2010 Diary: Every day I write the book....

With the snow now a chilly memory behind us, I’ve been asked for some more photos cataloguing the feat of endurance I went through, managing the ffarm alone for the best part of a month (I was effectively stranded here from 19th December 2009 to 16th January 2010, only managing to leave here very briefly for a  frantic restock of essential supplies between Christmas & New Year).

So I’ve added a Flickr account to the Blog – this way even if I haven’t the time or energy to write a full post, at least you’ll be able to keep up with fragments of our life here, which I’ve managed to capture through our photos. 

To access, go to the right-hand column & scroll down to the bottom – the photostream is there, & you can access the whole gallery by clicking the link.  I have (where possible) also added a brief description to each picture although this activity is ongoing. 

Enjoy!  And do feel free to add a comment to a photo is you like it or find it interesting for whatever reason.

Meanwhile there are further posts in the pipeline about the frozen wastes of January – promise I’ll put them up soon.

Sun-touched hedgerow holly

With the rising of the sun dawns a feeling of fresh hope.  The cold, clear morning light revealed a sharp air frost had decorated the trees in the valley with a delicate cloak of pearlescent white, giving the slender limbs & boughs an otherworldy luminescence. 

I started the day with a couple of slices of crisp wholemeal toast, spread with a liberal coating of Marmite; upon which I munched thoughtfully whilst reflecting on the rollercoaster events of the past twelve months.  And yes, I did set myself some reasonably achievable resolutions; although I am not going to divulge them here for fear that if I break them I will be castigated! 

After completing the morning chores I whistled to the dog & we went for a brisk walk to ‘beat the bounds’ – checking the farm’s perimeter fences.  We are lucky in that the previous owners of the farm looked after it extremely well; the majority of the fields are bounded by stout hedgerows with an additional barrier of sturdy stock fencing; so as was to be expected I thankfully unearthed few problems.  We enjoyed our walk with the delicate cerulean blue of the sky fostering a feeling of well-being & the sort of sunny optimism that only comes once a year….

On returning to the farmyard to serve my caprine charges their lunch however, said feelings fizzled away as the first true challenge of the year presented itself in full fountainous glory: two burst pipes in the Dairy Complex.  With the sun’s warm rays penetrating the icy grasp of night, hard-frozen pipes had commenced a rapid thaw – with disastrous results.

The goats weren’t just indignant; they were furious.  Huddled at the furthest end of their pen from the automatic drinking bowl which had blown its’ regulation valve, they chorused their profound disapproval at my evident ineptitude at preventing this from happening in the first place.  I had to sympathise though; as part of their accommodation was already under several inches of freezing water mixed with a heady cocktail of deep-litter straw & goat guano; & the water had been gushing out at a furious rate in a horizontal stream, almost to the centre of the capacious pen.  It was, indeed, nothing short of spectacular.

Partially to appease their grumpiness & also to keep them otherwise engaged (as, being incredibly curious creatures they love to ’supervise’ any such tasks) I heaped hay & lucerne into their racks at the far end of the pen, which they attacked with gusto. 

I hurriedly consulted the schematic diagram of all the electricity & water points on the farm, created for just such an emergency as this.  Having located the appropriate stopcock to stem the flow I set to work to closer investigate the thorny problem.  Unfortunately there were no spare valves; & the offending article was nowhere to be seen even though I desperately attempted to calculate its trajectory when it was forced from the pipe.  So there was nothing for it but to sift desperately through the freezing slurry & try to locate said missing valve. 

After several long & frankly grim minutes, my numb fingers grasped the hard little nub of bone-white plastic that had caused the problem.  Having anxiously assessed its condition & unable to find anything obviously wrong with it I wielded my screwdriver to good effect & soon had the problem fixed; before turning my atttention to the leaking pipe above the other drinking bowl in the neighbouring pen, a more delicate & involved operation which involved balancing on a precariously wobbly wooden chair whilst trying to reach a dislodged pipe that is just-a-little-too-tall for stubby old me.  But it had to be done; & I did it.

I tentatively turned the stopcock back on & observed with palpable relief that everything was now thankfully back to normal.  Wiping my filthy hands with an old rag & a resigned sigh, I exited the Dairy Complex muttering “Happy-bloody-New-Year to you too” before stomping back across the yard to gather up feed for our flock of feisty sheep, who were grazing the upper pastures.

