We have had quite a marvellous day! In short we visited The Best of Britannia 2013 in Farringdon, London and met up once again with some of our friends who joined us at The British Family Fayre and plenty more new friends besides.

Lucan was beyond excited at going on a train (I know simple things with 3 year olds) and then when we changed onto another train it was all just too much, that was just getting there! We met the lovely Anthony, one of the shows organisers and started out to immerse ourselves in the four whole floors of British goodies.

We decided to start on the top floor of the show as Lucan was determined to climb every stair in the place. Up there we met up with one of our old friends ‘Hey Joe’. We had a lovely chat and were pleased that they seemed to be really enjoying themselves. Their display looked beautiful against the industrial Victorian interiors. We moved on to a newer friend, Elizabeth Beckett, whose gorgeous peppermint foot cream has done wonders for Mr B’s rather cheesy feet recently. She too seemed to be enjoying the very chilled out atmosphere and her set up too really resonated with the space. Another new friend for the day was Ellie from EcoKitty, a lovely lady who is mad for all things about cats. She has created a recycled cardboard playhouse for cats and hand makes all sorts of super catnip toys to go with them. As we have neglected the lovely Patch recently we felt that this would be a treat for her and we weren’t wrong, she’s hardly been out of it since we got home!

Down a floor and we bumped into Sarah from Yull Shoes who was there enjoying a day out and then into Helen Gordon, another friend from The BFF. She had some gorgeous new pyjamas which just called to us for Lucan with dragons and knights all over them. Needless to say he was thrilled when he unwrapped them at home and is sleeping snugly in them this evening. On to Vickers Bicycles, one really for Mr B, who I literally had to drag away before he started flashing the cash on their stunning two wheeled contraptions.

Down again and by this time Lucan had given up and gone to sleep, which was just as well as there was lots to see (and buy) on floor number 1. I was particularly drawn to a stand with beautiful and very classy women’s clothes. The owner of the stand Libby London (go on Google them you won’t be disappointed) was lovely and encouraged me to try on a black jumper dress which was a steal and so was the next purchase of the day. We moved across the room to see Susannah Hall Tailors. Susannah is another friend who we have tweeted endlessly with but have never met so it was great to catch up and see more of her wares as her auction item was brilliantly received at the fayre. We also had a good chat with Rob from Comins Tea House about how things were going and got some great feedback about the BFF – apparently people have been travelling from all over the UK to go and visit them because of their attendance at our event .

One more floor and this was the one for Lucan with two Morgan’s and the favourite of the day a bright orange Ginetta. He was allowed in the two Morgan’s but sadly not the Ginetta, much to his frustration. Petrol head clearly is an understatement as far as our son is concerned. To help him deal with the pain of being separated from the orange car we went to the Romney Marsh Wool stand where he chose a really cute lamb made from their own sheep skin as his first British soft toy of the year. This was promptly named ‘Nanny’ and the bond was made.

We returned home tired but having had a truly British day out and pleased as punch with our new purchases. Who said shopping British was hard? 😉

The next not to be missed date on the British manufacturing calender has to be the British Family Fayre in 2014 (www.britishfamilyfayre.co.uk)… see you there!

– Emily

This is a rather sensitive subject but here we go:

We fortunately found British made toilet roll early on, but did not realise how lucky we were. Waitrose own brand toilet roll (and kitchen rolls) are the only British made brand that we can find. Andrex, owned by American firm Kimberly-Clark, say on their packs “made in the UK and Europe”, which is not good enough for us and a little cryptic.

Life without this everyday essential would have been unthinkable. So, once again Waitrose have come to our rescue… but it does make me wonder (more than is healthy) who makes their toilet paper for them and do they produce for any other brand? If these questions begin to keep me up at night I might be forced to give Waitrose a call.

Earlier this week we announced, on Twitter, our plans for the British Family Fayre 2014. After much consideration and debate we decided, despite the stress, to go ahead and organise the event again next year. The date we have chosen is the 30th August 2014.

Our plan is to make it at least twice the size of the 2013 event. This gives us the challenge of getting  more than 120 businesses represented and about 8000 people there on the day. Ambitious? We would say so!

In another change to the previous year we would like to extend the event into the evening with a concert and other entertainment. We are not sure how this will look at present but we will keep you posted.

Our announcement was met with enthusiasm from our followers on Twitter and indeed a number of businesses have already begun signing up. If you feel you have something that you can bring to the event please get in touch.

See the updated website for the event here: www.britishfamilyfayre.co.uk

If there are two things we get asked above anything else they are “why don’t you have a comprehensive directory of British made goods?” or “can you add my British business to your list of British suppliers?”.

