Good afternoon from far sawrey, apologies for my absence, its been one of those few days where everything seems 10x as difficult as normal. My case has been dominating my mind as it does when the council communicate with me in the way that they do and I can honestly say that I have come as close as I ever have to throwing the towel in before the remedies hearing. Then a very good friend sent me a message that said something like "its like saying "I caught a big fish today...but then I let it get away!" So the fight continues....

As for the shop its been a busy weekend, camp sites are getting busier as it the lakes in general....Today was the air show over lake windermere, the red arrows put on a magnificant display and then along came the euro fighter on its maiden voyage! WOW what a beast it is! http://www.eurofighter.com/ now I am not a war machine person but its was absolutely spectacular and left a lake shore full of people stood open mouthed! and then everyone was running for their cars as the vibrations from it set off car alarm after car alarm...

I am not sure if I dare say it but I believe we are in for a week of sunshine!!! FINGERS TOES and ALL crossable bits crossed thats its true!!! The weather has been crazy of late and we have been selling lots of logs and kindling as its been quite cold....Time we sold some sun cream I hope!

This week in the shop we have started selling some Hand rolled Beeswax candles from a customer who makes them, they are selling really well as they are a 100% natural product and as they come from the same source as honey when they burn they fill the room with the scent of honey. They burn VERY cleanly and do not creat black soot, I have tested them out and they burn for hours and hours very slowly giving hours of warm golden light, nice!

Well thats about all for now folks... Happy Sunday Evening :-)

Good Afternoon from far sawrey, its a warm but overcast afternoon here, the roads seem very very busy with lots of cnstruction traffic, I think they are heading up to the new housing development at Hawkrigg Farm.

As the above picture shows, its time to budge up bath buns and make way for new gorgeous looking, gorgeous smelling slice's of garlic bread from the clever people at munx lakeland bakery, yum yum is all I can say!

Today is Suma delivery day and the shop floor is stuffed with boxes upon boxes of groceries. New lines this week include Suma Wildflower Honey, Suma Pasta Sauces (Arrosta, Rustica and Affumicata), Doves Gram Flour for making your Onion Bhajis!, Organic Spaghetti, Polenta, Spicy Noodles to snack on and Cous Cous with Lemon and Corriander.

A customer has recommended a book for us to read, she was so enthusiastic about it, I did not have the heart to tell her that since my case I have the concentration span of a Goldfish, anyway, the book is called Shopped by Joanna Blythman

http://www.thebookbag.co.uk/blythmanshop.htm I must say the review highlights some very interesting points from the book

Thats about all for now folks, its fruity market night tonight :-)

Good Afternoon from Far Sawrey, its a blue sky day in the village today! Fantastic!

The fruity van made its maiden voyage to Near Sawrey today, its been fantastic! A blogger took some pictures on his mobile phone and has sent them to me but me being me, I have downloaded them and I have no idea where they have been saved! DOH! Anyway, fruit kebabs have sold a treat, lots of children loving fruit on a stick, one child bought two sticks with apricots on, a child eating 10 apricots!

Been at hill top is quite interesting, the traffic queues make for some irate people, everyone who arrives in the queue seems ok to wait about one minute and then everyone starts getting a bit twitchy and then they start edging their cars out and then some people overtake the queue and then all hell breaks loose....one of the national trust car parking attendents was shouted at and called "ugly ridiculous", not nice....Hill top sold out of tickets by 3pm today so the fruity van came back to base

There is a steady trickle of customers in the village here today, its amazing what a difference a bit of sunshine does.

Still no sign of rogers cock, no new postcards as yet, he must be having fun with his birds hey!

Good morning from far sawrey, its dry as I type, it was not at 6am this morning when we started, paper mache was us!

Our saturday helper Joe came to the rescue and put all of the inserts into the papers and got us all sorted out, I set off to the campsites but unfortunatley they were a bit of a wash out.

The local paper ran a lovely article featuring the shop yesterday and when I popped into ambleside this morning lots of people whom I do not know stopped me and said what a lovely article which was really nice.