But I halted in amazement at the curious sight of the two Frenni Mountains; the gateway to the Preseli Hills which lie to the west of the farm.  A curious cap of mist encircled the Frenni Fawr (Big Frenni) like a coverlet of sky-cast snow.

“Let’s hope that’s not a premonition”, I thought uneasily.  However as no serious snow had been forecast I did not feel unduly concerned.

As I left the valley & puffed my way up the steep hill to the upper pastures with Brynn capering gleefully beside me, more of the skyline gradually revealed itself.  The first surprise was that the majestic Foel Cwmcerwyn Mountain was completely covered with snow; although the surrounding hills & fields were a wintry shade of dull brown.  The second was the ominous scudding of angry, inky clouds across the northern horizon….heading straight towards us.

Snow on Foel Cwmcerwyn

Not exactly anxious to get dumped on by whatever-it-was that the clouds concealed I summoned Brynn & beat a hasty retreat back down the hill & into the shelter of the Dairy Complex. 

Clambering up into the haystack I set to work sorting out the goats’ supper, pulling thin wedges of hay from a large square bale much as if removing slices of bread from a giant brown loaf.

 

I was alerted by an odd hissing noise; which made me groan inwardly as I automatically cast about for signs of yet another burst pipe.   But no; it was coming from outside, & all around; judging by the sudden twilight atmosphere those clouds had indeed arrived & were now discharging their burden over the Ffarm. 

Popping my head out of the heavy galvanised doors I expected to be greeted by a rainy deluge; but to my dismay was met instead by a rather folorn collie sporting a light overcoat of crumbs of fine snow.  In only those few short seconds the ground had already turned a ghostly white.

My hopes that this would prove a short-lived shower were increasingly dashed as the tiny spheres of ice were gradually replaced by big fat flakes of downy snow; which just kept on tumbling endlessly out of the gaunt grey sky….

Sabe & Toto in New Year snow

And so by the time it came to ’shut up shop’ for the night, the world was muffled in a thick, white, chilly blanket once more; & I found myself resolving to do the only thing I honestly could for as long as it might last….just make the best of it; & keep on, keeping on.

What a start to 2010.

Dawn breaks; a New Year (& arguably, a new decade) begins….

It might surprise you that Tony & I managed to sort-of ’see in’ the New Year, together; albeit that he was working many thousands of miles away in the Middle East whilst I was managing here, alone & lonely, on the Ffarm. 

But with the benefit of modern technology (thank you, Skype!) whilst Tony burned in Saudi Arabia’s heat & I froze in Wild West Wales, we nevertheless were able to watch the spectacular Greenwich Mean Time fireworks erupt over London’s Big Ben, together; marrying our hopes for a “Happy New Year” before I had to reluctantly leave the warmth of our snug cottage & especially, Tony’s long-distance love; to trudge our frostbitten farmyards & fields to ensure that any localised firework displays weren’t disturbing the peace of our sleeping menagerie.

Thankfully all was blissfully still; the sky strewn with the breathtaking diamond sparkle of so many, million stars.  

I paused; and waited. 

Looking skyward; as one weary day pulled the covers over its tired face, thus forcing the next morning’s fluttering optimism to revive – yet again – for us silly mortals; whilst our World endlessly, relentlessly, thoughtlessly whirls through the freedom of space….

I felt my hopeful heart leap, witnessing such stunning beauty, to welcome in this New Year.  

Switching off all the lights & guided by the gentle glow of the fulsome moon I quietly traced the familiar friend of each constellation’s pattern, to seek out our own star - the Lovespoon Star: which during this season, burns brightly over the cottage.

Beauty;  sheer beauty.

I was captivated. 

Mixed feelings: sombre, serene, wistful, reflective yet peppered with poignant sparkles of pure pleasure; as I considered the passing of this tired old year….

And yet somehow; as we faithfully trudge our bright-eyed, eternally optimistic annual pilgrimage across this particular portal of humanity’s time, we inevitably gaze unto the future….

….that moment: that special moment; when the soft, bright light of those myriad stars which reaches our eyes is already so very, very old; and a billion galaxies have already faded, and a billion more, have been born: which we will never know, and will never see.

It puts this little life into context, somehow.

HAPPY NEW YEAR,  dear friends.

