What’s this!? Two posts in as many days? I know! Shocking.

Well this is just a mere scrap. A thought for the day if you like.

A quick trip to that well known search engine brought to my attention that today, 13th April 2011, celebrates 240 years since the birth of the pioneering British inventor and engineer, Richard Trevithick. Famous for many things, but probably most notable for his work on steam engines and boilers. He built the first full-scale working railway engne. On 21 February 1804, the world’s first locomotive-hauled railway journey took place as Trevithick’s unnamed steam locomotive hauled a train along the tramway of the Penydarren Ironworks, near Merthyr Tydfil in Wales. God only knows what he must make of the state of the railways these days. He must be turning in his grave! If you are stuck on a train today…raise your paper cup of exceedingly overpriced and under quality coffee in his honour. ttfn.

In all honestly it’s been a world of change for us. No longer do we brave the murky grey skies of Manchester (although the city is strangely missed), as two of the team moved out into the Peak District countryside and the other two of us have moved down to Nottingham. New jobs, new homes and new places to visit.

Although, this little website has unfortunately been neglected, I have very much been keeping tabs on the plethora of British Made craft and produce to emerge over the last year or so. At times it has seemed to me that the whole country has felt the need to champion our manufacturing abilities again, which is great. I hate to use the word ‘trend’, but it’s become quite apparent that ‘British Made’ produce has became a major selling point for the high street retailers and supermarkets alike.

At the start of our little task, it was actually quite hard to find some British fruit, veg and produce in the major supermarkets even when it was in season. This seemed to change quite quickly last year, and I vividly remember walking into Sainsbury’s one day and noticing loads of little Union Jack styled ‘British Produce’ tags on the aisles helpfully pointing things out.

Unfortunately, where there’s a bandwagon, people inevitably jump on it, so there’s also been an influx of mass produced tat covered in union jacks that’s quite blatantly manufactured overseas with little regard for quality. I like to call this ‘Brit Washing’ and if I see another badly copied version of Emma Bridgewater’s iconic mugs then I may crack!

So once again, sorry for the tardiness in posting. Hopefully my next one will be sooner than 2012! There’s actually a little pub close by that prides itself on serving local produce and also has something on the menu called ‘The Great British Platter’, so it would be rude not to give it a whirl and report back. ttfn.

Anorak is a style driven company that produce durable outdoor products for camping and the garden. Born from childhood memories of family camping adventures, Laurie Robertson created Anorak after graduating from her masters in Printed Textiles.

What I love is the simplicity of the designs and the bright bold colours The best thing…It’s all designed and manufactured in Britain. How good is that! big round of applause for Anorak .

Well it had to happen at some point didn’t it!

Unless you’ve had your head stuck firmly in the sand for the last year (and to be honest, with the recessionary doom and gloom – who could blame you), then you will probably have seen the “Keep Calm and Carry On” posters that have been floating around the web.

So the story goes, the original posters were issued by the Ministry of Information during World War II for the purposes of propaganda and to boost morale on the Home Front. Lost for a generation, a copy of the poster was found in an auction along with a load of old books. The lucky buyer put the poster up in their house and got so many compliments that they decided to reproduce it. As the crown copyright had passed, it was fair game for anyone and everyone to start producing them which is why the web is littered with some brilliant (and some not so good) reproductions and parodies.

As we’ve been spending some time recently in a screen printing studio, we decided to put our new-found skills to good use and make our own version – and it seemed pretty obvious that Keep Calm and Carry On Britain should be the message.

The posters are lovingly screen printed by hand onto 150gsm, acid free “Canford” paper which is manufactured in England by Daler-Rowney, a British company who have been producing artists materials and ‘Inspiring Creativity Since 1783′.

Our Keep Calm posters are 40cm x 30cm in size and come in a beautiful range of colours to suit any room in your house. Please excuse us for trying to flog you something but…well…there’s a recession on don’tcha know and we need to make a few quid to fund our further travels around Britain

To see the full range or to maybe even buy a poster – keep calm and carry on over to our friends at Ryne Arts Gallery.

The fella and I have been driving all over Britain visiting family and friends. After Christmas Day in Nottinghamshire and Boxing Day in North Yorkshire, we then drove to Pembrokeshire for my friend’s 30th birthday and New Year’s Eve. It was fab! Pembrokeshire is stunning and I spent a lot of time walking up and down beaches or sat in front of a wood burning stove, eating. The fresh sea air was much needed after the excesses of Christmas and New Year.

Here a few photographs of my trip…

The first is of Newgale beach. The sky was really dramatic and looked amazing, soon after though we got caught in a huge hail storm and blizzard.

This is Whitesands beach which is near St Davids. St Davids is the smallest city in the UK I think? (Just checked and it is!)

The best part of the trip however was the pub that we happily stumbled across called The Sloop in Porthgain. It’s everything you could want from a pub in the middle of Winter. Good beer, open fire, warm, cozy and serving great pub food. It was so good we went back twice. The mussels were incredible, served in a coconut Thai sauce with a chunk of bread. I had ham, leek and chicken pie both times I went (it was that good!). It was a proper pie served with lots of veggies and mash potato. Then for pudding sticky toffee and date pudding with custard….. perfection after a night on the sauce and a long walk on the beach.

