There's more to Cadbury's than chocolate...

I'm going to warn you in advance that if you currently don't have a cup of tea and a slab of Cadbury chocolate in your hand, at the end of this post you might well want one...

...because I'm going to write all about Cadbury World! 

Oh yes. I visited my best friend Hannah in Birmingham last weekend; we had a girly reunion with another friend, Clare from back home, mainly because our summers are all over the place and we'd started having break downs over how long we potentially wouldn't see each other for...

Anyway, on the last day following the all too quick departure of Clare the night before, Hannah & I decided to explore nearby Bournville & it's main attraction; Cadbury World.

To say we were excited is an understatement. We ended up following a few groups of school children & I'm pretty certain we looked more excited & giggly than they did...

Of course we got freebies, scoured the chocolate shop for some bargains & ate as much chocolate as we physically could...it truly was like something from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. They even had a ride! But, we also learnt something. It seems there's more to Cadbury's than mere chocolate.

The Cadbury story began in 1824 when John Cadbury began selling tea, coffee and drinking chocolate. Gradually over time, he experimented with chocolate manufacture until in the 1840s he managed to open a factory in Bridge Street. The success of his chocolate increased so that it became available to the masses, & in the 1860s when John retired, his sons took over, continuing his business success. With such demand & productivity, they were able to move out of their small factory & set up Bournville; named due to the nearby Bournbrook and replacing 'brook' for the in-trend French word ville. Their business expanded still, and today Cadbury is known by almost everyone whilst Bournville is a beautiful, quaint little village surrounding the chocolate factory.

Ok so that was a history of Cadbury in a nutshell; leaving out how they put a glass & a half of milk in their chocolate, merged with Fry's chocolate company etc... but you get the jist. What was most interesting though was the social consideration the Cadbury family had. Bournville was created to be an aesthetically pleasing, green village so that their workers could live in the houses it offered & enjoy their surroundings. They believed happy workers could be more productive workers. They created the Bournville Village Trust, printed lists about how to live a healthy and happy life, gave their workers benefits & bonuses that were well ahead of their time & ensured every worker was treated fairly; like one of the family. Perhaps it's through maintaining the feel of a family-run business that Cadbury have done so well. Perhaps they really do just seem like a genuine, friendly company. Plus, we found that Bournville really was a lovely little village; we both said we'd love to live there!

Not just taking Cadbury World's word for it, Hannah & I explored the local village & found the Visitor Centre.

Inside is a stone inscription claiming that the building was dedicated to one of the Cadbury sons when he married. It seems that the villagers & workers had a respect for the chocolatiers, which was returned by good working conditions & benefits.

The Village Trust still exists today, but is now just one of the many things Cadbury attempt to do to help their society; think of their recent involvement with Fairtrade...they even have a water project in less developed countries (unfortunately asides from a poster, this wasn't even mentioned during the exhibition...)

So there you have it. Asides from making mouth-watering, delicious, milky chocolate (I don't care what some of you say...it IS the best!) they also have a certain respect for their workers & society...

It's official. Chocolate really is amazing. Now where's my stash of freebies gone... 

http://www.cadburyworld.co.uk/CADBURYWORLD/Pages/Welcome.aspx

A very Royal Morning...

This morning was rather special.

This morning, the Queen came to Nottingham.

Being proud fans of the British monarchy, my housemates & I were in Market Square, forming part of the swarm of people gathered eagerly, awaiting the Queen's arrival. The clouds were looming overhead ominously but even the rain behaved whilst she was here. Flags were waving, cameras were rolling & kids were being held on their parents shoulders excitedly. It's safe to say the atmosphere was...for want of a better word...tingly. There was a buzz among the crowd - even more so after a few false alarms of a royal sighting. People were so keen to get a good view that three people were spotted on the roof of a rather tall building, hoping to get a better view!

Eventually, an hour & a quarter later she arrived, accompanied by Will & Kate. The crowds began manically cheering, flags were waving extremely fast &, all i can say is, thank GOD for the big screen next to the town hall, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to see anything. 


The balcony wave was well worth it though. Unfortunately, from where we were standing, we couldn't quite see Prince William, courtesy of an unfortunately placed pillar. But this was what we could see...

Kate was respectfully singing along to God Save the Queen, as her Majesty herself occasionally waved and smiled to the crowd. What's more, is that she genuinely looked pleased to be there. There was no falseness in her expression whatsoever; perhaps that's why so many people like her. 

After the song, the screen once more became vitally important; this time we caught a glimpse of the trio... (excuse the camera poking up from the bottom!)

And that was it. 

After a few minutes, they turned back around & headed inside the town hall. 

And we left. 

Despite waiting over an hour, & despite the cold, & despite the threatening dark clouds, I still think it was worth going. How many times do you get to see the Queen in one lifetime...& how many times do you get to see not one but three members of the Royal family all at once?

Needless to say, everyone became rather supportive & patriotic this morning but the inevitable debate about the Royals arose as expected. I would like to settle this.

Whilst unlike some (I could mention Sara on Big Brother; ashamedly admitting that I now watch it) I wouldn't burst into tears if someone didn't like the Queen, I do think the Royal family is something we should keep and be proud of. It's a part of our heritage; it's tradition; it's England. Although the attention on more distant family members can seem slightly crazy to me, (it gets to a point where I'm not sure how they're related to her Majesty) I still believe they are a worthy figurehead for our nation. If it's old fashioned then fine, but I'd rather term it tradition!

Plus... just look at her smile - she looks friendly & caring & although I hate to use the adjective; genuine. Let's just face it, the Queen is rather quaint, isn't she?