Stick with brick

I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down

Once upon a time there were three little pigs who decide to make their respective ways in the world and build their own houses.

The first little pig decided to use straw to build his house. It was lovely and cosy and cost him almost nothing to heat and it was also very eco-friendly. The second little pig used wood to build his house which he was able to do very quickly because someone had already cut up the wood for him and nailed most of it together, although they did charge him quite a lot for it. The third little pig decided to use traditional bricks to build his house. It took him a little longer than it took his brothers, but he didn’t mind because they were cheaper and a nice man at the builders merchant in the forest kept them in stock until he needed them and let him have them on account until the end of the month.

The three little pigs were very happy in their respective homes, until one day, a big bad wolf came strolling through the forest, a wolf with roast pork and crackling on his mind. When the wolf got to the first little pig’s house, the one made of straw, he cried “let me in little pig or I will huff and puff and blow your house down”. “No, not by the hair on my chiny chin chin” replied the first little pig. So the wolf huffed and puffed and he blew the house down. The little pig ran straight to his brother’s house, made of wood.

When the wolf got to the second little pig’s house, the one made of wood, he cried: “let me in little pigs or I will huff and puff and blow your house down”. “No, not by the hair on my chiny chin chin” replied the second little pig. So the wolf huffed and puffed and he blew the house down. Then both little pigs ran straight to their brother’s house, made of bricks.

When the wolf got to the third house, the one made of bricks, he cried “let me in little pigs or I will huff and puff and blow your house down”. “No, not by the hair on my chiny chin chin” replied the third little pig. So the wolf huffed and puffed and he huffed and puffed, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t blow down the house made of bricks. So he gave up and went home. And as the third little pig had had the foresight to build his house with two extra bedrooms, the three little pigs lived happily ever after in their traditionally built brick house.

Having read this story (with slight adjustments to take account of the age of the audience) about a hundred times in the past week it struck me this dovetails pretty nicely with what the Modern Masonry Alliance are talking about. Houses made by UK builders with bricks sourced from a UK brick manufacturer by a UK builders merchant will keep much needed jobs and money in the UK economy. And if it takes a little bit longer to build them, then that just means a little bit longer to try and find a buyer.

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