Compost Heap Blog

Taste of the West

With the cost of fuel on the rise the number of cars on the road early in the morning is noticeably less. I always look forward to a trip West and with a first stop at a garden centre in Gillingham called Orchard Park, it wasn’t too early a start. I felt distinctly peckish after my first meeting and luckily passed a farm shop soon after Shaftsbury and found an excellent Somerset/ Dorset/ Wiltshire pasty, since their farm shop must have been close to the border of all three. On the news was a great debate on could you call a pasty Cornish from another county – legally not now – though this one tasted distinctly Cornish.

Next stop was at an incredibly friendly petrol station at Millborne Port, who advised my lack of cigarette lighter in the car may be down to a fuse. A chilly ten minutes of fiddling with the fuse box later, my telephone was happily charging again. The further West I went, the warmer the temperature and the crocuses, blossom and early leaves more in evidence. Sidmouth in Devon was bustling and the street cafes full. I ended up staying in Falmouth that evening, a really lovely place to visit with museums, beaches, plenty of places to eat and drink and the wonderful Fal estuary.

I always stay at the Lugo Rocks Guest House, with new owners this year, which is above Gyllivase Beach , the coolest beach in town apparently, though at this time of the year empty! I had a brilliant jog in the morning sun with the sea sparkling and winking away, and the air sharp and fresh – perfect – best way to kick start a day. I had a series of meetings throughout Cornwall and Devon, most notably the Eden Project, who were working around the clock to try and correct all the flood damage they’ve had. They’ve done a pretty remarkable job. Lunch was obviously a traditional Cornish pasty, hot and devoured in two seconds, yum!

My last stop was at the legendary Dart Farm, a great retail happy farm shop with so much to offer, well worth a visit. And I couldn’t resist one of their pork pies for supper in the car on the way home. It may have been a pie too many, but probably the finest one of the lot – best till last.

Christmas Rush

Wooden or Plastic?

The Christmas rush always happens no matter how organised a person you are. There’s always one last present to find or some secret ingredient forgotten that demands a rush out to the shops. And the shops look so tempting – so many bargains – or apparent bargains with 50% off here and massive sale there. Taking a quick peek at the shelves of a few shops, it’s amazing how much is being produced in China. This is especially true of licenses. For instance any Disney character being licensed to a Toy or Games manufacturer, seem solely to be made in China. They’re able to make everything and anything.

Things have been written about the future Of China recently. Wages quite rightly have been improved, and working conditions have improved as well. However prices are set to rise higher and this will affect the retail price. How much will the consumer be prepared to pay for a non-essential plastic item from China – or how much will a consumer be prepared to pay for an electrical item made in China compared with a British or European made comparative item?

I believe the consumer is prepared to pay more for quality and durability of a product. Standards in China can vary quite dramatically and so unless a factory is established, products can be of a low quality. Most of the big retailers here use well established factories or own the factories in China and so can monitor quality; however I think they’ll be under big pressure in the next 3 years to produce more items in Britain or certainly in Europe.

The Compost Heap actively tries to manufacture products in the UK, and use British Components. This means costs are higher, but at least we know the costs are wages, which are important and the raw materials (vegetable inks, recycled boards, British Companies) are high quality and environmentally sensitive both in method of production and disposal of the item. All our cards are Made in Sussex; Magnets in Devon; Padblocks in Berkshire; Mugs in Staffordshire.

Next year we’ll be producing keyrings, candles, seeds and cross-stitch patterns all in the UK to add to the range. In addition George and Layla have drawn over 70 new designs of greeting card, including another new range to add to the Compost Heap. I’ll put some images up in the New Year – but needless to say, they’re drawn with the same attention to detail, hours of coloured pencil and love of doing something different, something individual in design.

I hope you all have a fabulous Christmas and New Year. I’m looking forward to a bit of tobogganing this afternoon and hopefully over Christmas. The old wooden luge style toboggans seem a lot faster than the plastic ones?

The South West

The South West was pinned into the map for a George road trip this week and what better way than to start the trip at Auntie Hattie’s in Shaftesbury for Bed and Breakfast. On arrival a warm bowl of pasta and sauce ensured a well fed belly to maximise energy levels the next day. Bed well warmed by Basheba the residential black and white mog. Would be a welcome hot water pillow but my allergy got the better of me and so sneezed myself to snooze.

There are a certain breed of sales agents on the road in the morning - I felt very unprepared in my casual blazer and jeans. Note to myself: find large ill-fitting suit (deep brown seems popular), buy large tan tie and prepare the day with a diet of Ginsters, Cola pop and boiled sweets.

Heading over the Tamar estuary the mid morning sun shone bright and helped to dry up any of the torrential floods which had caused such havoc at the tail end of last week. Just up the estuary is a wonderful Garden Centre ‘Tamar View’…if you want to see part of Lap Land close to home, I couldn’t recommend it enough. Reindeer, Snowmen, Penguins, Rabbits all in a wonderful display which must have taken weeks to set up. These reindeer are apparently visited by Father Christmas himself at the weekend!

Best I’ve seen so far this year. Let us know if you’ve seen a better Christmas scene in your Garden Centre.

You can’t head down to the South West without at least one Pasty - the dilemma of traditional (probably more safe) or the adventurous lamb and rosemary. Good choice, lamb down here is good!

Along the south coast, up and over the moors brought me back to Exeter. Yes I did go via Aunt Hattie’s for tea cakes on the return and have already booked in my trip for the New Year.

Strangest thing to see on the road: A truck with 4 old school telephone boxes on top of some logs. One of the telephone boxes appeared to be filled with cuddly toys but couldn’t understand why.