James filming in our garden with Graham Satchell – from of the telly!

It has been a very busy week for us. As many of you have heard (or seen) the Bradshaws have been busy letting even more people know about what we are doing, and why. We started off with KentFM, moved on to The Mail on Sunday and finished off with the BBC. Not bad going!

We are personally surprised that anyone at all is interested in what we are doing and it is all very humbling.  I must admit that the whole media experience, while being rather daunting to start with, has been great fun for the whole family. We are very grateful to everyone involved.

The morning started with a stroll (at 8am) to the local news agents to get the Mail on Sunday. I raced home to find James still in bed and woke him by excitedly throwing a copy of the paper at him. The article was far better and bigger than we would have imagined. Despite Tabby (the truly outstanding reporter for the MoS) telling us it was a big deal, it never quite hit home until we saw it in the flesh. We are please that we were able to get some of the British manufactures who who have found so far also profiled. We are even more pleased to hear that, on the back of this publicity  some have had their best sales to date!

Anyway, after the initial excitement of our first brush with the national press we had a whole day filming with the BBC to come. James was excited to meet Graham Satchell, who he recognised from the TV. Graham arrived with Simon the camera-man and we headed off into Westerham high street to do some shopping/filming.

We visited 3 shops in town; Chocs on the Green, The Ivy House and Zebra Zebra. We were filmed buying some chocolates from Chocs on the Green and a beautiful woolen blanket from The Ivy house (all British). We then filmed some interview bits with the large statue of Churchill who sits pride of place on the green – how fitting.

Then we all headed off home to do some filming around the house. James was filmed pottering in his shed, more interviews to camera and I was filmed in the kitchen talking about the food we eat (talk about stereotyping). Graham was really cruel and had bought some French Brie and Belgium Chocolates to try and tempt us away from our British produce. You will be glad to know we resisted.

They left our house at around 4pm, so we had been filming for well over 5 hours by that point. All this for just 2-3 minutes of film! It was a really enjoyable process though, helped by Graham and Simon’s very easy manner. Two truly nice guys! The film will be on BBC Breakfast on Tuesday and repeated on BBC South East News in the evening.

The blanket we bought while filming with the BBC

We have now been dealing with the piles of emails and Twitter comments. This is going to take a couple of days to get back to everyone but we love the feedback, which has been overwhelmingly positive. Please keep it up as it really is very much appreciated!

– Emily

Proof of our truly British shop (The French Fancies are Baked in the UK by a British company, we promise.)

Even with the phenomenal offerings from Kent Veg Box this week the need arose for us to go to the supermarket (and eventually 2 supermarkets in order to get all that we needed). It is normally something that I do on my own and wiz round as fast as possible, getting all the things that we always need. However as we are now an all British family the shopping inevitably takes quite a bit longer. Also as we are still at the beginning of the project James is very interested in seeing how easy the weekly shop is, or not as the case may be.

Our destination at 8am this morning was Tesco, Riverhead. This branch of Tesco is a very large one so I thought that I would naturally find everything we needed, and probably more. We started on a real high as I discovered that Rimel make up is manufactured in England and is proud to state this clearly on the packaging. One mascara and nail vanish later we were ready to move on. Next was soap and on to Pears, which is a particular favorite for James (he loves the smell). Alas here we were not so lucky, as something that you might associate with a British bygone era is actually manufactured in India.

As we made our way into food we came first to the butter where I immediately grabbed what I normally do (out of habit, I must admit), the Tesco everyday value Salted Butter. Interestingly the salted butter stated that it was produced in England and Ireland while the Unsalted was produced in just England. This seemed a little strange! We bought another brand in the end which did not have this same confusion, even if it was 40p more expensive.

Cheese was much easier and thankfully Tesco have a simple and relatively clear policy of putting the flag of the country of origin on the front of the cheese packaging. This led me away from the Parmasan and towards a hard goats cheese and a Somerset Brie, both of which look delicious. I will try to remember to let you know how they fair in a later blog.

The next triumph was oil.  A delicious looking bottle of cold pressed Hill Farm rapeseed oil (who we know about through Twitter). There was even a choice of different UK produced oils and so I have had my faith restored that this year is certainly not going to be boring in culinary terms. We did however have a disappointment in the very next shelf with vinegars. The Aspall vinegars were what we had hoped would carry us through but sadly they are not produced in the UK, or rather are very ambiguous as to where the vinegar is produced. As such we had to move on with a trolley empty of vinegar.