We get at least one email a day along these lines, sometimes many more! From the beginning we have tried to maintain a list of goods that we use, and indeed these are THE most popular pages on our website. Far more than our home page or blog (rather frustratingly!)

Despite all of this pressure we have relented. There are other directories out there and some of them are very good, but people keep insisting that we create one too. So, if for no other reason than to stop the barrage of emails… we are proud to announce the release of our own directory of British made goods!

We have called it the Britipedia and is available here: www.britipedia.co.uk

So that the admin does not become a living hell (another reason we did not want to go down this route) we have made it so that British manufactures and producers can submit their own listings. Listing your British business is totally FREE and we have no plans to change this. Another neat (and unique feature) is that consumers can review the businesses listed.

We have added some businesses to the directory to get stuff started (mainly the businesses from the British Family Fayre) but growth of this new website is now down to you!

Enjoy… and let this be an end to all the emails 😉

We posted on Twitter last weekend about our mishap in turning up to an open day at Pilgrim Harps in South Godstone a week early. That really left me feeling like a bit of a twit. However better to be early than late! So we returned this weekend, on the correct day, to experience all that they had to offer.

I played the harp in my first year of teaching (over 7 years ago now) and hired my harp from Pilgrim. It was a beautiful Clarsach harp and I loved it very very much but just couldn’t afford to keep hiring it. It was, therefore, lovely to get back behind one with Lucan on my lap to have another play, and while I am absolutely no virtuoso I can get a very rough tune out of one still.

We watched one of the harpists in action in the marquee and then made a visit to the shed where they are all made. Their fundamentals as a company are – flawless design, perfect materials and immaculate craftsmanship. This was absolutely reflected in the passion from the staff on hand to talk mainly to James (as I was chasing around after Lucan) about how the harps are manufactured completely from scratch in one location. This is so wonderful for us to see and hear as we have struggled with finding many musical instruments manufactured in the UK.

I must admit there was a small part of me that thought I will just go for it and buy the beautiful little harp that Lucan an I played but truthfully, at nearly £2000 second hand, it is an extravagance too far at the moment. This will be one to save up for, for definite!

While they are a tiny little business it is good to know that they are still going strong after 23 years. It was a lovely morning out and great to show Lucan one of my passions 🙂

-Emily

Buoyed by the overwhelming success of the British Family Fayre, just 2 short weeks ago, we are keen to continue the momentum in or effort to promote the best of British. The next two weeks are going to be manic for us and you are going to see a spate of important, ambitious and unbelievably announcements from us… so stay tuned.

Many people have asked what our next challenge would be, after bringing nearly 4000 people to our home town to celebrate British manufacturing and farming. Well, we are pleased to announce that we have set ourselves the challenge of organising a pop-up restaurant, with over 100 tables, offering a unique British dining experience.

The plan is that the restaurant will open for just two days during the first 2 weeks of December 2013, serving a true taste of British.

I am afraid that, at this point, this is as much information as I have for you. We are currently looking at locations and the chances are that it will take place in either Kent or Central London.

Get in early!

We are  looking for industry partners and businesses willing to help/sponsor this great event, expected to attract national media interest. If you have a business that would like to be involved in this is fantastic promotional opportunity, or you would simply like to come and join us for a slap up British dinner on the day, please register your interest here:

Two more iconic British brands have recently been sold to the highest foreign bidder. Ribena and Lucozade have now left these shores, likely never to return. Apparently, £1.35bn buys a slice of British culture and 150 years of childhood memories. I personally have fond recollections of both brands:

Whenever I was sick as a child a bottle of Lucozade would magically appear by my bedside. No matter what the illness, this bright orange elixir would be the apparent cure. I am still convinced that it can cool a fever, stop the itch of chicken pox or even re-grow a limb. I recall the old glass bottle contained in a cellophane film and the slight medicinal smell as the first gas escaped when I twisted the metal lid.

Then there is Ribena. Well known for being responsible for 95% all the UK’s black current production, and did you know that during the war this blackcurrent syrup was one of the nations main sources of Vitamin C? Again, my personal recollections of this brand are well ingrained into my psyche, and without these cartons of sugary liquid my early summers would have never been the same.

Is it silly that a grown man should have such an emotional response to two overly sweet drinks? I challenge anyone to not have similar memories. So, when we talk about brands being worth billions of pounds I say they are worth much more. To me they are worth over 150 years of British cultural significance and the childhood memories of multiple generations of a nations children.

