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In January 2013 James (35), Emily (30) and their son Lucan (3) set themselves an unusual New Years resolution. Fed up with the slow economy, the lack of fair taxes being paid by large foreign businesses and a general 40 year neglect of the British manufacturing sector as a whole, they decided to see if it was possible to keep all of their money in the UK. They asked themselves the simple question can a normal British family survive on only British made goods?

12 months on and their year has not been without adversity, frustration and hard work. “The first 2-3 months were the hardest” James points out. “The research to find British made goods took over our lives and we would both be at a computer regularly until the early hours of the morning.” They also had problems doing their normal weekly shopping and would often have to visit 2-3 supermarkets in a day to get the range of goods required to feed the family only British. The family found visiting the high streets and local shopping malls to be fruitless exercises when looking for British made clothing, electronics and other such items and all this this forced them to consider alternative life-style choices to complete their challenge.

The last time there was a necessity for families in the UK to survive on only British goods was during the 2nd World War when it was nigh-on impossible for imports to reach the country. Initiatives such as ‘make do and mend’ and ‘dig for victory’ ultimately became the Bradshaw’s inspiration. “We began buying our food more directly from the farmers, growing and preserving our own fruit and veg and seeing our clothing purchases as investments that needed to be properly maintained rather than disposed of” says Emily. But despite the extra effort, 12 months on and the Bradshaw’s say that they have hit upon a new lifestyle that actually suits them better not least because they claim to now save up to 20% on their weekly shopping bills.

The last year also saw some high profile stories centred around foreign imports. The horse meat scandal raised questions about our foods supplies and the factories collapsing in Bangladesh killing over 1000 people made many think about where the things they buy were made. These issues have certainly made the Bradshaw’s think “We began to understand our place as consumers and understand the ‘real’ cost of what we buy. If something is too cheap we perhaps need to ask ourselves why” says Emily. However, the family are keen not to be labelled as protectionist or against imports. “We are certainly not anti anything. We do not believe that supporting Britain should mean that any other country loses out. We just want to celebrate and be proud of what the UK does produce” says James.

The original question the Bradshaw’s sought to answers was ‘Is it possible for a normal British family to survive on just British goods?’ The answer is no. Ultimately, there are certain things that are no longer made here in the UK; light bulbs, matches, batteries, children’s toys, printers and ink to name but a few. However, James is keen to point out that it is not all bad news “British manufacturing is still alive and kicking. There are some great UK products out there but they need much more consumer support. It is down to us to seek out British made products and demand them from retailers. The family also claim to have unearthed a rich seam, great quality British made electronics, clothing and plastics items all at competitive prices and regularly review these in their www.britishfamily.co.uk blog. They have even set up a dedicated website, called Britipedia, that seeks to connect consumers with British manufacturers.

By their own admission the family wandered quite naively in to their challenge, hoping perhaps to get some publicity for their cause locally, but were taken by surprise when the national and even international media began to call. “We are astounded, but immensity proud, that we have been able to bring some long overdue support to the manufacturers and farmers of Great Britain, and raise awareness of their hard-work on their behalf.” says dad James. Their numerous interviews on TV, radio and in the press have meant that they have now become well known consumer champions for UK industry, known affectionately as The British Family, but Emily is keen to note “In a way it is a shame that it’s us doing this. Promoting such an important part of our economy should not be left to a normal British family. Surely this should be the job of the Government, business leaders or maybe even celebrities.” It is perhaps testament to the neglect manufacturing feels as a sector that they were so quick to look for a champion in this normal British family.

As their initial challenge draws to a close what is next for the Bradshaw family? Well, 2013 saw them organise the first British Family Fayre, an event which attracted over 4000 people, and they already have a date set for 2014 and plan to make this years’ event even bigger and better. James is also on the committee of the new Made in Britain Campaign that have recently launched a kite-marque for British made goods. The family also have a number of other events lined up throughout the year with the sole intention of further celebrating British manufacturing and farming. But what about their challenge of buying British? James suggests they are keen to continue. “We would be silly to stop now. We have hit upon a lifestyle that suits us, that saves us money, that is ethical and socially conscious to boot. Buying British has now changed our lives forever and we have no intentions of ever going back.”