A general problem we came across in Tesco was a label on the packaging saying ‘Packed in the UK’. We debated this one quickly and decided that it did not score very highly at all on our Britishness scale at all. Packed in Britain seemed to us to be a bit of a rubbish non-statement about the good provenance.

Last but not least we made it to the wine. Knowing little about English wine I thought that there might be a small section dedicated to this recent but brilliant trend. We were very disappointed to find only one English wine in a whole aisle of wines from every other continent. There was nothing in either the red or the sparkling sections, despite the fact that there are super wines made within 40 miles of the store. Needless to say I was not impressed, and even less so that I now had to make a separate trek to Waitrose to buy the elusive English wine.

The wine was finally found in Waitrose although there was still a disappointing show.  That said, we now had a yummy white in the form of Chapel Downs ‘Baccus’ and hopefully an equally good fizz and red for tomorrow to toast our first proper dive into the UK media (More information tomorrows blog).

It must be said that dragging a 2 year old around 2 supermarkets in one day in order to ensure that our weekly shop was entirely British was no fun at all.

-Emily

Today it finally happened. The inevitable has finally become a  reality. Yes folks, we have run out of black pepper.

I saw it coming but it has still come as a shock. I tried making preparations for it a week ago, searching the net in the vain hope of finding a UK grower. Reaching many dead-ends I gave up and then began looking for possible substitutes for black pepper. All of the traditional substitutes are no good to us as things, like papaya seeds and grains of paradise, cannot be or are-not  grown in this country. However, I posed this question to our Twitter followers and was buoyed by the revelation that nasturtium seed were used as a substitute during the Second World War.

Earlier today I finally got down to the garden center and bought 2 types of nasturtium seeds. Excitedly, I rushed home quickly and threw them in the pestle and mortar and began grinding. The first taste was not bad, almost a radish-like heat. Not really similar to black pepper, more vegetable type flavors than peppery notes. The aftertaste however was really bitter and unpalatable. It was also somewhat difficult to grind so I wondered if it required further processing.

The next stage was to toast them. Putting them in a dry frying pan I noticed that they did not release an oil like cumin would and very little aroma came from the pan. Tasting the results of this process was another disappointment. Any flavor (good or bad) had now disappeared and what I had made was essentially grit.

One more try.  This time putting the seeds in a hot oven. I set the heat to 200c and left them while I cleared the yard. 10 minutes later Emily called me in complaining of a strange smell. Indeed, our kitchen stank! The smell was very similar in fragrance to that of an old mans trousers. I am not just saying this for comical effect, there really was a stale urine and musk smell emanating from my oven.

I would like it noted that a lesser-man might have given up at this point. However, I continued to grind them up in the same fashion. They ground really easily this time and even looked like black pepper. The flavor again was atrocious. In fact it tasted like it smelled.

It was obvious at this point that the seeds were most palatable in their original form and I wondered if they needed other ingredients to work properly. I had made a squash soup by this point for the whole family and so sprinkled liberally over the top (just mine – Emily was not game). Thankfully the result was not inedible, but I also think that the nasturtium seeds added nothing  beneficial to the experience.

In conclusion, nasturtium seeds are a very pale substitute for black pepper. I would rather live without black pepper than eat it again. So for now we are without black pepper or any viable alternative.

To add insult to injury, I got one of the bits of nasturtium seed stuck in my back molar and have been tasting that bitter urine flavor all day. Yuk!

– James

Our table groaning with British produce!

We recently found that we could not get the variety of fruit and vegetables that we would like from the supermarkets and while often clearly labeled it is still a chore. So, we recently signed up for a local produce delivery service called  Kent Veg Box. Our first delivery came today. The produce is all fresh, totally seasonal and best of all local.

The only issue that we have is that the only fruit we can get at the moment are apples and pears. We have been promised rhubarb in 2 weeks time so I see a crumble on the cards.

To take advantage of the freshness of this stuff I got creative with another recent purchase – British spelt! I made a fantastic speltotto with leeks and carrots. I also added some ham, found in the deepest recesses of the fridge, and some chedder.

If you are beginning to feel hungry here is a large image of the resulting feast – I know, I am terrible!

British veg & ham speltotto

– James

I am not a great tea drinker. In fact hot drinks as a rule are things that I tend to stay clear of. I am not going to go into the complete ins-and-outs of why this is, but I see hot drinks generally as a bit of a faf. This standpoint often singles me out for ridicule in British society, so it is not something I readily admit to. However, Emily does like a good cuppa and especially relishes a dark cup of Twining Earl Grey.

