Buy British

Of late I've been consciously trying to source items I buy on e-Bay from the UK, rather than China, but this is extremely difficult when a lot of Chinese suppliers and manufacturers register themselves as based in the UK, when they're obviously not when you look at their profiles. 

I do wish e-Bay would police this better. The times I've bought items believing it to come from Dunstable and will be delivered in 3 days, for example, only to find them stuck somewhere on a containership from Hong Kong and being delivered the next months, if I'm lucky, are legion.

The sad thing, however, is that either there are no UK manufacturers for many items due to them having been priced out of the market long ago, or some enterprising Brit has managed to secure a stockpile in the UK and is passing off Chinese goods as British made by sticking a huge Union flag on the advert.

My current search is for LED spotlights to insert into the surfboard and mono-ski light fittings I'm intending to make for the static caravan. It's almost impossible to find UK manufactured spot lights.

I don't mind paying more for British products in order to keep jobs here, but it seems many just want the cheapest on the market. Doubtless those who prefer the cheapest products will accuse me of virtue signalling, which seems to be the phrase of the year among those of little brain.

When you think about it most jobs hang by a thread, yet we think because we draw a salary that we're secure for life. Nothing could be further from the truth, as most SMEs and even some large businesses operate on very small margins with occasional, seasonal flurries of profitability that enable them to make a living and pay their staff.