  Oh my goodness,

doesn’t time fly when you’re rushed right off your feet…?!  Apologies for our lack of posts over the Summer; but things have been soooo busy here, phew! 

Subsequently I promise I WILL post up some brief archive posts which will still appear in their chronological order; I’ll let you know as/when they appear, in case they’re of interest. 

Meanwhile with Tony away for much of the time I had to cope with the last throes of kidding & lambing, alone; then there was the nail-biting wait for shearing (also tackled solo) & a drama of horrible flystrike to some of the sheep whilst warm-yet-wet weather persisted with our shearer, ‘otherwise engaged’. 

No sooner had I stumbled through all that, than it was time to get ready for the gruelling round of summer shows – albeit with Tony’s prolonged absence we were only able to compete rather than trade, at the challenging Royal Welsh Show.   But it still proved worthwhile….(of which more, in the archives!).

The most tiring show, though, was the three-day Pembrokeshire Show; as not only were the days long, the travelling distance was considerable.  Therefore a full five days were peppered with outrageously early starts & horrendously late nights; added to which, we picked up more than just some wonderful new customers….

….SWINE FLU.  No kidding, it’s horrendous; we’ve seldom felt so ill; so weak, so drained.  Goodness knows how; but Tony & I somehow managed to stumble our way through the basic daily chores whilst mercifully ‘holed up’ here on the ffarm in glorious isolation. 

Thankfully, whilst we’re still far from fully recovered we are at least, considerably better than we recently have been.  However, Tony’s still suffering serious sinus problems; whilst I’ve got a nasty, sticky cough & constant, feverish shivers (not helped by the temperamental weather); if I manage an hour’s unbroken sleep at night, I’m fortunate. 

We are at least assured we are no longer contagious; but added to that the struggle of an equivalent virus running through some of our precious goats;  plus the vacuum pump packing up in the milking parlour; the cooling plant packing up at Food Centre Wales (again), leaving us dangerously low in stock with all our newly-acquired summer customers; plus the borrowed Bobcat we’ve been using to muck out the pens suffering catastrophic arterial failure & almost drowning Tony in a fountain of hydraulic fluid, things here are still pretty challenging. 

But, you know us:  invariably waving, not drowning…. 

Anyway:  Watch This Space for loads of archive updates & unfortunately-but-necessarily abbreviated posts, hereonin.  Never has that hackneyed phrase “so much to do, so little time…” chimed so true for us, as it does now.

  We’ve recently taken to hiring a Bobcat to clean out the Dairy Complex pens.  Prior to that, it was taking an average of five days – working almost constantly- to clean out the deep-littered beds every six weeks; which when added to cleaning out the pens in the Kidding Shed (with the Playpen alone, taking an average of another three days) it meant that almost all of poor Tony’s time at home has been spend wielding a muck fork.  Subsequently, other important jobs & repairs have slipped by the wayside….with the result that in places things started looking a little, erm tired (not to mention our exhausted & unwell selves!).   

However the lick of paint the barns so badly need has inevitably been delayed not through intent but owing to the distinct lack of summer weather to allow anything sufficient time to dry; & having fat-arsed Shetland ponies who scratch their ample behinds so vigorously that they knock not only nest boxes from even the sturdiest poultry shed but can crumple centuries’-strong drystone walls, & you can apppreciate the additional challenges we’re up against. 

Hence, the hire of the Bobcat.  Well, not so much a Bobcat, as a Bobkitten…as it really is the dinkiest version imaginable, just right for getting into tight corners & squeezing into the narrow doorway of the Playpen.  Not that – as you can probably guess, with us – it ever got that far….*sigh*

Having taken delivery of said machine, after an essential lesson regarding the basic controls we were let loose with the gorgeous, growling little beastie.  Having trundled it off the trailer I left a distinctly ailing Tony alone to cheer himself up, playing with his “big boys’ toy” whilst I fixed us a much-needed cuppa. 

The growl of the engine abruptly silenced, I hurried out to investigate.  There stood Tony, a travesty of his already woeful self; drenched from top-to-toe in hydraulic fluid as a pipe fitting had abruptly sheared & burst loose whilst he’d been examining the bucket mechanism, the resultant fountain spurting everywhere.  Thankfully the only damage was to Tony’s clothing; however the use of the Bobcat was lost for the majority of the day, whilst trying to sort out a repair. 