Some may suggest that this post is overly dramatic, and perhaps that is true, but it is difficult to see why we do not, as a country, value our Brands far more than than we do. There value is not just financial but cultural and when we sell a brand as iconic as Aston Martin or Cadbury or HP Sauce (the list is tragically endless) it feels like we lose a bit of our selves.

– James

This marrow and mint quiche also looks like a winner.

When eating entirely seasonally, as we now do, it is great when the season changes and a new range of produce begins to hit the dinner plate. However, this initial enthusiasm, after weeks of eating the same sorts of stuff, begins to wear off. By the end of any one season we find that we are left with a glut of a particular ingredient that we have run out recipes and passion for. This is our current issue with marrows. Our larder currently heaves with these unwieldy vegetables – which seem to have a self life similar to the half life of plutonium. We cannot face throwing them away but adversely cannot  face another ratatouille, or taking out Big Yellow Storage for them. So the question is, what the heck can we do with these things? Answers on a postcard… or just in the comment box below.

We put a quick call out to Twitter and the winning answer so far was Marrow Rum. Check out the recipe here:  http://www.allbritishfood.com/Marrow/Marrow%20Rum.php

My lovely wife is, despite her disagreement with this statement, extremely hard to buy presents for. Christmas, anniversaries and Birthdays are a source of continued torment for me, because I really struggle to find appropriate gifts her. It is fair to say that our project to buy only British stuff has not made these occasions any easier for me.

Emily’s most recent birthday was further complicated by the fact that it took place on the same day that we hosted close to 400o revealers at our British Family Fayre event on 31st August 2013. After much research, and calls to Twitter for inspiration, I made my choice. They were as follows:

1. Zatchel Barrel bag

Emily has been after a Cambridge Satchel Company satchel for a while but after some tactical questioning, in the weeks preceding the big day,  I worked out that this purchase would not be without risk. She was not sure about what style, colour or design she wanted and suggested that she would need to see a couple in a shop before buying one. I was not going to take the risk of buying the wrong one so decided on the smaller Zatchel barrel bag which she could use on the day of the fayre but also leave her free to buy a Cambridge Satchel of her own choosing at a later date.

2. Dwarf Fruiting Cherry Tree

I originally started looking for a British grown olive tree, as I know she would love one. I rang a few UK based companies and quickly worked out that what I was looking for was an olive tree grafted and matured here in the UK. After speaking to a number of companies I also worked out that this was not going to be possible. All of the trees  I found where grafted and grown, even in their early stages, abroad.

Moving away from finding an olive tree, I contacted Frank P Matthews who were fabulously knowledgeable and guided me towards various fruit trees grown entirely in the UK. I opted for a late fruiting cherry, of a variety appropriately called Sweet Heart, which stands about 6 feet tall and will never get much bigger.

3.Breffo

This was arguably the most successful present I got for the missus this year. The Breffo is a flexible holder for phones and other devices. MrsB has used her phone as her sat-nav for years and resorted to resting it precariously within a holder that was too small and so would often fall out as she was driving. We were introduced to Breffo through Twitter and one was instantly on the shopping list. I bough her a pink one and she loves it. The great thing about these handly little bits of kit is that they are only £20… so I bought one for my self at the same time (not in pink though).

I hope that she is happy with her eclectic mix of gifts this year, or if she isn’t I hope she never tells me so.

– James

Those following us on Twitter will understand the hassle we had finding clothes for the British Family Fayre. We have said this over and over but the issue is not finding British made clothes per se, it is finding clothes within our budget. This is especially tight at the moment as James has not yet found a job. I even went as far as attempting to make my own dress (which James thought looked great, but I disagreed).

In the end I opted for a floral print dress from Closet Clothing. I was really worried about the length of it, so after some serious brain wracking I added a white petticoat skirt  to add more length and another layer making the overall look more full. With the pressures being in front of nearly 4000 people, it being my birthday and national TV and press being on site the outfit, for me, had to be right.

The dress it’s self  was £52.00 which I was really pleased with. The only downside was that I had to do some pretty careful measuring as there was nowhere to go to try anything on . The look was finished with a pair of Navy Napa British Flat Shoe Company Shoes and a pair of Yull Brompton Suede shoes. Yes – two pairs of shoes in one day… what can I say it was my birthday!

James had bought me a Zatchel Pastel Green Barrel Bag as one of my birthday presents which I also sported on the day. I was rather worried that with a change in dress colour it wouldn’t go but I have to admit that the whole ensemble looked really pretty good on the day… even James said so 😉

-Emily