Summer Market photos

Here are a few photographs from the Summer Market, which, I think you’ll agree, give a flavour of the fantastic atmosphere on the day. Thank you, John, for taking them.

At the entrance to the Village Hall, Stan Hearn fronts an exhibition showing the ongoing transformation of Widnell Park into a nature reserve

Elizabeth Prior of Oliphant and Pomeroy ice cream, greets new customers.

Organising the raffle

Ken serves the Pimm’s

Tony Pearce’s delightful plant stall

Scrumptious cakes at The Piddington Bakers Community Stall

The Piddington Bakers Community Stall

The Piddington Bakers Community Stall

The Pantry Coffee Shop and General Store

Lots of stalls to shop at, and somewhere to sit with a coffee and have a chat.

The General Store

Considering a purchase at the General Store

The Pantry Coffee Shop

The demand for coffee is never-ending at the Pantry Coffee Shop

Catching up with the gossip at the Coffee Shop

Fresh vegetables and herbs from Bucksum and Springhill

James Soden, wildlife photographer

Lisa Wright sells lovely handmade items at her stall Polkadot of Winslow

Debbie Grant offers a delicious array of goodies on her stall Debbie’s Home Cooked Foods

Phew, what a scorcher! Cool off with Pimm’s at The Pantry

There’ll also be The Piddington Bakers, strawberries and cream, news about the transformation of Widnell Park into a nature reserve and details of how you can help, lots of new stallholders and some old favourites, delicious things to buy and, of course, the popular coffee shop with its fantastic bacon baps.

Why would you want to spend a sunny Saturday morning anywhere else?

And, once again, please don’t worry about the road closure signs – all roads into Piddington will be accessible.

Who is coming?

Here is the current list of what’s on offer at The Pantry Summer Market. It should be great – now all we need is summer to stay around for a little bit longer.

And please be assured that all roads into Piddington will be accessible – the local council have been very accommodating, and have made sure we have free access at weekends. So do come along – and, to make a perfect day of it in our lovely corner of the world, why not go on to Ludgershall Fete afterwards?

You can make the list bigger by clicking on the rectangle at the bottom right; clicking on a link will take you to the supplier’s website.

View this document on Scribd

We’re still here!

Anyone driving around Piddington in the last few days can’t fail to have noticed all the road closure signs that have sprung up like weeds after rain. Not to mention the barriers across the roads into the village, which are often held by stern road workers who stop nervous travellers, asking fiercely where they’re going before allowing them to pass.

The reason for this quarantining is, fortunately, not plague but road resurfacing. We villagers are starting to feel a bit cut off from the rest of the world – and sometimes from the rest of the village, as we’re unable to leave our house when the work is being done in front of it.

But if you’re deciding that venturing into the lost world of Piddington on 8th June will just be too nerve-wracking, please don’t worry. There will be access to the village hall on the day, and in any case, the road works aren’t happening at all in Ludgershall Road, where the hall is located, so even in the worst case scenario, you could still reach us easily by coming via Ludgershall.

We just have a couple of details to finalise, and then I’ll post a list of who’ll be coming to the market and what products we’ll have for sale.

And don’t forget, you can preorder from Bucksum, Debbie’s Home Cooked Food and JM Walman, and collect your goods on the day. (Contact details are in the previous post.)

Advance orders

Some of our stallholders would like customers to know that goods can be preordered from them for collection on the day of the market (8 June). We don’t have the resources to take orders ourselves, so please contact the stallholders directly.

Here are the details for stallholders who are offering this service:

Bucksum

David Newman provides local, high-quality salad and vegetables to restaurants, including Waddesdon Manor and Le Manoir. He also has a small farm shop open to the public near Long Crendon. As a special for The Pantry, David is offering the opportunity to preorder mixed bags for £5.

Tel. (mobile no.): 07784 333977; email: drb.new@virgin.net

Debbie’s Home Cooked Food

Debbie Grant produces ‘proper’ home-cooked food using local ingredients with no additives, E numbers or preservatives. She sells at farmers’ markets and will deliver to customers’ houses. She offers a bespoke service to her clients, including catering for special dietary requirements and providing smaller complete meals. She can also organise and cater for private parties, from fork buffets to hot meals.

Website: www.debbiesfood.co.uk; email: debbiegrant@fsmail.net; tel.: 01296 770196

JM Walman (Quality Butcher)

Located in Launton and owned by John Walman, whose passion for his craft and enthusiasm guarantees award-winning meats and homemade products.

Website: http://www.walman-butchers.co.uk/; tel.:  01869 252619  mobile no.: 0759 328 7284

Latest poster

Here it is, going up on noticeboards in Piddington and surrounding villages. The note about the road closures refers to the recent surprise we had when our local council informed us that village roads would be closed for a period including the day of our market!

On further investigation, it became clear that, despite the official notices warning the public of the closures, this should not affect access to the market on the day, as the road where the village hall is, is not one earmarked for closure.

So the market will definitely still be happening – please come along and enjoy the summery delights on offer!

Who’ll be there?

The poster below gives you some information about the people who have supplied products we’ll have for sale in the General Store and the people who’ll be there on the day, running their own stall.

Click on the links and you’ll be taken to the person’s own website, if they have one. You can make the poster bigger by clicking on the ‘plus’ magnifying glass at the bottom.

 

View this document on Scribd

Take a butcher’s

The recent horsemeat scandal could change Britain’s eating habits, encouraging people either to buy less meat or to shop at the local butcher’s rather than at a supermarket. According to the online poll of 2,257 adults carried out at the end of last week by the market research company Consumer Intelligence, 62% of people surveyed said they are now more likely to use their local independent butcher.

We are lucky to live in an area where good local butchers can still be found, and we’ll have one of them – Walman Butchers and Delicatessen, based in the village of Launton, Bicester – at the spring market on 9 March. Walman Butchers have an excellent reputation locally for quality and value for money, and of course can trace exactly where all their meat comes from. The vast majority of their meat is locally sourced and they support non-intensive farming wherever possible. As well as the range of meat you’d expect to find, they also offer a good selection of produce including homemade meat pies, home-cooked ham, homemade sausages, organic meats, and frozen ready meals which are made on the premises. And, in the right season, I can attest that their venison, locally shot of course, is superb.

So, if you eat meat at all, support your local butchers, and ensure that they keep thriving.