Unfortunately for Emily, and rather surprisingly, Twinings is now about as British as Kielbasa Sausage. Twinings have recently moved all of their manufacturing facilities from the UK to Poland. It is also worth mentioning that this move was not without controversy and the cloud under which this move took place might make many reconsider buying their Tea anyway. Unsurprisingly it was somewhat of a revelation to Emily that she could no longer indulge in a quick cup of her favourite char.

Either way, tea is grown in China right? So, we are never going to find a truly British cup of Tea, correct? Well, perhaps not…

While recoiling from the news that she is going to have to give up her Tea drinking, she began scouring the internet for a solution. Thankfully Twitter, once again, came to her aid. The Tregothnan Estate, rather incredibly, has its own tea plantation in the heart of sunny Cornwall! They are the first, and currently the only, truly British tea producers in the country, having begun selling their home-grown teas 8 years ago.

Needless to say, Emily was quick to put in her order if for their Earl Grey and we will give a review when we receive it.

–       James

The New Year seems to have sparked an unconscious desire for me to start taking a little more care of my appearance. Friday lunchtime, I skipped out of work for an hour to visit Ted’s Grooming Room on Theobalds Road in London. I decided to treat  myself and had, not only a haircut, but a shave, my eye-brows threaded, manicure and massage. Anyone that knows me will contest to the fact that this is a little more metro-sexuality than I would normally indulge in. However, I will admit to thoroughly enjoying it and having spent the last two days not being able to pass a mirror without giving myself a cheeky little wink. Emily was very jealous when I told her. I suspect she thinks I am after an upgrade.

Handmade home for my British made Kent comb

Today, in order to maintain my new ‘do’, I bought my first comb in about 20 years. Kent Brushes still manufacture brushes and combs in the UK and unlike most of the things we have recently wanted to buy, I was able to find one locally. Looking through the literature that accompanied my new purchase, I was please to note that they also make Toothbrushes. There is no way that were are going to be able to source British replacement heads for mine and Emily’s electric Oral-B toothbrushes. Our toothbrush order to Kent Brushes will be in soon.

I have recently been toying with trying my hand at leather-working and have recently bought a load of second-hand tools (made in Britain) and some English leather. Today, I made my first piece. A little house for my new Kent comb! I think I have done a pretty good job and even added a monogram (classy).

English Salad can be found even in winter!

While visiting Westerham (to get my comb) we went to our local grocers, and I was personally very pleased to see English salad leaves!!! No more mock-lettuce (cabbage) in my sandwiches from now on.

We also found out, with some surprise, that Costa coffee is in fact a British company. So, to celebrate we went for a coffee. We were informed on Twitter that Costa, for some reason, import their milk. I am not sure if this is true but it sure would seem like a strange thing to do. We will ask them when we next stop by. If they do import milk we will try to get to the bottom of why. You never know we might just start a mini British revolution!

As our stunning and properly British Rainbow Trugs trug arrived this morning I thought that it might be a good excuse to start plugging the salad gap. As you have heard James is quite partial to salad in his sandwiches and now we are all on our way back to work there will be plenty of them to be made.

With all this in mind I decided that the best first use for the trug was to house some seeds that I got from a fantastic magazine called Grow It!. Lucan and I put about 15 litres of compost into the trug and then sprinkled in a selection of winter salad leaves to get us started. Hopefully it will be quite happy sitting on the window sill of the utility room and once we are getting back towards Spring it can be emptied out and used for something else.

All scattered and ready to grow!

We have been invited to a Burns night on the 25th of Jan. It is billed as a black-tie affair and Emily is getting all excited about getting dressed up. She was particularly keen to buy some Tartan accessories to tart-up an old dress, rather than invest in anything new. She specifically wanted a pair of Tartan shoes. As these shoes will only be worn once, we would normally head off to the high street and buy a pair for £20-£30. However, now that we are committed to buying  British, unconsidered buying seems to be no longer possible. Try finding a pair of British made womens’ shoes on the high street, never mind finding them for under £50. British made clothing is expensive. The expense of such items is going to effect the way that we begin to think about the clothes we wear.

Anyway, in order to get around the expense of buying British in this instance Emily decided to upcycle an existing pair of shoes.

