Our Produce, supplying Staffordshire with great value local food

With a little help from my friends and a slightly harassed fish delivery man, we managed to get all our orders out in full last week despite the snow. Yes we were a little late in places, and yes I did get stuck down a lane making a home delivery (thanks Tina and partner for the push!), but we made it. Unlike Tesco’s apparently who cancelled their Rangemore delivery on Thursday because of the weather…..

Well Our Produce got through its first Christmas without many hitches at all and plenty of really kind comments from many customers which I will pass on to suppliers. 2008 was a fantastic first year and I can’t wait to get stuck into 2009. I know times are tough and small businesses such as mine and those of the lovely people I buy from, count on your support. As you think even more carefully about the pennies you spend this year, remember how much impact your shopping habits have to our local economy and environment. You make all the difference!

Have just taken down all the Christmas cards and cut them up to make labels for next year’s presents. Also bought crackers in the sales…

This is a really local do that I thought I’d just tell you about because it was good last year and promises to be bigger and better this year.

It’s from 10.00 till 16.00 next Sunday at the Eland Lodge equestrian centre which is situated near the end of the long Hollybush Rd out of Newborough heading up towards Six Lane Ends at the top of Draycott bank (post code DE6 5HD). Santa is arriving by horsedrawn sleigh at midday and will be there until 3.00pm.

There’s loads of parking and it’s a great opportunity to pick up some unusual Christmas pressies and goodies from a wide range of local suppliers. Our Produce will be there with a stand, so do come and say hello!

Hope to see you there.

I had to laugh at myself today (well..I do most day’s actually)..but I was pretty stressed trying to sort out orders, get my bits ready for a big fundraising do for my daughter’s school tonight and photograph all the new Christmas things I’ve got coming in to put on the site. Bert, my three legged, one-eyed cat (it’s  a long story, for another time), was getting under my feet, asking to be fed (in his mind meal number 3 is due at 10 o clock) and generally getting the sharp end of my tongue because, well, there was no one else..

Anyway, I thought I’d get a bit creative..you can tell the level of my creativity if you’ve seen the site- and set up the shots looking out of the window over my autumnal garden with a holly wreath providing a nice bit of colour and suggestion of Christmas..you get the picture. I carefully placed my jar of marmalade with Glenfiddich by the wreath and got ready to take my snap when up jumps Bert and plonks himself right in the window. Feeling as unloved as he was (he isn’t) I didn’t have the heart to tell him off again but nether did I have time to waste- so if you look closely at the Christmas Special preserves you might just be able to spot a bit of fur…

Like many of you I can’t bear to see food go to waste and when I dreamt up Our Produce, part of the idea of the name was that it was truly ‘our’ produce because we would match people who had excess supplies of something up with someone somewhere who would want them. This has come to fruitition a number of times and there was a great example this week when a customer with an abundance of Jerusalem articokes, offered them to Our Produce. The great thing was I actually passed most of them on to Richard the market gardener because they are something he doesn’t grow, but knows he could sell at a forthcoming farmer’s market this weekend. Great, eh?