All Things Considered

Borough Market

It will come as no surprise to the readers of this blog, that I LOVE FOOD. People who don’t ‘get’ food, baffle me. How can people not care what they eat? When I shop, I gaze at the contents of people’s trolleys, and often wonder how interesting it would be to be a till girl. I was told recently by a checkout assistant that I had the healthiest shopping she had seen all day. I was pleased, but then I was in Asda…

At the other end of the food shopping experience to Asda is Borough Market, and boy, is this a shopping experience to savour. This culinary emporium is situated next to London Bridge in the borough of Southwark, which for the past 250 years (actually 2,000 years read more here) has been home to wholesale fruit and vegetable traders. More famously now, it is a foody haven, especially at the weekends.

The market became more well known in 1998, when writer and campaigner of Food Lovers Britain Henrietta Green, invited 50 British food producers to sell their wares at a 3 day event held at Borough Market. The success of this market was instant and it soon became a weekly fixture, selling top quality foods from around the British Isles along with some International destinations too.

I often dream about escaping Norfolk and the place I often wish to be, is Borough Market. I would start the day (early) at The Monmouth Coffee Company on the edge of the market, drinking the tastiest coffee made with the creamiest Jersey milk. I would sit, sip and gaze at the produce and plan by route and my meals for the next few days. I then head in, eyes on stalks, nose twitching confused about whether to turn left or right…what if some one buys the last sourdough loaf, or the queue at the Brindisa hot chorizo stand is too long to stand still for?

The handmade chocolates, pastries, fresh seafood, organic meat, fruit, vegetables, beers, puddings, preserves, cheeses is overwhelming, almost too much for me to cope with. At this point I’m relieved I have left the children behind but have had the sense to bring a huge rucksack; you definitely either need one of them or a granny trolley, as one thing you don’t want to have to deal with, is not having enough hands to carry your exquisite produce home.

Crossings

April saw the relaunch of the ferry that runs from Glenelg on the mainland to Kylerhea on Skye.

In the days of cheap air travel round the globe, there’s still something incredibly romantic about arriving at a destination by ferry, a means of travel that’s probably changed very little over the years - something that Angie and I pondered when we travelled from Skye to Harris in 2005 - a journey we’d been meaning to do for years.

Now that the Skye Bridge is toll-free, it would be easy to underestimate the benefits that such a link can bring (I say this from the position of not knowing exactly HOW the existence of the bridge has changed the island).

But at least it’s good to still have the option of crossing the sea to Skye.

It was the opening of the bridge that in part had threatened the existence of the Glenelg to Kylerhea crossing (which lacked any sort of public subsidy) but in 2006 a Community Interest Company was formed, initially leasing ‘The Glenachulish’ that crosses the Kylerhea Narrows - though the funds were raised to purchase the vessel.

The journey takes 5 minutes to cross and takes six cars with ‘standing room only’ for foot passengers. It might only be a short crossing, but it’ll be one you remember for years.

The Neil Cowley Trio

When setting up All Things Considered we had to put together a list of categories for the posts that appear.

‘Music’ was right at the top of my list, and yet I’m feeling fairly nervous as I write this first post to be tagged with the category. Perhaps it's the fear of coming across a bit too seriously - like a character from Nick Hornby's excellent "High Fidelity".

Over the life of this blog I’ll no doubt slip in a number of ‘admissions’ about my musical past - most of which I’m genuinely very proud of (...and if you’re really lucky one day I might just tell you all a story about Tony the Tiger - maybe).

So, jazz. I’m the first to admit that I’m still a relative beginner when it comes to enjoying jazz. I first started listening properly maybe 10 years ago, bullied into it by our old friend Andy. Still, it’s paid off.

Jazz is one of those genres that covers so many styles and sub-genres that you simply can’t say you don’t like ‘it’. Out there, somewhere, will be a jazz artist/record that you’ll find yourself listening to again and again.

A firm favourite for the last year or so must be The Neil Cowley Trio. On their corner of MySpace they describe themselves as “jazz-trance-neo-classical-funk-soul for shoegazers”. And who am I to argue.

Having trained at the Royal College of Music and then working with artists such at the Brand New Heavies, Cowley and his trio draw on range of musical styles - from classical to jazz to dance - creating an enticing hybrid - and one that’s even better live than it is on record.

