shopping spree....

The problem with being a market trader is all the temptation. I go to all these wonderful markets, full of fabulous things made by lovely people, and come home laden with goodies. So, having been to two markets this weekend, and these being the first two of the year, it was inevitable that I'd get carried away. Here's a flavour of what I came home with:

- fabulous sheep and Jersey cows' cheese from Wootton Dairy, cheesemakers from a local farm in Somerset:

- two fabulous prints from local artist Alce Harfield;
- some lovely pottery from Woodchester Fine Foods;
- and some divine lavender and orange handmade soap and lavender and neroli handcream from The Summer Hill Soap Company, from just down the road in Ashton:

Next weekend, I'll be at Thornbury Food Fair on Saturday and Love Food Spring Festival on Sunday. If this weekend's anything to go by, I'll be bankrupt by the following Monday!

Not complaining though....it's great to be spoilt for choice....

first Whiteladies of the year!

It's been a beautiful week, lots of sun, and Spring has suddenly arrived. The crocuses  in the garden are in full flower.

As soon as the sun comes out, I think of Whiteladies! The weather forecast for tomorrow is clear blue skies and sunshine so I've just changed my weekend plans so I can go to my first Whiteladies of the year. Hugely looking forward to seeing everyone. We always have great fun.

It's going to be a busy weekend.because I'm also going to the Tobacco Factory market on Sunday. Just as well some of the new stock has arrived!

Oval Ghana baskets

international women's day....

Today is International Women's Day and this is IWD's 100th anniversay. The idea of having a women's day emerged from campaigns to improve the rights, entitlement to vote and working conditions of women, initially in Europe, and subsequently in the USA. On 25 March 1911, a fire in New York took the lives of more than 140 working women, most of them Italian and Jewish immigrants. This tragedy drew attention to the need for labour legislation and an end to discrimination.

This year, there are events taking place all over the world to celebrate the achievements of remarkable women but also to highlight the challenges which still face women and girls. 

According to the Fawcett Society, in the UK:

• Women working full-time are paid on average 15.5% less an hour than men for doing work of equivalent value.

• The Annual Survey of Annual Earnings 2010, published by the Office of National Statistics, found that men's hourly earnings were £16.25, up 1.1% from £16.01 in 2009.  Women's mean earnings increased by 2.2% to £13.73 compared to £13.44 in 2009.

• Women make up less than 20% of MPs. There are only two Black women MPs, and there has never been an Asian woman MP.

• 96% of executive directors of the UK's top 100 companies are men.

• Out of every 100 rape cases reported to the police, just seven end in the rapist being caught and punished. Rape conviction rates vary hugely across England and Wales, indicating a 'postcode lottery'.

Many women and girls around the world still face hardship, exploitation, sexual violence, poverty and inequality. International Women's Day provides a platform to raise issues, increase awareness, share ideas and discuss responses. If you're interested take a look at these:

• Dame Judi Dench and Daniel Craig's short film highlighting the differences between men and women's life experiences. Directed by Sam Taylor Wood on behalf of EQUALS.
• The EQUALS coalition which is a partnership made up of ActionAid, Amnesty International, Care International UK, The Fawcett Society, Oxfam, Plan International, Save the Children, The White Ribbon Alliance For Safe Motherhood, Women’s Aid and Women for Women International.
• The Great Initiative which is working to improve the prospects of women in Africa and hold governments and NGOs to account.

Whatever you're doing today, have a safe and happy International Women's Day!

pancakes....

It's Pancake Day on Tuesday. Pancake Day is the colloquial name for Shrove Tuesday, which is the day before Lent starts on Ash Wednesday.

Shrove Tuesday has a long history and dates back to at least 1000AD. The word shrove comes from the verb to shrive, an old English word which means to obtain absolution for sins through confession and penance. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of 40 days of penitence, leading up to Easter.

Because Shrove Tuesday is directly linked to Easter, the date varies from year to year.  Easter Day is usually the first Sunday after the full moon that falls on or just after Spring Equinox and as a result, can occur on any date between 22nd March and the end of April.  Lent begins 40 days before Easter Day.


