Katy's blog | Recipes, tips, inspiration a cute pics of 'pets+cookers'!

Four Gorgeous Svelte Hounds & Our Wicks

Stiff competition for the warm glow of this shiny Aga range cooker..

Thank you Lorcan for reviewing our wicks and for sharing your lineup of pups! "Well cut. Minimum fume on the light up. Works great, prompt delivery"

Here are three things that you may not know about your wicks! Everyday is a school day...

• The 6" measurement on a wick is not the length of the wick itself, but the burner diameter.
• The wick is really only used to get the Aga range cooker started. Some people imagine the wick burning all the time, like a candle, but actually once the cooker is up to temperature the oil vaporises and it is this vapour that ignites/burns. If the wick was burning directly you would need to replace them a lot!
• Our wicks are pre-cut with little notches. These notches are space to line up with the holes / oil chambers. On some burners there are three on the inner ring, some there are 4, and some have 5! The notches aid the flow of your oil. They do not need to line up exactly. Once the oil has flowed, your vapour will light, and you will cosy! 

A Warm Purple Aga Range Cooker & One Happy Cat!

Sarah, what a treat to meet this happy puss! Thank you for your happy Caturday picture. What a nice feeling it is, when there is a break in the rain and you can turn your face to the autumnal sun. Gorgeous colour on your Aga range cooker too! 

New Textiles For A New Season

We are all a little excited today! Our warehouse shelves are freshly stocked with the first instalment of our long awaited new and exclusive textiles designs

The full range will be available before Christmas, with aprons, tea towels, hob covers suitable for Rayburn 400 & 600, and more joining this capsule collection. 

Back in May I spent many happy hours trampling the hedgerows for sprigs & blooms, gathering new spring oak leaves, sketching stems in vases, and excitedly matching colour samples. Seems so long ago now that the hedgerows are transformed with jewel like berries and russet tones. 

We hope that you love them as much as we do! 

Like my babies, I really shouldn't have favourites, but of all the patterns that I have designed, I really do love this one. Oak & Bumble.

A bold design, with a deep midnight blue background, grey trim, practical black towelling and a zing of colour from the acorns. Printed on our 100% cotton upholstery grade fabric, they are resilient, practical & luxurious. 

Reminiscent of heady summer days when plump bumbles buzz happily through foliage. Designed to coordinate with the bulk of Aga range cooker colours. 

When we had finalised Oak & Bumble, Ian and I turned our attention to redesigning an old favourite, our Cow Parsley design. Our starting point? A jiffy envelope, some strong spring sun in the forecourt, and some sprigs of Cow Parsley plucked from the hedgerows at Blake & Bull HQ!

We loved the flat grey, strong bold shadows, but mostly the ephemeral delicate leaves on new Cow Parsley stems. Curled at the ends as they stretch out into soft leaves that are a welcome sign that summer is on its way. 

Many hours drawing in the workshop at Blake & Bull HQ, and more hedgerow ramblings led to our other new design. Cow Parsley (II). Just as these delicate blooms do in nature, a few soft petals drop from the flower heads as a summer breeze catches them. At the heart of the petals are a few pops of sunburst yellow. Toned to coordinate with grey, black, red, white, and pewter Aga range cookers. But we think they'd look fab on most colours! 

After the introduction of our little Bumble Bee friend into our lives, I could not resist drawing him an insect pal! Crouching down to 'bug level' whilst gathering stems and photos to sketch from, I loved watching the wealth of industrious little critters amongst the foliage. 

This tiny poppy bloom, surviving on the edge of the 60MPH road that I traverse daily to get to work, made me want to put a pop of red in this pattern. To deliver that I chose a group of tiny ladybird to bejewel your Aga range cookers! 

Please let me know what you think! I await your thoughts like an eager parent of her designs!

Katy x 

What A Treat! Two Poppy-Dazzler Recipes! Popcorn & Poppy Rocky Road

Antonia & I have decided to treat you to two wonderful recipes this week in the spirit of crackling bonfires, whizz popping fireworks & festive gatherings! We hope that you enjoy Antonia's popcorn coatings - something for everyone, even Marmite lovers! Once you have popped your corn, why not add some to some rich sweet celebration Poppy Rocky Road! 

Enjoy them this weekend if you are off to a firework display, or just at home, by the fire to welcome in the autumn proper. 

This recipe is perfect for our 20cm square, hex, and round tins. The Hex tin is perfect for portioning and ease of pudding removal! 

< More fabulous recipes from Sarah Whitaker, Antonia, and the Blake & Bull community here! 

Happy Woof Wednesday!

I love this beautiful pack of hounds! Enjoy the faces of Fern the Sprocker Spaniel, Lily,Teasel & Ivy the Working Cocker Spaniels this woof Wednesday! Let them warm your cold November 'Cockles!'. Thank you @fernandlily for the share. 

