Posted by Lou on Jan 21, 2010 in
Products I love a spot of camping (only in the summer though, I am a fair weather camper).
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 .
Posted by Dunc on Jan 10, 2010 in
Products 
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.
Posted by Lou on Jan 4, 2010 in
Places I have had the best Christmas break!
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!
“In the spacious and hygienic preparation areas of The Smokehouse, salmon is salted and smoked; bacon, hams and other meats cured and sliced. Elsewhere, the smoke stoves are filled with sweet-smelling chippings of maple and oak which impart the distinctive taste to Cheshire Smokehouse products.”
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.
Posted by Lou on Dec 18, 2009 in
Food Shopping,
Products What I love in winter is when you go for a long lovely walk in the freezing cold and then treat yourself to a plate full of pie and mash afterwards.
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!!
