Thanks Scarlet Dragon. I did click before but didn't notice the list was lurking at the bottom of the page as a PDF. I've seen it now but nothing has caught my eye. I think sometimes the best varieties from heritage collections get promoted by mainstream nurseries, such as the Crimson flowered broad bean, which I grow every year now. I have a sneaky feeling that the less popular ones are not worth growing because there are better versions available elsewhere. I find DTBrown is very good - for a start their catalogue is printed on recycled, non-shiny paper - top marks. They have a good list at reasonable prices, although I notice this year that seeds are very expensive from all the big boys.
I've been a member since Garden Organic was the Henry Doubleday research Institute in the 70s. I hate the new name for its poor grammar and because they probably spent thousands for someone to come up with the name. It used to be an entity with small, honest and simple principles, then they brought in the consultants to make as much money as they could and the whole lot has lost its way, or at least its roots.
Real Seeds has some interesting peas, beans and salads, so I have a few packets ordered.
I'm going in for raised beds to a small extent this year. In the past I have felt that too many people think they can't grow veg without expensive designer raised beds and bought soil. I think clean rows of veg on the flat look lovely, but the bed experiment is to see if they will be easier to maintain but still grow the same amount of crop, given our continuing creeping senility. We are using old scaffold boards to make 2x1meter dismantleable beds, mostly in the tunnel, as an experiment. We have plenty of sheep and poultry manure to fill many beds, and endless mole hill soil!