I was in England in 2008 and was amazed at how few quilting or even fabric stores there were. I don't know why that is so, but you're right, Bev. I was surprised because I too thought quilting was invented in England. Think of all those gowns the ladies of Elizabethan times wore.
I did eventually find one in Suffolk: Quilters Haven in High Street, Suffolk. I bought a kit there made by makower uk, in Oxfordshire. www.makoweruk.com. (Haven't started it yet).
Things are not a lot better here but just a bit, I'd say.
Hang in there. There's lots of friends to be found on the Board.