Skip to main content

Made in England

There is nothing more relaxing for me than wondering around a car boot sale looking for treasure. Car boot sales are one of the few places left, where you can guarantee to find products that  are "Made in England". It would be almost impossible to write about the decline of the British manufacturing industry without wandering where it all went wrong and who was to blame. However considering the political implications of these questions and because the purpose of this post is to be a celebration of "Made in England" as opposed to damnation of the rich and greedy corporations profiting by exploitation of the people who aren't protected by EU legislation........

I do actively seek out things that are "Made in England" because they should be saved and I am proud of our manufacturing heritage. After all for some of my teenage years, I lived in the Black Country where I went on school trips to learn about the role the local community had as the heart of the industrial revolution. My parents met when the both worked at Rotax Plant in Hemel Hempstead and my mother wedding dress was made from Notttingham Lace. My Grandad was a carpenter on the sets of films shot at Pinewood Studios. Vintage items are beautiful because they were designed and made as an integral part of the community and not shipped in from a far, sold for pennies and broken in moments.


Small money tin "Made in England"


Manicure set "Made in England"


Including a nail file "Made in Sheffield, England", the birthplace of stainless steel




Fabulous flask "Made in England"


Super special retro spotty design


With the word "sunshine" embossed on the lip cup

Finally, I'm not really sure if the pearls were made in England but they were pretty and well, I do like pearls.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you very much for taking the time to make a comment, it really brightens my day and everyone loves getting a little bit of feedback. If you are viewing my blog through Facebook on an iPad, then you need to open my blog in Safari to comment....such a pain but I can't work out any other way to do it

Popular posts from this blog

Ridgeway Cottage Anyhow - How to add social media buttons to your blog

I know not everyone is excited by learning code and techie stuff but in my quest for website geekiness, this post is just one step closer. For all my lovely friends and family who do not care one hoot about what goes on behind the scenes of Ridgeway Cottage, here are some lovely photos of October life. (Those who do want to know about the buttons, social media and coding, please read on.) Social Media Buttons Anyhow You will need. Your blog open in layout  The URL of your social media places you want to link to Some lovely pictures of social media icons that you would like to use as your buttons A photobucket account which you can easily open here A small understanding of how the coding works  A rather large smattering of patience unless you are super clever at all techie stuff   What social media icons are you going to use? You can find some very lovely ones by searching on the internet or there are some here, here ,  or here . I liked these...
5 comments
Read more

Granny square Christmas

When I was younger I fell in love with the granny square blanket my Nan had made. It was in her tiny little Welsh cottage near the mountains and was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. So many colours and combinations of colours, it was just truly amazing. I'm not sure if it's the happy childhood memories or my ever increasing passion for crocheting, but granny squares (and doilies) are something I could fill me life with. Even more delightful are the variations on granny squares. Star burst blanket, which used to be my favourite, but I have recently had a go at African flowers. They are quick and easy to make and so very pretty. Thanks to the brilliant free pattern that I found here , I have managed to make a little crochet Christmas stocking made out of 16 1/2 motifs. I am happy with the how the little Christmas stocking turned out and am now rather fond of African flowers, star burst and granny squares, well actually, all...
3 comments
Read more

The Pink Ladies

As we sat in our classroom inspired horseshoe, designed to encourage conversation, there was a slightly uneasy silence. Those of us who knew each other, stole furtive glances, others returned our smiles politely although they were not privy to the planning and discussion that had occurred in preparation for the evening. The time had slowed, 8pm seemed an age away. The silence was intermittently interspersed with brief attemps at small talk and the rants of a drunk outside on the city streets. The commanding presence of our WI advisor Dorothy, had the air of an experienced headmistress or well respected senior relative which in the event of such formalities made me feel foolish in my .....excitement. Some of us stifled giggles as advice was provided on the process, as we had already made the majority of our formal decisions but it was with noticeable nerves, that I raised my hand to the question of who wished to be President.   So that's it, another new chapter has open...
2 comments
Read more