The school holidays have begun!!! the dynamics of the things sold change at school holiday time, we sell lots of weigh out sweeties and toys and everything, and I mean everything, gets touched by little fingers, all good fun. Must admit its nice to see their little faces light up when they see sweeties in jars

Some holiday makers who are staying in the village are two ladies with learning difficulties with their carers. They are here for a week. I have just sat talking to them for 15minutes. It truly does bring a tear to my eye as I loved working with people with learning difficulties. I have done that kind of work for a very long time in a round about way. I spent 3 years as a teenager volunteering for mencap, school holidays and weekends were filled with lots of adventures and many many happy memories...... I have to remember that not all caring organisations are like the ones I last worked for....

Anyway I have news of Rogers Cockerill, he has had 2 postcards from it, the first was from down south and it said, away with lots of birds having a great time and the second has arrived from the Isle of Man, What can you say!!!

Roger looks forward to him coming back so he can once again be crowned Roger with the biggest c**k in Sawrey ;-)

One of our bloggers has sent us a joke, I have copied it below, its made us laugh

Adam is in the Garden of Eden and is desperately lonely.

He asks God for help.

God explains he can help by creating a "Super Woman" and says she will be beautiful, always sexy, never gets moody or headaches, she will tend to Adams every need, he will be pampered, well fed and need never work again.

Adam asks, "Will this be expensive"

God replies, "It will cost you an arm and a leg"

Adam thinks this is too dear and says, "What can you do for a rib"

The rest is history.......

In response I say to simon, despite the man been the head of the family, I say its woman controls the neck..he he he

Thats about all for now folks, Happy Saturday

Good Morning from far Sawrey, its more of a picture than a word day today I am afraid, i have what can only be described as a "pain in the neck"

I turned around the other day and seemed to leave my neck as I turned my body, all I can say is OUCHY OUCH

Fruity market was a pleasure as always and the wonderful stall holders did all of the lifting and carrying for me. What I could not resist buying in abundance are lots of juicy english plums! They not only look wonderful but taste delicious.

Its been a record morning for danish pastries this morning, sold 8 in the first hour (its the placing them on the counter that makes them irresistible!!!)

Lots of farmers were out in the village very early this morning with their tractors, doing their work before the potter pilgrimes decend I imagine

Thats about all for now, I have been advised to apply cold not warm to my neck, think I would prefer the warm! :-)

PS...Not again!

Good Morning from Far Sawrey, Dare I say it again but yes it is raining again! its not even fine rain its big big big rain that totally soaks you through. I think someone needs to tell the powers that be that the lakes are all topped up now and that they can turn the rain tap off!!!

our sandwiches are selling well now they have established themselves. We get them from the Lakeland Sandwich Company which is on the Plumgarths Estate in Kendal. When I went to pick up the sandwiches yesterday the lady gave me a fridge which I can leave in the car and plug into the cigarette lighter, Excellent! Will keep the sandwiches cool en route back to the shop and drinks cool the rest of the time!

The constant rain has turned the shop into a sandwich, magazine and chocolate shop today, customers all dashing in and then hop, skip and puddle jumping back into their holiday cottages

Last week at the fruity market we bought 20kilos of tomatoes on the vine and today we are tomato less!!! Thats a lot of tomatoes for a little shop in 5 days

Regarding my case, I sense that my attempt to try and move on with my life and mitigate my losses by being here is something the council are going to try and use against me. its not fair that council tax payers money is used to try and break people like me who care very much. I did not get the opportunity to say in the meeting yesterday, its funny how easy I am to talk over and about even when I am present and whom the case is about.....Hopefully things will go quiet in that respect for a bit again now

As I am typing their is another coach stuck outside the shop!!! Will nip out and take some pictures

Good Afternoon from Far Sawrey, a dry day so far and there are a few walkers around and about. One walker came into the shop and said to mum yesterday, I heard you on radio 4 yesterday, much to mums shock an interview she had recorded about rugs on Womans Hour some time ago was broadcast this week, pasted the link below
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/listenagain/2007_28_thu.shtml
We are back to ordering a full tray of Bath Buns and surprise surprsie they have all sold out.
It was a rollover on the bonus ball this week and a lady called Mary who lives in the village has won it, she was thrilled!

