Image Courtesy of AdamKR and reused under the terms of the Creative Commons Licence.

Remembrance Sunday, which takes place annually in the second Sunday on November, is the day traditionally put aside to remember all those who have given their lives for the peace and freedom many Brits enjoy to date.

Britons all across the nation pause to reflect the sacrifices the brave service men and women made; and you can do the same by showing your patriotism and installing some British-themed homeware in the home.

Every year the National Service of Remembrance ceremony occurs at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, Westminster, in London and is a unique expression of national homage devoted to those who gave their lives in war and service to their country. 

The wreath laid by Her Majesty The Queen and the other tributes placed on the Cenotaph are dedicated to all who have suffered or died in wars, past and present. Wreaths are also laid by representatives of the Armed Forces, Merchant Air and Navy and Fishing Fleets, as well as former Prime Ministers, the Mayor of London and Members of the Cabinet.

The service is organised by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport but home owners can get involved too with Ulster Weavers fabulous British Cats and Union Jack ranges.

Fly the flag, metaphorically, by using British themed bone china mugs, oven gloves and tea towels in the kitchen. Don one of our vast arrays of British themed aprons and bake some cupcakes, decorating them in colours from the British flag.

Showcase your loyalty to the country with Ulster’s Olympic textiles and giftware and choose from a wide selection of Team GB gauntlets and canvas bags.

And our gorgeous Queen’s Diamond Jubilee ranges are now in stock so if you love spending time cooking and showing off your culinary skills, then you can do so whilst displaying some nationalism. 

British Cats Linen Tea Towel

Union Jack Double Oven Glove

Tourist Icons Gauntlet

Wrap the winter season up this year with sparkly aprons, festive tea towels and Christmas cosies!

Install some jolly spirit into the home and deck the halls with themed textiles to really put a smile on the little ones’ faces.

Top Decorations

• Tinsel
• Holly Wreaths
• Snowmen
• Robin
• Angel/fairy
• Lights
• Mistletoe
• Snowflakes

Go to town with snowflake décor, some colourful tinsel and let the creativity flow. Use your imagination to adorn each room with snowmen, robins and holly wreaths and don’t forget to put an angel/fairy on top of the Christmas tree.

Mistletoe is a traditional ornament to hang just above the doorway and you can spoil the kids by giving them an advent calendar filled with delicious chocolate to eat each day. Suspend twinkly Christmas lights at the front of the house and play old-style carol songs inside the home for the family to sing along to in the evening.

Many people just decorate the house but why not go the extra mile this year and purchase some merry homeware to serve alongside the Christmas grub?

Before you start cooking, protect your clothing in one of our enchanted forest PVC aprons so you can whisk the apron off when finished and look gorgeous on the special day without having to get redressed. And the youngsters can help you cook the feast too by mixing and stirring in matching kids aprons.

Serve your roast potatoes and vegetables with an Ulster Weavers festive bouquet gauntlet or oven glove to ensure your hands don’t get burnt, and wash down the scrumptious Christmas dinner with a piping hot pot of tea in a co-ordinating tea cosy.

However you decorate the home this Christmas, make sure you have a jovial holiday with quality homeware and textiles by Ulster. And as evidence to our commitment to quality, Ulster Weavers Ltd. has held the royal warrant as suppliers of kitchen textiles to Queen Elizabeth II since 1995.

Festive Bouquet Double Oven Glove

Enchanted Forest PVC Apron

Christmas Reindeer Tea Cosy

Bonfire Night is the perfect excuse to get all the family round and have fun watching firework displays and roasting marshmallows over a blazing fire.

Entertain the kids with sizzling sparklers and cosy comfort food to keep warm on a cold autumn evening. Many town local events take place with carnival rides and food stalls of candy floss and hot dogs, but you can create the same exciting atmosphere in the comfort of your own home by cooking up some flaring sausages, sticky jacket potatoes and cheesy bonfire bread.

Whilst watching the night sky light up in bursting colours this Guy Fawkes Night, stuff your face with delicious grub of honey roasted ribs and wash it down with a piping mug of hot chocolate or mulled cider.

Chestnut stuffed mushrooms make a brilliant starter dish as well as carrot and coriander soup; and you can finish it off with some warm toffee apple crumble dessert.

The most traditional recipe is of course marshmallows for the children to cook over the glowing fire but why not make your own this year with the help of Ulster Weavers and our fabulous PVC Aprons and homeware?

The marshmallow recipe from Rachel Allen only takes 30 minutes to prepare but it does take over two hours to cook, so planning is required. It makes over 35 marshmallows though, so get the whole family involved with the baking with our cute kids aprons.

Ingredients needed:

• 2 x 7g sachets powdered gelatine
• 450g/1lb caster sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp. sunflower oil
• 2 tbsp. icing sugar
• 2 tbsp. corn flour

The cooking instructions can be found here!

And it isn’t just our aprons that can help you when cooking on Bonfire Night; make sure you wear some quality oven gloves and gauntlets when carrying the hot food out of the oven.