The whole week away was brilliant. I loved Pembrokeshire and even though it took 6 hours to drive there, it was thoroughly worth it and I got to fulfill a dream of walking on a beach on New Years Day

So back home and back to reality although I got the Cool Camping Wales book for Xmas so I am already planning the Summer’s camping trips – can’t wait!!!!

Happy New Year to you all – I hope you had a lovely time!

Doesn’t that just get the old taste buds rolling! I love the thought of the big stoves going on a crisp Winter’s day.

Cheshire Smokehouse is based in Wilmslow in Cheshire, and basically it does what it says on the tin.

As both ‘farm shop’ and national branded producer, The Smokehouse is an oasis of quality and service in a world of blandness and uniformity. What really makes The Smokehouse different is that most of the products you see and eat – even the fantastic smoked nuts! – are made right there on the premises, with all the expertise and attention to detail you’d expect.

The meat is fantastic, I have long been a fan of their smoked bacon which we have virtually every saturday morning with fresh eggs and Barbakan bagels. We recently did a little trip out to the smokehouse to stock up on some meat. The prices are very competitive with the supermarkets and it’s lovely to know that it is all reared and prepared on site. I just have to be really careful that I don’t blow the budget on sticky toffee pudding and other goodies in the Pâtisserie.

So that rounds it up for another year. I know we have be a little sparse for the past few months but the Carry on Britain team have big plans for 2010. So, wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

To me it doesn’t get any better. Add in some mulled wine at this time of year and a good Xmas movie and I’m happy all night.

I first came across Pieminister pies when a bar (aptly named Pi) in Chorlton, Manchester started selling pie and mash for tea – a choice of three or four pies served with mash, mushy peas and thick gravy. What a brilliant idea!!!

Back in 2002, Jon Simon and Tristan Hogg teamed up to start a pie business, giving the British public what they needed – a good pie made from proper stuff. After months of development Pieminister was born, what followed was a small shop in Bristol and a stall at London Borough market sitting alongside some of the finest food producers in the world.

Pieminister now has a proper pie kitchen filled with chefs and bakers and is stocked in pubs, restaurants and shops all around the UK, they have even been eaten by the Queen.

Each pie is still made by hand only using the finest ingredients sourced from British farmers and all the meat is free range. We like it when the animals are happy!!

I know I know, where have I been?

Well as my last post said I took voluntary redundancy from my job and launched my own company, lovelittle. This really has taken up all of my time and energy but I never forgot about Carry On Britain. Anyway, my New Year’s resolution is to devote more time to this blog and from now until Xmas I have a feast of festive inspired posts for you to read.

Ok, let’s start with some Xmas present ideas for those who really have left it till the last minute.

Bellingham Soap Company is run by Allyson Proudfoot from her home in Northumberland. It all began in 1997 when she was living on a little small holding in Bellingham and her goat Lottie was producing more milk than Allyson knew what to do with. After reading up on the internet, Allyson found a recipe for goat’s milk soap. It was a basic “old timers” cold kettle recipe but it was a start. After a long process of trial and error Allyson formulated an olive, palm and coconut base and began scenting it with flowers and herbs from her garden.

Since 1999, Allyson has shown at many craft fairs as well has having her own premises in the Kirkharle Courtyard which has seen her business grow from strength to strength. In 2007, Allyson decided to focus more on the trade side of the business and moved her workshop back to her home where she continues to make her gorgeous soaps today. The soaps are now sold around the country and more recently through the National Trust.

For me, buying such a natural product is a necessity as I suffer from eczema, but it is always wonderful to find new products that I can use. As well as this product being great on your skin, its also great for the environment as Bellingham Soaps only used ethically produced palm oil and all the packaging is recycled and biodegradable.

These soaps are kind in every way

Today is the last day to order before Xmas so get a move on!

Ah the humble frittata.

What can I say, its easy, its cheap and it can be very healthy.

This is a recipe for the best frittata and its so healthy because it has no cheese in, plus all the ingredients are home grown in Britain or if you’re really smug, home grown in your garden. I am not that smug though.

This serves two people.

Get some left over spuds from the day before, about 8-10 boiled baby potatoes.Break up the spuds and fry them off in a little oil.

Leeks, 1 whole leek will be suffice, wash and gently soften in the frying pan.

Ok so we have softened leeks and fried potatoes. Mix the two together in the pan and pour over 4 eggs whisked and then the best ingrediant, some chopped rosemary. Fresh is best and dont be scared on how much you put in.

Thats it, brown the bottom of the frittata and then put under the grill the cook the top. Serve with salad or my favorite baked beans. Simple

Two weeks ago I lost my job, well I took voluntary redundancy, to pursue my career as a freelance designer (shameless plug alert! lovelittle). Anyway, this forced us to re-evaluate our lifestyle on a grand scale. No more going out for dinner, no more trips to the coast and no more deli counters with their fancy cheeses and stuffed olives. It’s back to basics for Carry on Britain but our ethics and beliefs will not change. Throughout our journey I will be looking for healthy, cheap, British food and I will document our journey here. Just check the menu bar for Carry on Britain on a budget for regular updates.