What I failed to mention on fridays blog was a great article in the local paper about one of Sawreys residents. Alex Brodie who owns the Hawkshead brewery had an article published about his brewery and the beer festival that he is hosting this weekend. His beer hall looks a great venue and we wish him every success.

I also feel I should put on the blog some of the many compliments that other businesses in the village get from custmers who come in here and tell us all about the service etc they have received. This past few weeks we have had several people comment on the marvellous food they have had at the Sawrey Hotel. The hotel is a family run business and serves bar meals at lunch time and dinner at night. Well done Sawrey Hotel you get Sawrey Stores Gold Star award for making visitors happy bunnies this week

I came into the shop today to find the kitchen area is no more! Sawrey's very own "men that can" Simon and Alan had been yesterday and removed all traces of it ready for the new craft area! THANKYOU SO MUCH TO YOU BOTH!!!

I have to have a case conference with the council tomorrow regarding my case, so as usual I am feeling acutely anxious and have not slept well, not much longer to go now in respect of this matter I hope. I find it so very hard talking to representitives of the organisation that has detrimented me so much....

Thats about all for now folks, nearly time to pack up and potter home :-)

Good Afternoon from what can only be described as Soggy Sawrey...it has not stopped raining all day, the shop is soaked from all the walkers and their bags and their boots and their coats, all good fun........... I have 2 very important announcements to make

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER 1

Roger tells me that his big cockerel hen has been stolen from the village!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Last seen in his garden behind Sawrey Stores and wearing a feathered coat,

Roger is absolutely distraught at not having the biggest one in Sawrey anymore

Any sightings please call Sawrey Stores immediately

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER 2

I owe an apology to the dog who's picture I posted on the blog several weeks ago, he is a SHE and SHE was not a happy pooch at been called a he. APOLOGIES!!!

Despite the bad weather it has been a steady day in the shop, when on the car ferry yesterday I overheard a child ask where the family were going to which the dad replied, we are going to see Harry Potter's mothers house! Made me smile :-)

Yesterday in the village there was a tea for all of the pensioners, it was held in the Braithwaite Hall, I am told a good do was had by all who attended, Norman who had the accident earlier in the year was not up to attending but was sent a plate of cakes and sandwiches, his face lit up when he told me! Well done to all who organised the afternoon

Thats about all for now folks...wherever you are in the world Mr Cockerel I hope your having a ball, but please come home soon, we miss you :-)

Good Morning from Far Sawrey, the rain has just stopped thank goodness, the new fruit and veg doesnt like rain! (its that fine rain that soaks you through so says Peter Kay!) Word from the fruity market is that the potato fields are swimming and the cost of pots is going to go up up up, but not today thank goodness! English strawberries have also been damaged by the weather, it must be so disheartening for the growers when it rains... I am however pleased to report that all is good on the fruit front here in Sawrey, quite enjoying displaying the produce when we get back to base!

We went to a fruit farm near lancaster yesterday to ask if they were able to supply us with local soft fruit, unfortunately they cannot but we spent a very pleasurable hour picking some soft fruit, very relaxing and theraputic if you have the time!

Thats about all for now, I have my hot water bottle at the ready for my friendly customer,............he has just been in and made some comment about been a toy boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But thank goodness he told me the toy is broken!!! (Boy oh Boy never a dull moment here!)

Thats all for now folks, better go arrange some more fruit

Good Morning from Far Sawrey, a dry start to the day, its half day here today. Had a lovely suprise to start the day today, A blogger from Derbyshire has sent me a postcard with the dry stone walls of Derbyshire on it, she also said that the bread we sold her on the Wednesday she left, which travelled 110 miles home, was still as fresh on saturday! Thats good to hear! THANKYOU Judy and Dorothy

The above picture is of this weeks selection of cheeses from our supplier in Kendal which includes Westmorland Smoked Cheddar, Blengdale Blue, Blacksticks Blue, Wensleydale and Cranberry, Kendal Creamy, Kendal Crumbly, Keldthwaite Gold and Cumberland Farmhouse. They are all very popular with customers, the most popular is the Blacksticks Blue which is a deliciously spicy blue cheese with an orange hue. It was also named BEST BLUE CHEESE IN THE WORLD at the Nantwich International Cheese Show! Several of our cheeses come from the Cumberland dairy farm who can be found at the link below.
http://www.thecumberlanddairy.co.uk/about-us/about-us.html

Had a customer in this morning who I would say he is in his 80's? (My grandmother used to say when you get to my age you can say what you like) Anyway this quiet little old man looked straight at my chest and said "I bet those would keep me warm on a cold night!" Speechless!!!