Our tea towels are great to protect your hands if the plates are scorching and Ulster Weavers door stops are perfect to hold the doors open when the kids are running in and out of the house during such blustery winds!

Bird House Door Stop

My Garden PVC Apron

Easy As Pie Cotton Tea Towel

With everything from sparkly bags and aprons to traditional linen tea towels, you’re bound to find some great stocking fillers at Ulster Weavers.

Choose from any of our merry ranges including the Festive Bouquet, Christmas Reindeer and Enchanted Forest and with the designs varying considerably, you will definitely see something to suit your décor taste.

From Christmas cosies and Christmas tea towels, we have all you need to put a bit of festive cheer into the family home this wintertime. And many of the designs have matching co-ordinates so you can deck the halls (home) with gorgeous identical homeware. 

Our Christmas Pudding Tea Cosy is delightful to decorate the table with on Christmas day, to enjoy a lovely piping hot brew round after Christmas dinner. And our Christmas Reindeer range is just perfect for parents with little kiddies, as the characters are adorable.

Whether you want Christmas homeware that is quite classic and traditional, or fun and quirky, Ulster Weavers have it covered! If you prefer a simpler and chic style, our Festive Bouquet range is just for you; whereas the Enchanted Forest range by Linda Edwards is beautiful and sparkly to glitz up the festivities.

Every household should have at least one Christmas tea towel so add a bit of festive spice with a huge choice from our linen and cotton tea towels from sleeping santas and polar parade, to snow buddy and Christmas stable.

Check out the fantastic Christmas stock at Ulster Weavers now!

Enchanted Forest Cotton Tea Towel

Christmas Pudding Tea Cosy

Christmas Reindeer Gauntlet

Festive Bouquet Cotton Apron

Angel Folk Linen Tea Towel

Enchanted Forest Small PVC Bag

Pic Credit: Flickr, Arlington County

Created in 2008, the dedicated day is celebrated to raise awareness about the benefits of hand washing with soap.

Clean hands save lives so the day shines a spotlight on the global culture of hand washing with soap.

Over 200 million people take part each year in over 100 countries around the world and a vast array of governments, international institutions and civil organisations get involved.

Support Global Hand Washing Day on 15^th October with the help of Ulster Weavers and our gorgeous tea towels.

Washing with soap is reportedly the most effective and inexpensive way to prevent diarrheal and acute respiratory infections which are significant causes of sickness and death throughout the world. Millions of lives of children in developing countries are taken each year due to insufficient hand washing.

Research has shown that by integrating hand washing with soap before eating and after toilet use into more people’s lives, it could almost half the number of global deaths of diarrhoea and reduce deaths from acute respiratory infections by 25%. The simple habit could even be more effective than any single vaccine or medical intervention.

So make sure you wash your hands properly to prevent sickness and then dry them on quality, cosy kitchen hand towels by Ulster.

Using a hygienic hand towel could be the difference between life and death in many cases, so check out our vast array of designs, styles and colours and rejoice in the global sanitary celebration tomorrow.

Dinner Reservations Linen Tea Towel

Dig For Dinner Linen Tea Towel

Piggy Linen Tea Towel

We all have to tighten our purse strings at the moment, especially in the run-up to Christmas but that doesn’t necessarily mean we have to compromise when it comes to shopping for gifts.

Here at Ulster Weavers we thought we’d give you a helping hand by selecting a range of fabulous products suitable for any occasion all for only £10 or even less!

So if you know someone who is celebrating their birthday this October, don’t short change them of the perfect present; treat them to something extra special and unique.

For her, why not buy a cute V&A Strawberry Thief Travel Card Wallet? It is the ideal accessory to put a passport in if you are going abroad on a winter holiday. Or why not purchase The Rules linen tea towel to decorate the kitchen with which includes humorous instructions such as “The FEMALE always makes THE RULES.”

Is your mum a bit of a style casualty? Have a look at our gorgeous Fashion Victim Medium PVC Bags; or simply treat her to breakfast in bed to show her you care with our Coffee Cups Cafetiere Cosy.

For him, check out our massively reduced gauntlet, oven glove and mens’ apron ranges which all come in masculine colours. Treat your old man to a Union Jack Bone China Mug In A Tin and make him a piping hot cup of tea for his birthday; and if he is fond of agriculture, have a look at our dedicated Gardeners Calendar or Landrover Linen Tea Towel which are only £6.50. Bargain!

For the little monsters, you can still give them a great birthday but without breaking the bank. Our childrens aprons and chef hat ranges are just adorable, so spend the day baking cakes in the home and then blow out the birthday candles.

So select one of our wonderful gift ideas listed above or have a look on the website for the vast array of other ranges on offer all for under a tenner. And have a great birthday this October!

Fashion Victim Medium PVC Bag

V&A Strawberry Thief Travel Card Wallet

The Rules Linen Tea Towel

This weekend Music Day is taking place!

Saturday 8^th October has been founded and dedicated to encourage all people everywhere to rejoice on music.

It is one day set aside a year to inspire Brits to claim and reclaim in one’s ability to sing and make music.