It has truly been a remarkable year for a British family with a passion for all things British.

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

A few weeks ago we put up a post about 10 fantastic and fabulous truly British items that we have discovered in the last 6 months. To keep the world a balanced place we thought that we would now list our top 10 things we either miss and cannot find, or are really disappointed that aren’t made in the UK. So here goes, the top 10 things we just can’t get;

Black peppercorns – This was something that we found out pretty early on that we were going to have to just do without. That said it doesn’t stop us missing the taste and wishing that there was a way to grow it or buy it made in the UK. While we’ve had some super weather this week, we’d need more weeks like this than like the one that is on it’s way to grow peppercorns so this one will just have to go on the New Year shopping list.

Lemons – This is not something that we thought would really be much of an issue. However as we approach summer and want to make zingy dressings for our lovely home grown salad the absence of lemon is quite obvious and sad. Limes and oranges are not such an issue and are something that we could be forced to live without but lemons are one that summer will not be quite the same without.

Toys – We have posted before about the death of the British toy manufacturing industry so we won’t put too much in here other than to say that since we posted that blog we have had some super news that Hornby are returning from China and India to make new model kits and railways on UK soil. Well done Hornby and we look forward to more news like this!

Power tools – This is James’ department and I’m not sure what power tools we do not already own that he has been looking for, but it is still an area that we have all the skills to make. Yet to our knowledge nothing in this area is made in the UK. If you are a manufacturer James would love to hear from you to increase his shed full 😉

Bed linen – While we had expected that the cheaper end of the linen scale would not be there for us this year we had expected that we might be able to find something somewhere. Despite looking for the last 6 months we have yet to find any sheets of any kind either for us or for Lucan that are made in the UK. I can only assume that there is little weaving left in the country especially when it comes to cotton and this is why there in no British made fabric available either. I will however put a caveat in here that there are still fabulous weavers of tweeds etc but not so much weavers of everyday cottons and linens. I will also put towels into this category as we have not found anyone producing these at an accessible price point either.

Light bulbs– Again this was fully fledged post from a month or so ago so I won’t add more than is there. It is sad that a whole industry has left the country forever but hopefully there is someone somewhere who might bring it back one day.

Canned foods – This one is not something that we really thought about when we started this challenge. We would buy tomatoes, pulses and beans to put into other dishes easily and cheaply. When we started looking at just how far the canned food had come we were really quite surprised. Dried pulses were off the menu as well as these are only packed in the UK which for us being strict this year is not enough. There is one supplier of dried fava beans (broad beans) and peas, Hodmedods but these still need to be soaked and boiled before ready to use.

Batteries – When we started we knew fairly quickly that batteries would have to be rationed. It would be fair to say that every British household will consume a certain amount of battery power each year and we are no different. We are however finding that with a bit of fore planning it is quite possible to run on rechargeables instead, far greener 🙂

Women’s clothes – If we had unlimited money and time this would not be a problem, but having very definite limits on both this is a whole category that is missing from almost all British High Streets. What we have found so far has all been bought online and while there are a good number of people providing for the alternative market in many ways there is almost no British made clothes for everyday wear at a reasonable cost. Under-wire bras are a particular need at the moment and again while there are companies making skimpy just cover you up bras there is nothing in the more substantial end. We had heard at the start of the year that River Island and Topshop among others were bringing more British made clothes to their stores but nothing substantial as of yet.

Mobile phone – Earlier on this month James’ mobile phone started to die and this is worrying as the only British manufacturer of mobile phones is Vertu. Their phones are gorgeous with a capital G but are also well out of our price range starting at around £5500. We clearly have the skills to make mobile phones and very glamorous and gorgeous ones too so where is the more accessible British phone?