The period running up to the beginning Lent is associated with celebration and carnival in many cultures, of which the best known example is Mardi Gras. Because Lent is associated with fasting, pre Lenten celebrations are usually characterised by feasting and eating rich foods. In the UK, the traditional thing to eat is pancakes. Pancakes, fried breads or pastries made with sugar, fat and eggs are also eaten at this time in many parts of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Everone has a favourite pancake recipe but, should you feel like trying a new one, I'd recommend two from Nigel Slater, one a traditional crepe, with lemon and orange, and one with apples, maple syrup and vanilla cream.  This article, in this week's Observer, also includes a recipe for a buckwheat galette. Yum!

tobacco factory...

I've been having a lovely time over the last few weeks sourcing new stock and the winter website sale's going swimmingly. But it's definitely time to get back to all my lovely customers and fellow market traders.

So 2011 kicks off with the Tobacco Factory market next Sunday (6 March). Tobacco Factory is one of those places where there's always something new and interesting going on in the theatre, at one of their community events, at the market or just hanging out in the cafe/bar. There's lots of information about what's on on their website and facebook page and I'm looking forward to seeing what's new.

In case you were wondering about the name, it really was a tobacco factory! Wikipedia says:

"The Tobacco Factory is the last remaining part of the old Wills Tobacco site on Raleigh Road, Southville, Bristol. It was saved from demolition by Architect George Ferguson and through his vision has become a model of urban regeneration. It is now a multi-use building which houses Teoh's restaurant, animation and performing arts school, loft-style apartments, a café bar, offices and a theatre."

If you'd like to know more, click here to see a video about the history of the building and how it came to be the South West's leading Shakespearean theatre. The video includes some great clips and interviews, including George Ferguson, some of the women who used to work in the factory making cigars, and Sir Jonathan Miller!

Will be there again on 20 March for anyone who's got time to drop by....

Looking forward to it.....

tulipfest II

It rained and rained and rained last night. Jake (my labrador) had a fabulous time on our morning walk jumping in all the puddles and playing in the stream which was running fast and deep. I went up through the woods to see if there were any signs of violets. Once they appear, you know the wood anemones will be along soon and then the bluebells and then Spring is definitely here. Jake was so muddy and wet that I had to use 5 paw towels to dry him when we got back! But it's been sunny today and the temperature made it into double figures so who's complaining?

There's not much colour in the garden yet. The crocuses and tulips are slowly appearing but they're a bit thin compared to last year. I saw both magpies and foxes digging up my bulbs this winter. I don't know if they dig them up because bulbs are tasty or because they'd got something else buried in the pots (usually nuts) and the bulbs just happen to be in the way. Whatever the reason, the bulbs are coming into flower in a rather haphazard fashion. So, in the absence of colour in the garden, here are this week's tulips:

I was talking to my friend in the Turks and Caicos Islands today. She said that it was 81F which is the usual temperature there, give or take a degree. Hard to imagine for those of us in cold, damp climes, but we can always dream....

plastic bags II

As soon as I'd posted my blog about plastic bags this week, I came across this video (click to view). It's a spoof wildlife mockumentary on the life of a plastic bag, narrated by Jeremy Irons and made by a lobbying group in California.

California has always been at the forefront of activism against plastic bags with San Francisco the first city to ban them, back in 2007. The debate about the pros and cons of banning and taxing plastic bags has been raging ever since. Figures for 2009 showed that the number of plastic bags picked up on San Francisco streets rose slightly after the ban was introduced. 

A recent article in The Guardian (11 January 2011) compared plastic bag usage in the UK, where voluntary regulation is in place, to Ireland, where plastic bags are taxed:

"the number of bags used a month by each person in the UK dropped from 11 in 2002 to 7.2 in May 2009, but then rose again to 7.7 in May last year – equivalent to 475m bags in total per month. In Ireland, the equivalent figure – compiled from plastic bag tax receipts – has dropped from 27 in 2002 to 2 in 2009, suggesting that the tax is having a strong impact on consumer behaviour".

With Wales introducing taxes on plastic bags later this year, this one's going to run and run....