Now if you are like us here at Ulster Weavers HQ and you cannot hold a note or even sing in tune, you can still celebrate the day with the help of our fabulous musical cat homeware range.

We have a vast collection of home essentials that are music themed so if music is a passion of yours install some rhythm into the kitchen. Look no further than our beating Musical Cat range that comprises of matching tea towel, shoulder bag, aprons, pot mitt, oven glove, gauntlet and tea cosies.

Create some soul into your cooking with harmonising homeware and get the complete set so the kitchen is nothing but singing in gorgeous textiles. Whether you like listening to rock and metal, opera, country-style or pop music when practising your culinary skills, make sure you look the part this weekend.

Sing along to your favourite song and hum to your much-loved tune and cook up a melody in 2011. Become the “singing chef” of your home, with Ulster Weavers. And rest assured, it really is common to cook and sing at the same time, as singing waiters and chanting chefs can be hired for parties, events and even weddings!

Musical Cat Linen Tea Towel

Musical Cat Tea Cosy

Musical Cat Cotton Apron

This week is National Conifer Week!

The British campaign is to highlight the advantages of the evergreen tree, so celebrate with Ulster Weavers V&A Oak Tree range.

Conifers come in a vast array of colours, shapes, sizes and habits and many of them change shade during the year.

The plant is a popular choice for the garden all year round because it doesn’t lose its leaves and it provides structure, background, texture and contrast to the backyard. They are the ideal choice for the amateur gardener looking for a low-maintenance but high impact plant.

Each conifer reportedly has its own unique personality and are easy to care for and long-lasting. So the campaign, which is driven by the Horticultural Trades Association British Conifer Group (ABCG), aims to encourage garden centres and homeowners to make a statement in their garden this October with the conifer.

Roger Ward, chairman of the ABCG said: “Conifers are a wonderful way of adding colour and shape to your outdoor space. Whilst being practical and useful they are also visually stunning and can transform a garden into something quite magnificent.

“Many conifers change colour throughout the year, so you can achieve fabulous splashes of orange, blue or purple in autumn or winter when other plants are dormant.”

Our Oak Tree range comes in a matching PVC Bags as well as Linen Tea Towel; so install some co-ordinating greenery into your home this winter with Ulster’s fabulous homeware.

V&A Oak Tree Linen Tea Towel

V&A Oak Tree PVC Packable Bag

This weekend is the Great British Cheese Festival in Wales!

OK we don’t expect you to travel all the way there, if for example you live in Ireland like us, but it is a fantastic excuse to celebrate all that is great about cheese with Ulster Weavers cheese homeware.

There are hundreds of kinds of cheese that are produced throughout the world in a vast array of shapes, colours, textures and smells.

In general, cheese supplies a great deal of calcium, protein, phosphorus and fat as part of a healthy diet and is a vital source of nutrition. Some studies suggest that the right amount of intake even help prevent tooth decay.

But worldwide it is an agricultural product as it essentially comes from cow’s milk; and according to the Food and Agricultural Organisation in America, over 18 million metric tons of cheese were produced worldwide in 2004 alone. So imagine how much that figure would have increased by now!

The biggest exporter of cheese is France and the biggest importer is Germany, in comparison to East Asia in which cheese and other dairy products is rarely found in dishes. 

There are too many types of cheese to list but hot favourites include;

- Brussels

- Blue

- Edam

- Goats

- Feta

- Swiss

- Stilton

- Brie

- Lancashire

- Cottage

- Mozzarella

- Parmesan

-Cheddar

- Halloumi

So whether you like to eat hard, soft or flavoured cheese; make sure you install some cheesy kitchen essentials into the home with the help of Ulster Weavers.

Check out our fantastic range of cheese aprons, gauntlets, cotton tea towels and double oven gloves. And even better, some of the items are on sale!

Cheeses Double Oven Glove

Cheese Label Cotton Tea Towel

Cheese Label Cotton Apron

This month is National Dog Adoption Month!

The celebration aims to highlight the brilliant benefits of adopting a dog. In the UK, there are hundreds of animal shelters that are filled with homeless pooches, so use September to promote the advantages of giving a dog home.

Adopting a dog isn’t a simple notion and not one to be taken lightly. A dog is for life, not just for Christmas, so make sure you get all the facts and advice about caring for a dog before taking on the responsibility.

A four-legged pet is said to be a man’s best friend and having an animal in the home can bring huge amounts of joy; so why not share your love with a furry feline or canine and adopt this month. And why not go all or out and rejoice in the mongrel breed by installing some of Ulster Weavers dog ranges.

We have a vast array of doggylicious designed linen tea towels from Dogs Galore to Dogs Arrived and go barking mad for our Dog & Bone range that has matching homeware including aprons, pot mitts, oven gloves and PVC bags.

Ulster’s dog door stop is especially cute and could send the newly adopted pooch confused into thinking it is real!

So celebrate National Dog Adoption Month in the UK with the help of Ulster Weavers dog homeware ranges.

Dogs Galore Linen Tea Towel

Dog & Bone PVC Packable Bag

Dog Door Stop