Something we need to finish with is that this list has taken us quite a while to put together. It is strange that when you have accepted that you can’t buy something you don’t seem to miss it much. We hope that this is not read in a negative way as we really are all about celebrating what we do make and not lamenting what we don’t, however we also felt that in order for there to be balance we should share the downsides of our year along with the upsides.

If there is anything you can help us find we would love to hear from you and help us to tick off the things that are missing 😀

– Emily

I suppose it is always the same when you come back off holiday, you always have more than what you went with. This is very much true for us upon our return home from our Easter tour of Devon, Somerset, Dorset and Cornwall. Just look at all the stuff we bought!!!

Starting left to right:

New Balance Trainers:

While at Kilver C ourt we found these trainers at £25 down from £90. A pair of these bad-boys have been on the shopping list for us since we started our project, but seeing them at such a barging price meant that we took the plunge.

Orchard Toys Shopping Game:

Endlessly stuck for ways to entertain Lucan we bought this from a little shop in Somerton. Orchard are about the only British toy manufacture that is widely stocked but don’t get me started in that!.

Shakespeare Glass Vase:

We could have spent a fortune in Shakespeare glass but opted for this rather colourful little vase. It already has pride of place in the display cabinet in our hallway.

Union Jack Scarf:

We bought this from a gift shop on Poole Harbour and Emily did not take it off throughout the rest of the holiday. It was made by a local crafts person but  we have lost the tag so cannot tell you more (sorry).

Sharpham Park Spelt Products:

Actually we did not buy these. They were kindly given to us by Roger Saul during our visit to his estate in Sharpham (I don’t think that anyone would begrudge us accepting some perks). We have used much of the Sharpham Park range of spelt products before but we have been introduced to a few more though our visit.

From Dorset With Love – Chutneys and Jam:

We bought these from the River Cottage Spring Fair where they had a stall. We are looking forward to trying them out!

Lyburn Cheeses:

Again, this is what is left of what was generously given to us when we visited Lyburn Cheese on our first day. Let’s just say that there is not much that made it home.

Alex Pole Iron Work fire poker & hook:

This fire poker and hook are both hand forged by Alex. We met him and saw him practising his art at River Cottage.

Celtic Clothing Beenie Hat:

Emily lost her Liv Beenie hat during our trip when Lucan borrowed it to keep him warm and then decided he was warm enough and dropped it out the buggy. She was very sad about this but she soon cheered up when she was able to buy this new one from Kilver Court.

Fosseway Cider:

This was given to us as Sheepland as part of the fantastic display of Somerset produce that they put on for us.

E.Howe Somerset Honey:

Again, this honey was part of the display of local produce on display at Sheepland.

James Chocolates Sheep Lolly:

More stuff from the display from Sheepland.

Cakes by Samantha:

These little sheep cupcakes formed a ring around the Union Jack cake that was made by Samantha for our visit to Sheepland.

Liberty Print Fabrics:

Emily bought these fabrics from a little shop in Totnes. They are printed in the UK. She plans to make a skirt this week.

Sheepland Slippers:

Well, we would have been silly to have gone all that way an not bought a pair!! My feet are in heaven as I type this blog.

Lush Cosmetics:

We came out like bandits from our visit to Lush. They were supremely generous in giving us loads of fantastic smellys. They actually saved us from cheap hotel soap and shampoo all holiday.

Cornish Sea Salt:

We bought a big tub of the stuff from River Cottage. While we can get it from Waitrose, the large tub worked out very good value compared to buying in store. I am told that this purchase was an effort to save us money long term.

Naughty Step from Lovingly Made:

This was the last purchase of our trip and caught our eye as soon as we entered Lovingly Made’s centre. While Lucan is generally a very good boy he does have his moments. More than that, it is a beautifully made bit of furniture made out of up-cycled wood.

We are now skint, so back to work on Monday to pay for it all!