Thats about all for now folks, off to buy that customer a hot water bottle to fill with cold water!!! ;-)

Good Afternoon from Far Sawrey, its a blue sky day!!! Lovely!!!

There were a few people at the campsites this morning, lots of groups of teenagers doing their duke of edinburgh awards.

Today in the shop we have had a run on croissants and playing cards! Strange combination but both selling well this sunday...

Some of the holiday cottages have been empty for a few weeks but they all seem full this week and not a Tesco van in sight! Marvellous!

Benny had a handbags at dawn moment with a dog that lives in the next village this morning , its left him all shuck up so he has gone home to lay down in a darkened room, poor Benny

We have a new cereal for sale in the shop, it is called Goji and Yacon Muesli!?!?!? (note the sentance highlighted below! Hmmmm! ;-)

"Organically certified goji berries are a food supplement -- an extremely nutrient-dense fruit. They contain 18 amino acids (six times higher than bee pollen) including all 8 essential amino acids. They contain 11.7% protein, and 328 calories per 100g!

The Goji berry is a deep-red, dried fruit about the same size as a raisin. It's very sweet and tastes something like a cross between a cranberry and a cherry. We love adding them to smoothies, trail-mix, cereals, teas and cakes. Err... we also just eat them by the handful!
Nutritional Information
Goji berries contain up to 21 trace minerals (the main ones being zinc, iron, copper, calcium, germanium, selenium, and phosphorus) and are the richest source of carotenoids, including beta-carotene (more beta carotene than carrots), of all known foods or plants on earth!
Goji berries also contain vitamins B1, B2, B6, and vitamin E.
Mature fruits contain about 11 mg or iron per 100 grams, beta-sisterol (an anti-inflammatory agent), linoleic acid (a fatty acid), sesquiterpenoids (cyperone, solavetivone), tetraterpenoids (zeaxanthin, physalin), and betaine (0.1%).
Goji berries contain polysaccharides which fortify the immune system. A polysaccharide found in this fruit has been found to be a powerful secretagogue (a substance that stimulates the secretion of rejuvenative human growth hormone by the pituitary gland).
Benefits
Goji berries have been traditionally regarded as a longevity, strength-building, and sexual potency food of the highest order. In several study groups with elderly people the berry was given once a day for 3 weeks, many beneficial results were experienced and 67% of the patients T cell transformation functions tripled and the activity of the patients white cell interleukin-2 doubled. In addition, the results showed that all the patients spirit and optimism increased significantly, appetite improved in 95% of the patients, 95% of the patients slept better, and 35% of the patients partially recovered their sexual function.
The famed Li Qing Yuen, who apparently lived to the age of 252 years (1678-1930), consumed Goji berries daily. The life of Li Qing Yuen is the most well-documented case of extreme longevity known"

Good Soggy Morning from Sawrey, Its that wet today even the birds are trying to take refuge in the shop! Having to keep the door shut as I type! I am suspecting that the five day forecast that I did on wednesday has got it a tad wrong! A customer who has just been in tells me she slipped on some wet slate yesterday, I had to stop her at the point were she was going to show me her bruise! (I always say I could do with a pop up doctor under the counter!) but despite that it just serves as a reminder to take good care out there in the rain...

Its another bread day today and the aroma that fills the shop when it arrives is quite intoxicating, the rye bread with raisins and fennel is proving a popular seller

One of the pictures above is of some of the sheepy inspired things that we want to sell. I was talking to a customer this morning who also thinks its a good idea and she said something very true about textiles and rugs, "things in life come full circle" (Liz Mallett)

I have learned lots this week about wool and fleeces and am saddened to learn just how little farmers can get for fleeces! Our crafty area is going to be a team effort, the farmers are going to get a good price for their fleeces and so too is everyone thats going to be involved in making the items that we are going to sell. I love the idea of working together in a co-operative kind of way, its sort of fair trade and we are great believers that people should be paid right for what they do!