At least with the sunshine, the Milkforce enjoyed their day frolicking in green pastures; even if Watsonia did manage to tear the skin protecting her nicely-healing abcess, to reveal the hideous, yellowed sore in all its’ gory glory which regardless of our already mutually fragile state, still required swift treatment. 

Oh, the path of true farming seldom does run smooth!  Erm – egg custard, anyone…? 

Ah.  I thought not.

Someone ‘upstairs’ is having a laugh – at our expense.

First & foremost for us as farmers, the weather: we STILL haven’t even come close to harvesting our desperately-needed hay crop (well not quite so desperate any more since we started supplementing the Milkforce’s diet with luscious lucerne).  Thoughts are reluctantly turning to attempting haylage this year rather than hay; as we just cannot anticipate enjoying a sufficiently dry spell any time soon – especially with the evenings drawing in, & the dew dropping more by every abbreviated day – albeit haylage goes against the grain as not only is the cost of the bale wrap frankly astronomical, the cost to the environment regarding the manufacture & disposal of said wrap is in our opinion, just as awful if not even worse. 

Then there’s the Milking Parlour.  A state-of-the-art Metatron P21, specifically adapted for optimum caprine comfort & care, there are still those messy ‘mechanical bits’ which can – & do – occasionally, go wrong.  And today was inevitably no exception, with the vaccuum pump abruptly ‘giving up the ghost’ this evening.  Thankfully, the Milkforce had finished their supper soireé, therein; unfortunately, thefollowing basic rinse cycle had only just been completed, before the pump gave a single, apologetic wheezy cough….& ground to a sorry halt. 

Oh, my.

This, methinks, will be expensive…..

And then there’s Laugh Number Three:  the side-splitting, rib-tickling failure of Food Centre Wales’ dairy refrigeration plant.  Thankfully I managed to limp the cacao base mix that I was crafting at the time, successfully through to conclcusion; however all further production is ‘on hold’ again for the second time this season, until the problem can be rectified.  And we’re running desperately short of Simplicity, Vanilla, Strawberries & Cream, Honeycomb…..thank goodness Chocolate at least gets a much-needed boost! 

Oh, what a nightmare. 

Can anyone offer us a similarly required ‘pick-me-up’, please?   These setbacks – & especially as we’re both trying to recover from the really nasty, lingering, after-effects of Swine Flu which is proving really tricky to shake off – are making us feel like the Gods, Malicious Spirits or Who-Knows-What Fate, are truly sniggering at our sad & unjustified expense.

Oh well; at least cleaning out the goats’ accommodation using  a hired ‘Ben Hur’ Bobcat-mini, rather than the usual Mk 1 Fork-Spade-Wheelbarrow combo, should help to ease these sniffles a little tomorrow.

So if the childish chuckling from ‘Them Upstairs’ can give us a break…..we’ll see.

The moment that all fine food producers eagerly await with anxious anticipation each year -

the announcement of the winners in this “epicurean equivalent of the Booker prize” – is finally upon us for 2009….

We are immensely proud & delighted to announce that Lovespoon’s Honeycomb Gelato has won a Gold Award – a superb achievement made all the more immense considering this is only our first year in business (plus we are the only producers in Wales to have won anything in the Ice Creams & Sorbets categories).

Sincere thanks to all those who have helped & supported us throughout what has been a challenging but rewarding year: we couldn’t have done it without you.

Wildflowers from the Ffarm

My goodness, how time flies….

already halfway through May!  It’s been typically busy: punctuated with crafting gelato, Farmers’ Markets, & deliveries etc; not to mention the usual farm work.  The girls have largely settled down to the routine in the milking parlour although there’s inevitable frissance when one of the newly-kidded mums joins in & has to re-learn the procedures. 

The hedgerows are a riot of colour; a feast for the senses which leaves me punch-drunk after the long, dark days of winter.  It’s just wonderful to see the delicate greens, golds & ochres of the new leaves unfurling on myriad branches in the wood when the early morning sun touches the tops of the trees in the valley.  The air is heavy with the hyacinth scent of the swathe of bluebells which sweeps in heady haze of sapphire, down to the laughing river; foxgloves & campion punctuate in pink; marsh buttercups nod their heavy golden heads in the warm breeze.   There’s a literal feast, too; in the mustardy greens zesty wild sorrel & leggy stems of Jack-by-the-Hedge; the goats & I forage together on the wonderful days when at last, they can frolic in the Spring sunshine, kicking up their heels in glee to be out at last.

