

We are very lucky to live in the Garden of England with some the the best English wine right on our doorstep. In fact, that is soon to be almost literally the case.  Henry is about to begin building his vineyard a spit from our house. If you have not tried English wine you are missing out. Forget the French stuff, English wine, in my view, can be far nicer. You cannot go wrong with wine from Denbies, Chapel Down or Biddenden. Go get some!

Try Squerreys in June
If you want to try Squerreys then they are organising a celebration of their first bottling on Friday, 20th and Saturday, 21st June 2014. Tickets are £8 and include a free glass of Sparkling on arrival. More details here: www.squerryescelebration.com

– Emily