GENERALLY MY SAUSAGE REQUIREMENTS ARE FULFILLED BY THE EXCELLENT VILLAGERS SAUSAGES....
Among the first in the new wave of specialist sausage shops, they set up nine years ago have a loyal constituency. For research purposes, I tried four from their range of 20-odd traditional pork sausages. With its yeasty nose and strong tang of beer, the Real Ale sausage had the edge over the peppery Oxford and the herby Irish, but I also tried the firm-fleshed Cumberland, the only one of the four without rusk and, incidentally, marginally the cheapest. I'd be very happy to eat all of them on a regular basis.
Christopher Hirst - The Independent August 2004.

THE WINNER, BY A WHISKER, IS VILLAGERS SAUSAGES....
at www.englishsausages.com. They struck exactly the right balance between succulence and firmness,the skins weren't too thick, the meat was excellent, the seasoning perfect. There are about a billion and one flavours to choose from, of which I'd particularly recommend the Oxford. Delivery costs £8, so you need to order a lot to make it worth your while. But once you've tasted one, you won't find it a problem.
James Delingpole - The Daily Telegraph 2002.

ON THE GRAPEVINE
'Bang On' - One of beckenham's best foodie highlights must be everyone's favourite sausagemonger, Villagers Fine Sausages. Hand-made on the premesis using only the best and freshest ingredients with no intrusive additives or preservatives, these are classy bangers with nothing to hide.
Over 60 different flavours appear on the menu, from traditional Cumberland to steak and Guinness, via spicy Sicilian (pork with fennel, chilli and cider), lamb with red wine, coriander and apricots and the Tuscany tomato (pork, sundried tomatoes and basil). Plus there's a whole chicken selection from which you can choose Thai chicken, Cajun chicken, Caribbean chicken or just plain old chicken and leek. And there's a gourmet department offering such exotic combinations as kangaroo and tomato, pheasant and redcurrant od Chinese-style duck.
Vegetarians need not be frightened off by so much sausage talk - Villager's variations on the veggy sausage include mozzarella and sun dried tomato, spicy red cabbage and spinach and cheddar. There are cute cocktail sausages for parties, big ones for barbecues and spicy ones for those that like the heat. In short, however you like your sausage, you're sure to be satisfied here. And if you're curious, you can even watch them being made.
Living South Magazine - July 2002

SIZZLING RETURN OF THE GREAT BRITISH BANGER
With sales up 11% in the past 12 months the banger is shedding its old image....it is the specialty' high-quality varieties that have provided most of the growth, according the Meat and Livestock Commission. Premium sausages often contain substantially greater amounts of meat, and of better quality. Under current food regulations they must be at least 85% meat. Ordinary pork sausages need only be made from from 65% meat, and half of that can be fat. Other sausages can contain only 50% meat, which can include mechanically recovered slurry.
"Obviously the cost is going to be slightly more (for premium sausages) because they are a quality product, but the sales would suggest that more people are putting their hands in their pockets," said a spokesman for the Meat and Livestock Commission.
Daily Mail - April 2- 2002

FOOD OF ROMANCE? SAUSAGE!
A sausage maker has prescribed the perfect recipe for a sizzling sex life .... a plate of sausages.
Aphrodisiac bangers made with oysters, asparagus, champagne and herbs can spice up flagging lovers, says Ron Etheridge.
He developed sausages that can cure a range of ailments.
"Oysters and asparagus are well-known aphrodisiacs" said Ron 30. "Together in the right balance they seem to get men and women really going, I've even used them on my own wife."
Ron Etheridge of Bromley, Kent, said herbal sausages could lower blood pressure help heart patients and relieve the pain of arthritis.
"People think I'm telling porkies when I explain the medical value of sausages," he added "But the results speak for themselves."
The Sun, May 11 1997
 

RON'S BANGERS PROVE A SIZZLING SENSATION
A SAUCY sausage maker is spicing up the lives of his customers.
Ron Etheridge, of Villager's Fine Sausages, Beckenham High Street, always knew that his sausages offered a certain "je ne sais quoi" to the love lives of his patrons.
His aphrodisiac bangers, boasting chicken and asparagus or champagne, oysters and pork, sent the imaginations of many a sausage fancier flying.
But little did Ron suspect that his spicy Caribbean number held a secret power all of its own - to induce the labour of over-due mums!
Ron first started to suspect the red hot fiend, whose ingredients include brandy, red chilli and onion (as well as a closely guarded secret ingredient), when one his customers was two weeks overdue.
Claire Ross, from Beckenham, was tired of waiting and decided to try the sausage, which packed a punch. Shortly after eating the Caribbean wonder, Claire went into labour.
Then a few weeks ago another regular customer, Christine Butcher, also found herself overdue with her first child. Christine said: "I ate the sausage on the Thursday and my labour started on the Friday and I gave birth to Natasha Jane on the Saturday. It certainly seemed to move things along!"
A further twist to the love sausage tale is that it brought Ron and his fiancee, Jackie Carrigg, together. She visited Ron at his shop through her love for a British Sausage and love began to sizzle for the happy pair.
Although Ron cannot guarantee his sausages will work everytime, he says he has seen enough proof to believe in them.

