Grow your own saves £'s

20/01/11 09:46

Research carried out by the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners has estimated that allotment holders save almost £1,400 a year by growing their own fruit and vegetables. Amateur gardeners grow 1,642lb of produce a year, which could be sold for £1,564. On average they spend £202 renting their plot and sowing crops, giving a profit or saving of £1,362. This equates to a saving of about £26 from an average family's weekly supermarket shopping bill.
The Daily Telegraph, Date: 20/01/2011, Page: 5  Daily Express, Page: 30(14629035)  Metro London, Page: 27(14631978)  The Sun, Page: 36(14629566)
Grow your own and save £26 a week

Local abuse?

28/09/10 12:41

The Daily Telegraph includes a feature on the description of meat by supermarkets, with M&S naming its chicken "Oakham" chicken despite not being reared in the town. Tesco says its Willow Farm line is supplied from 42 farms across the South West and Northern Ireland. Meanwhile, Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Mey Selection beef and lamb includes a caveat that the food comes from within 100 miles of the castle pictured on the label. Meanwhile, the Financial Times' People column notes recent comments by Sir Stuart Rose on what he plans to do after leaving M&S.
The Daily Telegraph, Date: 28/09/2010, Page: 19  Financial Times Companies and Markets, Page: 18(12559275)
Are supermarkets abusing our growing appetite for "local food"?

The People's Supermarket

01/06/10 10:37

The Telegraph reports on preparations for the opening in central London of a new co-operative food store offering cut-price products to those of its customers who volunteer to work there. "We'll have the People's Milk, and the People's Loaf. A beautiful big loaf of freshly baked bread - £1.85 to ordinary shoppers. £1 to members," says founder Arthur Potts Dawson. The idea springs from a cooperative model in the United States, Park Slope in New York, which is about 25 years old. Potts Dawson says The People's Supermarket will be communal, it will be friendly, local, cheap and democratic.
The Daily Telegraph, Date: 29/05/2010, Page: 25
The People's Supermarket

Peru or Pershore? Which would you rather?

12/05/10 08:34
This is truly crazy. Supply and demand, cold weather slowing crop - what’s the excuse for this?


Tesco has come under fire for transporting asparagus from Peru. Residents in Evesham, Worcestershire - home to an annual asparagus festival, and the largest producer in northern Europe - have threatened to boycott the chain until it sells local produce. Tesco said it was selling the Peruvian produce to keep up with demand over summer, a decision that appears to be at odds with its claims to support local producers. The country has seen a huge surge in sales of asparagus, with exports to the UK 55 per cent ahead of a year ago.
Daily Mail, Date: 12/05/2010, Page: 25  Metro London, Page: 27(9998732)  The Guardian Society Guardian, Page: 4(9994618)  The Daily Telegraph, Page: 15(9995507)
Why do Tesco fly asparagus 6,000 miles from Peru when it's grown locally in Britain?

We all make mistakes but .....

20/04/10 09:45
Penguin Books, on the other hand, have made a serious error.
I once caused great amusement at a school with a recipe for the children to cook in which I asked them to ‘add the mice’ (instead of the mince). Of course, they loved it!