She started with an old red pair of shoes and cut rectangles of tartan to completely fit over. Then with a mix of super tacky fabric glue and a small amount of water, painted all over the surface of the shoe and fix the fabric tightly across the shoe surface.

Then the shoes were left to dry by the fire for 10 minutes or so to make sure the glue was hardened. After that the very careful cutting process began using a pair of nail scissors. Around the edges of the shoes where the upper met the sole the sharp point of the scissors was very handy to squeeze the fabric (and quite a bit of glue) into the gap giving a pretty neat finish.

Lastly she cut out the hole for the foot to go into and then trimmed the gap between fabric and old shoe with red ribbon to give it a decent finish. The shoes were finished off with a red ribbon bow to get around the problem of getting the ribbon around the corner.

All finished

My preparations are a lot easier. I have simply dusted off the old DJ and made sure it still fits (it has been about 3 years since it was last worn). Thankfully it does, despite an indulgent Christmas.

– James

The fruits of today’s efforts

I went to make myself a sandwich last night. There was some left over roast chicken, some mayo and even an avocado. These are some premium sandwich fillings, the type of ingredients that rarely come together in this house. I was beginning to get exited. Even the bread was fresh. For once, I would not have to dig a couple of  frozen slices from the fridge and toast them. There was just one thing missing… salad. While the salad is not the main event in a sandwich, it forms an important part of the foundation.

Upon querying Emily on our lack of cool iceburg or peppery rocket . I was curtly informed that salad does not grow in Britain at this time of year. As if to tease me, she did say that it was possible to get watercress… but that the stuff in Waitrose was Spanish so she did not buy it.

I took another trip to the fridge and had a root around. Cabbage! It looks the similar to lettuce. It might be a British wintertime substitute in, this, my hour of need. I began careful construction of my prized sarny, with its bed of Cabbage (I took the tough stork out of each leaf to make it more lettuce-like).

Anyway, long story short; cabbage is a very poor substitute for any type of  salad item. Yuk! One bite in and I removed my mock-lettuce and had a less than satisfactory sandwich without green-stuff. Bummer!

Apparently it is possible to grow winter salad leaves in Britain. So, today I got up early and began constructing our new greenhouse so that we can produce our own. Next time I need a late-night sandwich I am going to be prepared!

– James

Yesterday was our first proper day living totally British. Since there was little to nothing open yesterday, we decided to put off blogging about our first day until now.

We went to Tunbridge Wells before New Year and Bromley today. Both times we came away having bought nothing. We noticed that, particularly in Bromley, there were almost no independent shops. While not the focus of our challenge, is is hard not to get upset about the declining character of our high streets. All the same shops filled with the same brands. Tunbridge Wells High Street was not much better, although I know that there is more independence and so more Britishness, to be found in the Pantiles. This will be a visit for later on in the year. One thing that is immediately apparent is that the task of buying just British would be impossible if were were to rely on the high street alone. Thank god for the interwebs!

Our Twitter followers keep suggesting British goods that we simply cannot resist. I can see this costing us a fortune.  Based on Twitter recommendations I have ordered some Chelsea boots from Yull, and I honestly could not be more excited about them arriving. I will be posting a video review when they arrive to show them off in all their glory. James has ordered some socks from Marko John’s, in a fetching Lavender colour. We are waiting for them to arrive too.

Today we visited Coolings Garden Centre, Knockholt on our way back from Bromley and found a real mix of British and non. It is a shame though that they obviously have no official commitment to stock British goods.  An example of this is that of our new Twitter friends Rainbow Trugs, a British manufacturer plastic trugs made in Britain (on whose behalf we did a little reconnaissance). However, Coolings have choosen to stock a Spanish made alternative rather than this great British Manufacturer.  We have alerted Coolings to this via Twitter and would like to get a response from them. It would be nice to see them adopt a Buy British policy, but even if they could change their Trug stockist that would be a start. We will follow this up with Coolings and attempt to get an official response. While at Coolings we did however find some superb British tools, which were not massively expensive and look and feel fabulous. They are made by Joseph Bentley in Sheffield but they seem to be hiding this under a bushel. These is no indication  on their packaging of their British credentials. The only mention of thier British manufacturing is buried deep in their website. Joseph Bentley – Be proud to still manufacture in  the UK!!!

Its been an eye opening start to 2013 and we are very excited by the prospect of living British. Getting over or barging straight through the hurdles that we meet and blogging about it all the way is all part of the fun. Happy New Year everyone 🙂

-Emily