We have a request today from someone with an old bottle holder. Perhaps you can help him out?
Message: This is an Old Hall sauce bottle holder c. 1936, not catalogued in any of their sales lists for the period. Can anyone shed light on that unusual octagonal shape? Is it for H.P?
– Michael Bennett
I have seen photos of bottle holders of this vintage, but not in an octagonal shape such as this. Do you know what type of bottle this holder was meant for? If so, please comment!
Back when the Birmingham HP Sauce factory was in its final death throws, a man named Stephen Godwin stepped up and made an impassioned plea for Branston Brown Sauce as not only a viable, but tasty alternative to HP Sauce. He not only wrote me to plead his case, but went as far as to send me a sampler of Branston products which aren’t available on Canadian store shelves. Two years on and Branston Brown Sauce still finds its way into my fridge, only these days I regularly pick it up at the local import shoppe – The Brit Cafe. Tasty stuff indeed! If you’re at all dissatisfied with your current brand of brown sauce, I highly recommend Branston.
Moving on, Steve emailed me once again this past week to introduce us to another sauce he deems worthy of our attention. Thanks for remembering us Steve!
We have a program in the UK call Dragons Den where budding entrepreneurs show their wares. In this case some eccentric raster musician called Levi Roots gave them his pitch and the rest is history as they say. This stuff is amazing and is selling like hot cakes. This is old news in the UK but certainly worthy of “Brown sauce” recognition.
At first he gave sole franchise to Sainsbury’s but now it is in all major stores and his range is ever increasing.
The original Jerk sauce he came up with has its “roots” in the Worcester / HP camp but is slightly redder in appearance and is a bit loose compared to traditional browns.
“A follow-up episode of Dragons’ Den aired on July 18, 2007 revealed that Sainsbury’s had expected the sauce to sell 50,000 bottles in its first year. In fact it sold 40,000-50,000 bottles per week[4], and continued to be a high-selling product.[citation needed]“ – Steve
Again thanks for keeping us informed Steve, and by all means send us over a bottle!
I’ve received the following question, submitted to the site by Ken Davidson:
A plea! Can you write a blog entry asking if anyone has got a half-decent picture of the old Daddies Sauce daddy? Do you remember the chap? The happy 1950s type gent with the pipe and the smile? I’ve trawled the internet to no avail; I’ve twittered with no response – surely someone somewhere has a picture!!
Thanks muchly
- Ken Davidson
I dug through my extensive archive, and was able to come up with the picture to the right, but it turns out that Ken is after something rather specific:
Thanks Brad – a very nostalgic pic! I reckon the one I’m after must’ve run into at least the early 70s – simply ‘cos I can just about remember it. My dad told me that it was a picture of him, and that the sauce was for him only. I believed him for years
Regards, Ken.
Thanks for the story Ken! Does anyone have a Daddie’s picture which matches the one Ken describes? If so, please contact me and I’ll forward you to Ken. Thanks for helping!
I’d like to introduce a fellow who contacted me recently. John Scott Cree is a comedy singer-songwriter and story teller who has 40 years experience gigging, recording and broadcasting as a solo comedy act in Britain.
In 1978, John recorded a little number entitled “A Saucy French Love Song” – a comedic dedication to HP Sauce. John also recorded and preserved a live performance on video, and now some 31 years later, he has edited and re-released the video using your images hosted on brownsauce.org (with permission)!
So, without further ado, I present John Scott Cree and “A Saucy French Love Song”:
As a kid in 50’s England, my Dad used to quote, by heart, the French ingredients from the HP sauce label. It was an easyish way to learn a bit of French and I duly put it to music for a school concert in 1964. Later, it became part of my act on the folk club and college circuit and, when Pye Records gave me a contract in 1978, I recorded it in a “Whiter shade of pale” mode, with Cliff Hall (Hammond B3), Ricky Hitchcock (guitar), Alan Jones (bass), and Pete Kircher (drums). Pye wanted it re-done with violins and I took the opportunity to re-do the vocals, with Linda Taylor, as a spoof of the cheesy 70’s song “Je t’aime …” Strings on this version are – Violins: Julian Gaillard, G. Palmer, D. McConnell, D. Moody, L. Rossi, L. Clay. Viola: W. Jones, G. Scott. Cello: Robin Firman, Denis Vigay. String arrangement by Mike Bailey. Produced by Tony Atkins. Pye didn’t release it.
This video uses live 1978 concert footage from Sallis Benney Theatre, Brighton UK, with images to match the song, courtesy of brownsauce.org and HJ Heinz. – John Scott Cree