 
BANGER MAKER SCOOPS AWARD
A SIZZLING super sausage by a Beckenham butcher has won top prize in a national competition.
Ron Etheridge's duck a l'orange sausage was declared a top hit by judges at the Super Sausage competition at a food and drink exhibition at the NEC in Birmingham.
The banger beat off 354 entrants to win second prize in the specialty class two weeks ago.
"It was the first competition I have done. I am so pleased," said Ron, who runs Villagers Sausages in the high street. Ingredients in the winning recipe included duck breast, Grand Marnier and soy sauce.
Kentish Times, April 2, 1998

 
BANGERS ARE ABSOLUTELY SMASHING
SAUSAGE connoisseurs are going quackers over a new specialty banger made from duck meat. Traditional sausage maker Ron Etheridge entered his meaty Duck A l'Orange sausage in the Livestock and Meat Commission competition at the Birmingham NEC last week.
And were stunned when their banger beat 350 porkers from all over the country to come second in the specialty section.
Ron of Melfield Gardens, Catford, said "It is the first time I ever entered the competition and I am are really proud to do so well the first time."
Made with the best coarse cut duck meat, honey, oranges and a tipple of Grand Marnier liquor, it is the most expensive banger in his shop at £15 a kilo.
And since Ron set up Villagers Fine Sausages in the High Street, Beckenham he has devised more than 150 recipes using a variety of meats from wild boar to chicken and venison.
Their most popular sausage is the Carrigg based on an old recipe but there is something for everyone from the Beckenham Chipolata to the very hot Caribarbados and Steak and Guinness beef banger.
Ron, 31 set up shop in 1995, producing more than 55 hand made varieties a week Ron puts down the secret to their success to quality and service.
South London Press

DOME THAT WILL SEE IN 2000 WITH A BANG-ER
A Kent butcher has made his own millennium dome - out of 18 types of sausage from 16 countries.
Ron Etheridge, who runs Villages Fine Sausages in Beckenham, said "The sausages are from all over the world and it symbolizes togetherness in the new millennium."
He plans to sell off his basketball creation and donate the money to charity. It took him a day to make it, moulding the sausages around an upside stainless steel bowl.
The butcher from Bromley expects to start a trend. He said:"One of my customers is bound to buy it, so i'll probably end up making some more." He reckons people will avoid pubs and clubs at New Year - and suggests sausage parties at home instead. "It quite big and would take a couple of hours to cook. But a normal oven would do it."
Mini flagpoles stuck into the meat represent the 12 steel masts on the Dome in Greenwich. While the real Dome is costing £750 million, Mr Etheridge's version is only £30.
Sausage recipes from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, India, Mexico, Spain, Thailand, France, Germany, the West Indies, Cyprus, Turkey, South Africa, Italy and America have been used, along with good old English Cumberland and plain.
Evening Standard

 GOING OUT WITH A REAL BANGER!
Watch out for bangers around the Millennium Dome after one man has gone porkers about sausages.
Sausage maker Ron Etheridge is determined to see 1999 out with a banger or two after making his own Millennium Dome out of sausages.
Using 15 varieties of sausage Ron, of Melfield Gardens, Catford, reckons his Dome has got more international flavour. In a continuous spiral of sausage meat, Ron's Dome offers everything from an English Cumberland and German Bratwurst to a Caribbean caribarbados and some Louisiana Pork.
At his shop Villagers Fine Sausages in Beckenham, Kent, he said, "It took most of the day to make, but would easily feed 15 people." Now all Ron needs is some millennium mash and Greenwich gravy to go with it.

SAUSAGE BUYERS "MISLED"
Sausage sold in some of Britain's leading supermarkets are poor quality, containing much skin, rind, gristle and sinew according to a report by the consumers' magazine Which?.
The broad definition of "meat" means that consumers are being misled as sausages contain large amounts of fat and other materials, the report says.
Safeway and Tesco's were among the worst offenders in the survey of the contents of 30 pork sausages. Only just over half of Tesco's Value sausage was meat. By law a sausage must contain at least 50 per cent meat. Which? called for clearer descriptions of sausage ingredients.
The Times, February 3 2000