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
You guys are doing a great thing! I strongly believe that we can collectively turn this country around by following your example!
Great idea; I hope many more follow you.
It will be interesting if you are able to show the financial side of buying British as opposed to from anywhere. Will it cost you more or less? That should affect your decision, but it would be nice to know that it doesn’t cost more – that would put other people off.
Hi Emily
Many thanks for visiting my shops Chocs on the Green and Ivy house yesterday. When the researcher called earlier in the week she advised me that Graham and yourselves would arrive between 12 and 1. Sadly I missed you as I was still at church but I hope you found the shops useful for your exercise. The chocolate shop also stocks delicious English chocolates in the cabinet which are just as, if not more, popular than the Belgian ones so hopefully next time you are in, maybe you would like to try them too. Look forward to meeting you and good luck with buying British. Regards Yvonne Russell
This is absolutely brilliant,
I really do believe that the disposable income of Great Britain is just finding its way to other countries through foreign made items being brought into the country.
Even though we will never stop this, I think everything should be done to encourage “British made Products”.
I also think the government should get involved by reducing “TAX” on British products.
Well done the Bradshaws, i have for sometime been committed to buying british wherever i can and as clothes and goods are wearing out am making a concerted effort to buy british,
Last year i took on the tennancy of an allotment so that i could grow as much of my own food as possible and now also have 6 hens which provide lovely eggs and which i know have a good life and diet and are well cared for. The allotment was in a dreadful state when i took it on and therefore could not expect any harvest until this year so am eagerly looking forward to this.
It would be nice to receive updates, particularly via TV to see how you are getting on with your buy British plan and maybe this might encourage others to do similar.
Good luck.
Apparently you are looking for a UK made mobile phone. Vertu, whilst (very, very) expensive, hand makes its phones in Hampshire.
Alternatively, INQ is based in the UK but makes its’ phones elsewhere.
For a new computer, you could try the Raspberry Pi, made in South Wales.
Good luck!
You guys are showing that individuals can have a big impact on things if they put their minds to it. If nothing else, you managed to get several households in Britain interested and curious about your experiment.
For me this has nothing to do with patriotism as I’m not British, but I believe that if we want to make our economy sustainable we have to support our local business people and their enterprises. If we don’t show that support with our wallets then they stand very little chance against the cheaper, mass produced wares from other countries.
Hi folks! I totally applaud your journey! You remind of a modern version of the TV series, The Goode Life!
I’ve just read your blog posts which are both fascinating and alarming in that it highlights how dependant we are on the rest of the world for our goods. I recently read a book about the collapse of our society due to a sudden stop in the import of oil. The research showed that as a country we have very little practical knowledge in producing much of the every day items we take for granted, from food to clothing.
It could be beneficial to know the cost of the British items you purchase as this could help inspire those who also desire to live only by using British products, or as many as financially possible. Whilst I can’t say I only buy British, I do make sure to read the packaging on things like vegetables etc, and where possible only buy those produced in my local area.
In this post you mention buying the Mail on Sunday. I wonder if the paper used is manufactured outside of Britain? And is there a newspaper that doesn’t import paper for this purpose? I guess the same question could be asked of books too.
I don’t know if I’m being a tad pedantic but I felt I had to point out that the dates on your post appear to be in the American format of month/day/year, and not the British system of day/month/year – at least that’s how I see them, unless I’m wrong.
I’ll be following your endeavours with great interest and wish you the best of luck!
A truly inspireing idea,a bit like the “We`re backing Britain” campaign in the 60`s. Be interesting to see if any small hidden British companies come out of the wood work in your endeavours. Keep up the good work .
Can you say that chocolate is made in Britain? If so, why not coffee and sugar? It’s not grown here, unlike the tea!
How much needs to be made here to be “Made in Britain”? It is a complex question as many manufacturers assemble here using components manufactured elsewhere.
Well done! I live on the Isle of Wight, grow my own food, try and shop in the Farmers markets, and farm shops. We recently had a wood burning stove installed- Charnwood a local make but nationally recognised and went to a local family run firm for installation. There’s the Isle of Wight Garlic Farm for all things garlicky and the Lavender Farm for all things Lavendery…I am buying more and more household goods and accessories from Folksy, a website for UK designers/makers and we love Open studio events where we buy direct!
I really hope this kick starts evryone in the UK to think more about where all our goods and produce comes from. Hopefully enough people will be in it for the long haul and start sourcing our wonderful British produce. Maybe it will encourage more people to think like you why can’t “We” make it or grow it instead. Source local produce and support your local community.
Hi Guys,
Have you considered using a UK owned registrar and web hosting solution, rather than 1and1, which is owned by ze Germans?
A lot of comments on this one. We are aware of this. The hosting was intended for another site autumn last year. I paid the full years subscription and, like everything we have bought, would like that to run out before changing it. We aim to make this move before we have to pay another years’ hosting but if there is a weight of feeling that we must move it then we will – even though we have not paid anything this year for it.
Hope this explains our thinking here.
James
Love it all but shame about TAIWAN stamped on the loudspeaker in the home made radio near the end of the BBC piece. The best speakers in the world are British.
What a great idea! British manufacturing really needs people like you, even if everybody increased their British consumption by a few pounds a week or swapped a few groceries from foreign brands to British brands, it would help save British jobs and create new jobs in Britain. Having just returned from a holiday in Australia, I was amazed to find most of the foodstuffs were Australian produce (admittedly the Australian climates permit the cultivation of bananas and mangos as well as the products grown in Europe). They also had Australian produced t-shirts, linens etc. I do try to buy British, if there is the option, but I will now be trying that little bit harder. I would also recommend Denbies vineyard in Dorking, Surrey for great English wines.
Excellent stuff this ! Perhaps if Governmental organisations and the emergency services started to use British made vehicles (Honda’s and Toyota’s are British made with a large UK component content) rather than Audi’s, Kia’s and BMW’s etc., we might all start to feel the collective good rather than benefit other countries who probably buy their own domestically produced vehicles. A Police Jaguar in Germany? Probably not! (You don’t see Police Jaguars in the UK either!)
ASOS have a factory in Haringey where the employ seamstresses and apprentices so some of their clothing is being made in the UK.
I’ve only just discovered your site and your challenge. I applaud what you are doing and I’m sure you will lead the way for many others and provide a platform for the many small and not so small British businesses that are out there. I believe the tide is turning and more folk, like yourselves, are seeking to change their buying habits and your efforts will highlight what’s available as well as the gaps in the market. Like Jacqui above, I also buy (and sell) from “Folksy, a website for UK designers/makers”. I look forward to sharing your journey.