Blog

Some of you might be aware of the Scrubditch Farm Care Project. Run by Emma Costley-White and located at North Cerney, just outside Cirencester, it offers adults with learning difficulties the chance to grow crops and look after animals. Emma developed the idea when her own daughter, who has special needs, was looking for somewhere to acquire new skills. 'Care farming', as it's known, provides therapeutic benefits to those with learning difficulties, young offenders, recovering addicts or other challenging behaviour, through horticultural and agricultural activity. There are now several hundred such farms in the UK, and many now have recognised programmes in place to provide participants with valuable vocational qualifications. We were introduced to Scrubditch last year, when Emma was looking for some pigs for her students...

One of our customers came to us last week with a special request for mutton. They're running an Indian theme night and wanted to make it as authentic as possible - the chef is an accomplished (and acknowledged!) curry expert, and he says lamb just doesn't behave in the same way. It has to be mutton! Since we've a few 'muttoners' earmarked, we're taking the opportunity to help fill a few customers' freezers with the best meat for rich, hearty midwinter meals. Mutton's a much maligned meat - everyone tends to regard it as a dreadful hangover from the fifties, and mentioned in the same breath as some of those rationing 'horrors' like Woolton Pie...but 'modern' mutton probably deserves a new name so that it's not...