The lovely Lady Morganna shows off her makeup!

On unseasonably hot days we carefully protect their udders, massaging them after milking  with a mixture of insect repellant & Factor 30 sun-tan lotion; followed at evening milking with a liberal application of cooling After-Sun cream.  My purchases at the local chemist were remarked upon; as inevitably I have to bulk-buy (30 pairs of udders take a lot of lotion – & then there’s the sensitive noses of ponies & goats to tend).  I was asked where in the world I was going, to need such a vast supply…? 

“Oh, it’s not for me – it’s for my goats” I replied without much thought. 

“Well, where on earth are THEY going..?!”  spluttered the assistant, aghast.  I explained the situation amidst much laughter from the people queuing behind me. 

“You’ll be delighted to know that you’ve spent so much, you’ve received a voucher for some free makeup”, grinned the cashier. 

“Great – the girls love a bit of lipstick!”  I laughed.  And with that quip, bounced out of the shop & into the sunshine.  But ironically once they’ve been in the sun for a couple of days, the girls do get a bit of a tan….& ere long look as though they actually are wearing eyeliner & lipstick!  it’s amazing how the sunshine can make us all feel – literally – like going out….

Alas, the weather for the Royal Welsh Smallholder & Garden Festival, wasn’t quite as kind.  We hadn’t taken a stall owing to the fact that we hadn’t anticipated Tony being at home (which as things eventually transpired, he ironically was).  And in fact the cost of a stall was suprisingly reasonable; around £50 for two days compared with around £600 for the Royal Welsh Show.  So – alas – we really did miss out.   Although I didn’t have a chance to attend on the first day I gather the weather was quite kind; however the second day was disastrous; with the showground constantly pounded by heavy rain.  One of my colleagues from Food Centre Wales had been lucky enough to get a ‘pitch’ away from the main Food Hall & on the first day had enjoyed a fairly brisk trade; however the second day was an absolute wash-out with the rain hammering down.  So; swings & roundabouts, I suppose.

I caught up with our dear friends from the NewLandOwner team, who reminded me just how far we’ve come since we originally attended their ‘Introduction to Smallholding’ course, back in 2005 when all this – in fact even owning a smallholding – was just a fanciful & seemingly unachieveable dream.  Sometimes things do seem to move frustratingly slowly; however when I recall all the things we’ve done, we really have come a remarkably long way…. 

Hedgerow flowers bring colour to an old cream pot (also found buried in the hedgerow!)

 

Tony - midnight DIY

Poor Tony’s been burning the midnight oil this week – building a Victorian handcart to bring elegance & chic to the scoop cabinet which has been languishing in the back of what will – one day – be our future Gelato Laboratory & Dairy.

This weekend we attended our first major event of the year: the West Wales Food Festival; & had got to the point where the size of the event had outgrown the limitations of our current equipment.  The small serveover & fridges are great for small one- or two-day events; but just not viable for the larger food festivals.

So it was, that I felt it was time to make the scoop cabinet more *ahem* portable; & to decorate it appropriately.  Unfortunately we only had a couple of days in which to bring the plan to fruition – & it was darn hard work.  First we had to plan what was required, then source the necessary materials (some £200′ worth of wood, wheels, screws, paint etc); then actually do the work. 

Tony spent a solid 24 hours building the handcart (during which time I felt so horribly guilty at the magnitude of the DIY task I’d set him that I too stayed usefully employed in sympathy; working in the Dairy Complex Control Room to tackle the hefty task of programming all our goats’ details into the milking parlour’s Metatron P21 computer system – & I’m still nowhere near finished!).

As soon as the basic structure was completed we spent the next twelve hours, painting it; choosing the Lovespoon colours as a smart & appealing livery.  Unfortunately we couldn’t get a more advanced vinyl décor printed in time; so had to ‘make do’ with attaching our banner to the front.  The final touch was a lovely handcrafted wooden cartwheel which really set the whole thing off & looked extremely impressively when finally in situ at the Show. 

The (almost) finished article...!

