November 2008

This month has been productive in many ways. The freezing cold weather is doing the turkeys the world of good, they are laying down fat and this will ensure they are tasty and juicy - too bad if you haven't got your name on our order list as they are all now spoken for.

Anna and I took our burger bar to a few seasonal events - the fireworks in Calne which, looking back on it, was very funny, but at the time was WET and WINDY and COLD. We felt so sorry for the organisers and were very glad to get home with our equipment in one piece. The Christmas Lights parade was a very different story with a dry, crisp night enjoyed by many... both in Calne and Devizes. One gentleman bought a bacon roll and before we got home had emailed to say, I've just come from work in Devizes, where I saw your stall and grabbed a bacon roll with homemade ketchup. The meat was wonderfully flavoured and the ketchup helped the flavour as well, but without overpowering the meat. I was struck by the sheer quality of the meat. It was filling and just incredible! I almost got hit by a car actually, because the taste was so good I stopped for a second to absorb it, but wasn't paying attention and stopped in the middle of the road! Nice to be appreciated and I'm glad we're not reading a headline that includes something about a dangerous bacon roll!

I have often been invited to attend seminars about developing our business but usually found the timing doesn't fit with what's going on here. This month I was able to get to Business Link's Women in Rural Enterprise seminar with a neighbour who is starting her own business. As well as a great networking opportunity, we also attended talks on marketing and on using the web, both of which were fascinating to me. It had been clear to me for a while that we need to rethink our business strategy. We're working far too hard and I'm sure not being as productive in those hours as we could be... so January will see the launch of our new delivery service. We intend to offer free local delivery of our meat and other local produce with a view to developing something to rival the supermarkets delivery service, but with ethically and locally produced goods. Watch this space.

As you know, we have from time to time, suffered at the jaws of the fox around here. Well, this month, Mark and Brandy took matters into their own hands. Brandy charged off as soon as the door of the house was opened one fine morning and from 8am was heard barking away at something. This is not totally unusual as she's quite convinced that you can bark a rat to surrender (and frequently she seems to manage it!). However, on this occasion we realised she was still in the same place barking away at lunchtime. Mark went to investigate and disappeared for quite a while. Eventually the two of them returned to the farmyard triumphantly (and somewhat shaken) carrying a dead fox. Apart from the fact that it was dead, it didn't look too clever and on closer inspection, I think it was probably rather sickly, even before Brandy took it's ears out with the barking. Anyway, it's skin and relevant reproductive organs are now vacuum packed and frozen awaiting the relevant conjunction for us to burn them and make a fox pepper for protection. Skinning a fox... the worst job I've had to do on the farm yet... by a long way.

On a lighter note, you may have read elsewhere that Mark owns a full sized Bluthner grand piano, a magnificent instrument that we do not have room for in our farmhouse. It is currently on loan to Pinewood School and they regularly invite him to attend concerts where it is played. This month we took an evening out and very much enjoyed an evening with Derek Paravacini, a blind, autistic young man with great enthusiasm and skill as a jazz pianist. He has a fascinating story and is well worth a listen if you ever get the chance to hear him.