While we are keen to keep our blog positive and trying not to lament the past too much it is fair to say that one sector of manufacturing that is almost extinct in this country is children’s toys. Having a 2 year old and not being able to buy his something to play with occasionally is a really difficult as a parent. Something really must be done to re-establish the toy industry in this country but until that happens this weekend I took matters into my own hands.

I spent 2 days making Lucan a little wooden tractor. It was actually supposed to be red as a nod to our friends at Red Tractor Assurance but Lucan had other ideas. This is how my first attempt as a toy manufacturer went:

What is great about this toy is that it did not cost me a penny. It is build entirely from bits i had knocking around in my shed. I started with an old off cut of pine 3×4″ and drew my basic shape onto it. Ideally a hard wood would have been much better and had I had some that is what I would have used (and if I had used a hard wood I would have spent a little more time on the finish).

I then cut out the shape using both electric and hands saws and finished it was a belt sander and elbow grease.

I cut the wheels with a hole saw attached to my power drill and the same with the rear arches.

After ensuring a smooth finish on all the parts I glued and nailed the arches to the main body and added a bit of dowel on the nose as an exhaust.

I them primed the pieces with grey under-primer and left to dry until Sunday.Meanwhile I drilled holes in 4 metal washers and later nailed these onto the outside of the wheels. I then spaced the wheels from the main body with 2 metal washers separated with copper grease, so they would turn freely, and screwed them all to the body.

The next day I let Lucan loose on the bits with a water based paint. This is the reason for its unconventional paint job. Once dry I coated with clear gloss varnish and left for 2 hours.

The result is a rather rustic looking toy which Lucan seems to genuinely enjoy. But it is made all the more special because father and son made it together!

When we get beyond all of the press stuff that is happening at the moment, the core part of our project… the part about trying to see if it is possible for a normal British family to survive on just British goods and services, is beginning to become more routine.

It is fair to say that, we, like most families, tended to buy much the same things week in week out. For the first two months this was obviously not the case, while we began to find our way to the British stuff and leave behind the imports. Now we seem to have settled into our stride we have regular things we buy on a weekly basis and this makes the core project much easier.

We now know where our essentials come from, when we go to the supermarket there is far less need to check the backs of packets and the time it takes to organise shopping is far less than when we first started. The fact that this has become routine is probably a very good sign. It means that living on entirely British goods is possible for an average family. That is to say, we have survived 2 months on a normal family budget, have the time to live a normal family life and best of all have not starved.

So, barring a few issues (batteries, light bulbs, kids toys) the early signs are good for being able to live a truly British family existence. In fact, more than that, we are really enjoying it!

The pic is blurry because he would not keep still!

On a school trip to Hampton Court Palace today (I am a teacher) I though that I would take the chance to buy a little present for our son Lucan. I saw a lovely looking plastic knights armour set and naturally turned it over to search the small print. As with most plastic toys, I sure was that I would see a label that said it had been made in the Far East. You can imagine my astonishment to be presented with an announcement that this particular toy had been manufactured in the UK. It was such a cute set, and I was so excited by this find, that I instantly bought it for Lucan without a further thought.

It was only when I showed the children what I had bought that I saw in horror the dreaded words ‘Made in China’ moulded into the actual pieces of the toy. The cardboard label clearly said ‘made in the UK’ but the actual toy said ‘made in China’!!! Needless to say I was pretty cross with this mislabelling,  and at myself for not having looked more closely. However, I was very lucky that I had not ventured far from the shop and took it straight back. The shop staff were very understanding and were happy for me to swap the plastic set for a lovely wooden sword and scabbard. I had already eyed this up earlier and it had clearer labelling saying ‘Made in Britain’.

This incident is set to make me look much more closely again at labels. What was more concerning though is that it was a very near failure in our project – even if an unwitting one.

On the plus side Lucan seems to love his sword and has spent all evening pretending to be a knight.

– Emily