Apology from Pembrokeshire ice cream company after ‘Little England’ marketing whips up a backlash
A Pembrokeshire frozen food company has issued an apology after causing a social media storm by marketing its ice cream as “Made for you in little England beyond Wales”.
The company came under fire for using the divisive phrase, which dates back to at least the 16th century and is applied to the English-speaking enclave in southern Pembrokeshire bounded by the Landsker Line,
The area to the north of the Lansker Line is where Welsh was more commonly spoken.
'Yes, hello, I would like to show the most disrespect to the local community I can with my ice cream… yes, that's perfect'…
I was never that fussed on #uptonfarm product, now I nor any of my family will be buying their products. Ach y fi pic.twitter.com/w2Kpd9inNY
— El-Dafydd (@dinosaurlego) April 20, 2022
Upton Farm Frozen Foods, based in Pembroke Dock, described itself as a “proudly Welsh business,” following the backlash and apologised after it ‘unwittingly caused offence to some.’
The company also promised to remove the phrase ‘Little England beyond Wales’ from all its ice cream packaging.
Pobl Cymru/People of Wales We know what to do, time to boycott the brand.
I'd put money on it that those running Upton Farm are not locals.The term "Little England…." is reviled by the majority of locals#BoycottUptonFarm pic.twitter.com/PHrEQnsKUr
— 🏴Jason Evans🏴〓〓🇺🇦 (@VictorHMorgans) April 21, 2022
A spokesperson from the company told the Western Telegraph: “Upton Farm is a proudly Welsh business, which has been supplying customers across Wales with our farm produced ice cream and other frozen goods for more than 30 years.
“Being part of a community business, we recognise the importance of understanding and listening to our customers, and as our use of ‘Little England’ on the packaging of one of our ice creams has unwittingly caused offence to some, we will be removing that reference from any future packaging.
“We believed that was a heritage phrase that helped us show pride in being from the heart of Pembrokeshire, and our intent was to celebrate our geography and place in the world.
“That pride will of course remain, but with messaging that more clearly celebrates our Welshness. We are sorry to those who took offence.”
Writing about “Little England” in his book the Description of Penbrokshire (sic), completed in 1603, the historian George Owen, from Henllys wrote: “…yet do these two nations keep each from dealings with the other, as mere strangers, so that the meaner sort of people will not, or do not usually, join together in marriage, although they be in one hundred (and sometimes in the same parish), nor commerce nor buy but in open fairs, so that you shall find in one parish a pathway parting the Welsh and English, and the one side speak all English, the other all Welsh, and differing in tilling and in measuring of their land, and divers other matters.
“(They) keep their language among themselves without receiving the Welsh speech or learning any part thereof, and hold themselves so close to the same that to this day they wonder at a Welshman coming among them, the one neighbour saying to the other “Look there goeth a Welshman”.
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No. That is not it. That’s just what the ‘only England matters’ crowd write when Welsh people comment about Wales.
By producing an ice cream product with a political statement on which itself celebrates and perpetuates division was an act of monumental stupidity by this frozen food company. What were they thinking? Answer. They wasn’t!
We all know the history of that area of West Wales ,especially that inflammatory quote used,”Little England beyond Wales” in South Pembrokeshire aka The Landsker Line. Where in the 1100s Anglo-Norman forces ethnically cleansed & eradicated the native Welsh population by replacing them with English & Flemish incomers thus creating a linguistic & cultural divide we still see today.
Its now 2022 and we’ve been trodden on for too long clearly…. Get with it ‘Phil’!
‘unwittingly caused offence to some.’ “We believed that was a heritage phrase that helped us show pride in being from the heart of Pembrokeshire, and our intent was to celebrate our geography and place in the world.” I have lived in Pembroke my whole life, nearly 40 years, and my whole family is from here and Pembroke Dock. Cosheston, where this company is from is not so far away as to be in a different world. We are all aware of this phrase here, and that it is what we get called, often derogatorily. Neither me, my mother or my… Read more »
All of Wales is Welsh
Diolch Stephen. I agree. ❤
Croeso
“Upton Farm is a proudly Welsh business, … ” so proudly Welsh that it does not use one word of the Welsh language on its products.
All of Wales is Welsh
Get a grip! It was 1000 years ago! Bit late to be getting upset about it now.
Simply pandering to English visitors to make them feel at home, poor things. What an own goal. Pathetic and incompetent
…What flavour would you like?… Strawberry?, vanilla, political?! For God’s sake!.. It’s ice cream!
Ah shut the hell up, nobody cares