The big problem, however, was then getting the handcart out of the building & into our lovely new freezer van, ready for the show – far easier said than done!  And once we got there we had to get it off the vehicle (having mislaid our carriage ramps – goodness knows where those handy bits of kit have got to) & get it into position on site – & we discovered our ‘pitch’ was situated on the side of a hill!

But all was well, in the end; & with the first day’s weather proving unseasonably warm & sunny, trading was pleasingly brisk – in fact we almost sold out.  Considering the scoop cabinet displays eight full Napoli Pans with the understore freezer holding a further twelve, this was an unusually high turnover; I certainly hadn’t expected to have to refresh our entire stock overnight & I know our fellow traders weren’t quite so lucky. 

In fact what was especially flattering was that famous Welsh ‘foodie’ Nerys Howell was holding one of her extremely popular cookery demonstrations; & she asked to have some of our gelato as the accompaniment of choice to serve with the dessert she’d made.  Sadly I missed her demo & only caught the concluding applause; but as the capacious marquee was packed to capacity & by the way people were flooding forward for samples, I felt I’d better forego buying us a quick cuppa & head straight back to the stand. 

Just as well, that I did; as for the next couple of hours we had a solid queue weaving right the way around the corner & I was scooping like a thing possessed while Tony took the money for our wares.  We sold out of Nerys’ sample flavour of Honeycomb, almost immediately; but our other highly innovative flavours quickly disappeared as well - people clearly welcomed a change from the ’same old, same old’ which are typically offered by producers at such shows.  Personally I like to be refreshingly adventurous & flex our professional Gelatière muscles with extraordinary & delicious treats.

However after such a highly successful & lucrative first day, the Festival was blighted by appalling weather on the second; gritting our teeth in the face of the storm’s freezing wind & rain Tony spent half the day hanging onto the marquee to prevent it from taking off, whilst we munched warm Welsh cakes supplied by our stallholding neighbours from Popty Bach Y Wlad.

Nevertheless despite the inhospitable second-day temperatures we did pretty well; selling out of the ever-popular but unusual Dragonfire (dark chocolate laced with the smoky, sultry fire of ancho & chipotle chillies); Chocolate & Ginger (another heartwarming favourite); & our delicious Apple & Cinnamon Crumble, with our own orchard apples poached gently with cinnamon & brown sugar & scattered with crunchy layers of crumble, crafted especially for stormy days such as this.

But it wasn’t an entire washout as we still received plenty of trade enquiries & had certainly proved a hit with hundreds of highly satisfied new customers; not to mention being delighted to chat to many now increasingly-familiar faces who are proving fiercely loyal customers – many of whom are almost evangelical when spreading the good ‘Lovespoon‘ word – we thank you all!

What did make us genuinely unhappy, however – Tony in particular – was the fact that the popular Welsh TV programme ‘Ffermio‘ was broadcasting from the Festival; & whilst the traders to the left & right of us were interviewed, we were not - purely because our grasp of the Welsh language is not considered “good enough”.  

I’m a second-year Welsh student; & whilst far from fluent I can at least ‘have a go’.  Despite my exhausting working hours I nevertheless feel it is hugely important to integrate with the local community of which I am a part by becoming fluent in the first language; & hope one day to converse as comfortably in Welsh, as I can in English.  Meanwhile Tony was of course himself born & bred in South Wales; & was extremely shocked & hurt to apparently be deliberately overlooked in this way. 

In fact having both been Equal Opportunities Trainers whilst in the RAF we felt that on this occasion we were actually directly discriminated against – after all, S4C has interviewed English speakers in the past (especially for things like trotting races – where many of the jockeys don’t speak a word of Welsh!).  Tony was crushed to feel he’d been racially abused in his own nation; & I felt deeply disappointed that we’ve worked so hard to produce a Welsh product for the people of Wales, only to be overlooked as apparently worthless just because we don’t happen to speak the language fluently as yet. 

It’s ironic & poignant that our Welsh neighbours have been so welcoming, & genuinely appreciate our efforts; whereas even though we’re trying so hard we are being snubbed & made to feel we don’t quite ‘fit in’ by those we ourselves support through our work.  

