Wandering lead to wondering.

This Wednesday whilst my plan had been to visit Lavenham or Long Melford, I was instead drawn to a small village near Bury St.Edmunds. We came across an ancient thatched barn and several other buildings, most selling antiques and collectables, with one called “The Cosy Cabin” selling fabulous fabrics, thread etc. Alliterations aside, I was very impressed by the ambience and spent more than I should have on beautiful textiles. Lunch found us in a nearby pub where the accompanying salad defied all expectations – cucumber, tomatoes, celery, lettuce, radishes, peppers… you name it, it was there and set me thinking. We are currently experiencing shortages of many hot-house foods with some supermarkets rationing them. I’ve heard a number of reasons why, but they all come back to the increased costs of fuel. Growers in Kent have delayed planting crops as they can’t afford the massive cost of heating their green houses. As an example, whilst cucumbers are on sale at 75p they actually cost £1.50 to produce. That sounds much the same as the problems of producing eggs, milk and many other foodstuffs… we must be prepared to pay more for our food, maybe buying less and wasting less. We hear Spain and Morocco are experiencing extreme weather situations but surely we shouldn’t be relying on producers so far away? We need to support our local growers and eat what is in season. Asparagus from Peru, strawberries in February? I think not.