Thats about all for now folks "Bring me Sunshine" is my thought for the day

Good Afternoon from Far sawrey, what a special day this has been, we have spent the morning with a very special customer, Gillian Cowburn from the Westomorland Gazette has been in to write an article about this little shop, she is a lovely woman and we look forward to reading what she has written in the gazette sometime......She writes some good articles in the leisure section of the paper

Its fruity market day here today also, having a few problems sleeping at the moment so after 3hours of trying to nod off and failing miserably I just got up and went to the fruit market, what a difference a few hours makes, the place was a hive of activity, growers all bringing their produce in, very fresh and very lush! Bought three different kinds of mushrooms have as the offer of the week, feeling a rissotto coming on!

Also their is some good news on my case. I got a letter from a parlimentary researcher telling me about a campaign to highlight abuse in care and asking me to contribute to formulating questions that are to be asked in parliment amongst other things. I was absolutely thrilled to receive it, the issue that I whistleblew about in the first place seems to have got very lost under a pile of legal wranglings. Having the governement highlight this issue should go someway to addressing the things that need to be addressed. I burst into tears when the letter came, finally someone seems to be going to do something! Perhaps when they do I can start sleeping properly again!

We have put some Gingham curtains up over the door in the shop and they really looks like they belong! Will take a pic when I bring the camera back

Thats about all for now folks, its not a bad forcast for the weekend! Enjoy!

Good Afternoon from Far Sawrey, its been not too bad weather wise today, a few showers but nothing major, the above picture is of the lakeland ice creams, those things you eat on hot sunny days in July (well normally!)

Many customers have been showing an interest in the selection of herdwick wool samples and gifts that mum got when she was up at Wool Fest last weekend, we have been doing a little survey asking visitors to the shop if they are the kind of things they would like to see here in the shop and the answer is an overwhelming yes, so let the renovations begin!

Another customer in this week who is staying in the village is the treasurer of the Wainwright society, he was telling me that there has been a new book published this month which features Beatrix Potter inspired walks, I asked him to drop us off some leaflets and posters in the shop, which he has done, and for the bargain price of £10 the whole family can become a member of this society, a society inspired by a man who's love of the lakeland fells is still enjoyed by thousands of people today who follow the walks in his books. He has also given me the number of a man who can sell us the new book on walks around this area! Fantastic! The society can be found at http://www.wainwright.org.uk/

"Alfred Wainwright was a solitary walker who was passionate about the lakeland mountains and drew them in situ and from photographs he took on his frequent forays in to the hills. He then wrote seven world-famous pictorial guide books to the different areas of thedifferent areas of the Lakes. He produced his guides so that when he could walk in the hills no longer he could still enjoy their beauty"

Thats about all for now folks, I hope Robert and Helen form Buckle Yeat are seeing the sunshine on their hols in Spain

Good Afternoon from Far Sawrey, the rain that has poured down this last few days has finally stopped for a while, the road between Near Sawrey and Hawkshead has had several places where caution was required to pass...

The newspapers are today dominated with stories of terrorists who have tried to blow up cars and airports, its all very worrying.

Several peoperties in the village have not had power this weekend, would not be suprised if the rain had not washed away the power cables!

The wet spell has however made the gardens in the village have a bit of a growing spurt, they all look like very english country gardens! lovely!!!

One of our customers Yvette Pavelyn is doing her bit to spread the word of our shop on her rounds doing her "lifes little helpers" job. She keep mentioning our shop to her customers and they keep coming in and becoming customers here....THANKYOU SO SO SO MUCH YVETTE, YOUR A STAR! Her services can be found at http://www.lifeslittlehelpers.co.uk/?Contact_Us

If you could do with a little help around your home, holiday cottage or business she definatley is the woman to ring!

Thats about all for now folks :-)