Ironically I know of another company who more recently found themselves in a similar situation; we were chuckling about it together, the other day.  They were showcased on the programme a few weeks ago but said company’s ‘power behind the throne’ – the General Manager – was not actually interviewed; as he too doesn’t speak Welsh.  And yet he’s tirelessly contributing a tremendous amount to the economy of the county in which he lives & works.  Surely that should count for so much more, than a few words in the presenters’ native tongue…?!

Ah well.  In the end you could catch sight of us in several shots of the programme – however as the ‘Ffermio‘ website archive apparently hasn’t been updated in quite a while unfortunately I can’t direct you there to see how great we looked (shame I didn’t take my camera with me!).

And if the makers of the above programme happen to catch sight of this I’d welcome their comments; as the emails I’ve sent have thus far, sadly, been apparently ignored….

Our new freezer van!

So, here it is at last -

our new freezer vehicle!  It’s not the one we’d originally intended to buy but is actually significantly better (& cost about £9k more – ouch).  Whilst not brand new it’s only had one apparently careful owner &  sports an unusually low mileage.  In terms of temperature it can cover a very broad spectrum; so we can carry anything from ambient to chilled produce or (naturally) gelato, as required; going right down to a positively frosty -30°C!  So a handy vehicle to have.

Additionally important is that it has a single-phase standby facility which means it can act as an emergency or overspill freezer, if needs be.  Whilst this might not initially appear to be a critical consideration – & many similar-type vehicles don’t have it – we decided the extra investment would be worthwhile; particularly as at present there’s a fault with the door on Food Centre Wales’ main dairy freezer – it keeps popping open but without tripping the alarm, which is worrying as if it should happen over a warm weekend we could lose our entire stock – £1000s’ worth.  Also their freezer unit has been labouring, alarmingly with the fans icing up; so at least this way if something did happen we could salvage the majority – quickly, too.  Because although we could claim on FCW’s insurance for any losses incurred that’s not the issue: it takes time to build up a decent stock when you’re only permitted to produce for a couple of days per week; especially as with the summer season rapidly approaching we have to make the most of what we can get.  Also the standby facility is also very handy for larger shows & festivals; as you can carry a significant amount of stock without worrying about running out.

This van is also very comfortable to drive, & handles like a car (although the growl of the freezer unit kicking in, takes some getting used to!).  We were considering a smaller vehicle  – about the sixze of a ‘Postman Pat’ van; however once they’re fully insulated they have an extremely limited carrying capacity & at least we’ll ‘grow into’ this one rather than rapidly ‘growing out’ of it & having the worry of Yet More Investment only a little further, down the line. 

The only ‘downside’ is that decent freezer vehicles are few & far between on the second-hand market.  Chiller vehicles on the other hand are readily available & I do know some people would opt for the cheaper alternative, storing ice cream in insulated boxes in the back; however not only is it technically in breach of Food Hygiene regulations there is also the continual concern regarding degradation of stock quality – & of course, you don’t have that gem of a standby freezer should either yours pack up nor short-term frozen storage at shows.   But being so hard-to-come-by we had to collect this little beauty from a refrigerated vehicle specialist based in Poulton-Le-Fylde near Blackpool; which for us is a good five-and-a-half hour drive away across the dramatically scenic, winding  mountain roads of Snowdonia. 

On the way home we paused for a meal at a little place we know, on the outskirts of beautiful Bala Lake; which made the journey a bit more tolerable.  As it was our first outing Tony drove the van & I took the car, as I wasn’t used to driving a larger vehicle (& he of course, is used to ‘driving’ something far bigger – with wings on!) - however I’ll have to take the wheel ere long I suppose as another of my ‘many hats’ is that of delivery driver!  But with its smart new livery (courtesy of our patient-&-talented designer, Jamie from Action Graffix) we’ll certainly add style to the local tarmac!

Side view: watch out, Wales...!

All-in-all it’s been a busy week with another hugely informative True Marketing course on Public Relations, held over in Abergavenny (which also generated another impromptu trade inquiry – fantastic) & a trip to the coast to restock with straw – where we also discovered we can get bales of sweet, fresh lucerne & pea straw; which are highly nutritious & will be of significant benefit to our goats’ diet.  There was a single bale of lucerne left, which we bought to whet the Milkforce ladies’ appetites; whilst it looks tough & horrible it smells divine & the goats polished it off like a school of starving piranha – so it must be good!  Only the best for our girls.

And at least it’s not raining….much.