Katy Loves Her Aga Range Cooker ( Even More Now)

We are realistic when we send out review requests. We know how valuable your time is! Truly we are grateful for every single one that is gifted to us. Katy was so chuffed with the results from our cleaning kit, that she shouted loud on the 'virtual rooftops' of the Aga range cooker social community, this made us very smily! Thank you Katy! 

What lovely pups too! 

"Wanted to say thanks for your advice I'm over the moon with how my aga shines." Katy

"Ok, so my Aga range cooker is pre 1974 oil and really is an amazing workhorse, but she felt old and was covered in stains and had lost her shine over the years (after seeing all the new shiny models was thinking of a new one)
I recently contacted Blake & Bull for advice as the doors continually leaked leaving more stain which I could never shift with my usual cleaning products.
Blake and bull were fab, they aged my Aga range cooker, after I sent them a pic and advised me on their cleaning kit and new internal door kit including seals.
My god I'm amazed at how clean and shiny she is. I'm now happy keeping my old girl as I think she looks fab. Would love people to share pics of their old Aga range cookers looking amazing and still going strong!!  Thanks to Blake and bull fantastic company ️ Only wish I had taken a before pic " (Posted on Facebook) Thanks Katy! 

We love seeing the older models still going strong too Katy! Thank you for sharing your home & hounds. 

Katy x

A Very Neat Laundry Arrangement!

Thank you Gisele for this very tidy photo! I never tire of seeing homely pics like this, I am rather a fan of characterful pieces! Those lights look super useful too, directed nicely on each hotplate. 

Gisèle has reviewed our double tier drying rack, proving very useful in the household, and the tumble drier is off! Our Pro Textiles are looking great here too! 

"Full Monty Drying set - Fast delivery, really happy with this great set, should have bought it ages ago ! I have my AGA range cooker programmed and on 'stand-by', it runs at a temperature of 150℃, and even then the washing is drying nicely. I'm happy not having to use the tumble dryer this coming winter. Thanks to all at Blake & Bull! " Gisèle

Totally Useful & Utterly Versatile - That's Why We Love Them!

Thank goodness that you lovely lot never fail to surprise us! Pam (check out her lovely cottage!) got in touch to show us her tabacco leaf drying!

"Drying home grown tobacco leaves - for organic pest control, I hasten to add! Well you do say you can dry anything!!"

Growing tabacco is perfectly legal in the UK, as long as you do not intend on selling it! Pam has only one mission with hers, pest control. A natural and organic way to control soft bodied pests whilst you over winter your plants in the greenhouse. You can soak it in water and use as a spray! 

Do you remember the last time that Pam got in touch? She had us all smiling with her handsomely poised wooden bunny! 

< Here's how to dry blooms, leaves and foliage above your Aga range cooker, a blog from spring but still current! 

Happy Halloween!

Thank you to Sam for her spooky photo, shared with her review this morning! 

Happy halloween all! We wish you happy treating, guilt free gobbling, and harmless tricking! 

"Chrome Caps / Buttons - Gutted to lose one of my chrome buttons down the side of the Aga range cooker never to be seen again! Blake and Bull to the rescue with a new set promptly delivered with a lovely postcard and hand written note! Thanks guys!" Sam ★★★★★

Quadruple Cuteness!

Get ready to lose a good few minutes of your time happily flicking through the social pages of these 4 equine beauties, the Quarter Pint Ponies!

"The team of 4 are known as the Quarter Pint Ponies ( Facebook & Instagram ) and they are used as therapy ponies, the ponies' main job is to put a smile on peoples' faces." Tricia

Thank you to Tricia who sent these in with her product reviews, which I have popped at the bottom of the blog, because lets be honest, this is all about the ponies! 

This is Maddie, she is one of the four therapy ponies. Shod in kindly donated glittery boots by Cavallo Hoofboots, she matches the glisten on the shiny Aga range cooker behind her! 

I would not get anything done if these little bundles of hooves and happiness were in my home! 

I mean, just look! ...

It must be fun, ALL the time! No wonder folk benefit from their therapeutic company. I do hope that this has lightened your day, a pony celebrating her birthday! 

How could I NOT choose these 4 as our November review and picture winners!? Thank you Tricia, a £25 voucher is on it's way to you. 

Here is what Tricia thought of her Blake & Bull products - 

She thinks that our Non-Stick Oven Liner is a "Great product - Great for those overfilled crumbles!". And her Wild Fig & Grape wax melt, well she bought that for a gift, but she loved it so much that she kept it! "This was bought as a present for someone but it never left our house!".

Remember if you give up your precious time to write a review and send us a snap shot of your life with your Aga range cooker, then you may very well win our £25 gift voucher prize!