‘Displaced’ is a record I’ll be playing for years to come. Rehearsed over a couple of weeks and then recorded in 2 days at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios, the album has been nominated for this year’s BBC Jazz Awards.

So, there you go, ‘modern British’ jazz at its best. Visit The Neil Cowley Trio website.

Cittaslow

In 2004 Aylsham was accepted as a ‘Slow Town’ – a phrase that conjures up visions of a sleepy backwater living in the past. As life becomes increasingly hectic, the fabric that affects our very existence is taken for granted, from environmental planning to pollution or food to architecture, all of which influence our well being.

We should all make time for the environment in which we live so that communities can thrive. In essence, this is what ‘Cittaslow’ (Italian for ‘Slow City’) it all about.

Cittaslow, also known as The Slow Movement, started in Italy in 1999 and has since assigned 70 Italian cities with the label, as well as many further towns around the world. The concept behind Cittaslow is to celebrate a town, which its community cares about its environment. Communities work together to improve certain issues and value existing qualities.

In the UK we currently have 4 towns under the Cittaslow network and for us lucky Norfolk folk, 2 of those towns are in this county, Diss and Aylsham (home to our gallery St Jude's). The other towns accepted into the Cittaslow movement are Mold in Wales and Ludlow in Shropshire, which for many years has been famous for its food markets, including the acclaimed annual Food Festival, and the excellent range of independently run shops.

I have been visiting Aylsham for over 30 years and I can honestly say it’s not changed in many ways at all. The same choice of greengrocers and traditional butchers are still there, the no-fuss Deli, the old fashioned sweet shop and barbers still serve the local community as well as the weekly auctions, markets and the excellent monthly Farmers Market held on the first Saturday of each month.

Spread a little happiness

An article in the Observer recently featured an altruistic gardening technique that could change our urban and rural environment for the better (if global warming allows).

Richard Reynolds, living in that well-known haven of horticulture - South London's Elephant and Castle - decided to realise the potential of municipal flowerbeds. Instead of litter they could be filled with lavenders and tulips. Seeds of native wild flowers could be scattered secretly onto grass verges, neglected sites stealthily planted up under cover of darkness.

The Guerrilla Gardening (a term coined over thirty years ago by New York's Green Guerrillas) website catalogues the before and after of many of these transformations - with tips on how you might embark on your own mission and links to various worldwide projects.

Reading about this illicit cultivation brought to mind train travellers from the days when train windows could still be opened - 'accidental' guerrilla gardeners who would throw apples cores or plum stones onto the railway embankments, sometimes germinating to create a welcome break from the endless banks of rosebay willow herb and brambles.

For useful tips and to see what' guerrilla gardeners have planted from Leeds to Milan go to:

www.guerrillagardening.org

Clifford Ellis

On a recent trip to Edinburgh I came across this stunning lithograph by Clifford Ellis at the Eye Two Gallery. Thankfully (for my wallet) there was a red dot on the print.

The lithograph was part of an exhibition that covered work produced at 'Corsham' or the Bath Academy of Art.

The Academy opened in 1946 with Clifford Ellis as First Principal, creator and founder. Through the years Ellis invited young artists to teach - and many of these artists would become influential figures in today’s art world. William Scott, Terry Frost, Howard Hodgkin, Robyn Denny and Henry Cliffe were amongst them.

Clifford and Rosemary Ellis are perhaps best known for the covers they designed for the ‘New Naturalist’ series of books published in the Fifties. Amongst other commercial work they designed a range of posters - including this Shell poster for Appledore that we currently have at the gallery.

Allmeinde Commongrounds

As you can probably tell from the subject matter of some of Angie's recent prints we've been spending a fair bit of time in the Highlands of Scotland over the last couple of years. We're hoping to be working on the renovation of some derelict agricultural buildings with Mary Arnold-Forster of Skye based architects Dualchas. More about that over the coming months (years?).

Inevitably we've been spending a lot of time looking at other buildings. My current obsession has to be the Allmeinde Commongrounds in Austria. Founded by hotelier Gerold Schneider and his wife, the architect Katia Polletin, this converted barn acts as a meeting place, gallery, cultural centre and base for artist residencies.

It's a breathtakingly simple building - at least from initial impressions - though I get the sense that there's come very considered storage etc. So, another holiday destination to add to the list.

See further photos and find out more at www.allmeinde.org

Artisan Bakeries

Did you know that in the UK, 98% of bread is made by supermarkets and highly mechanised bakeries and the remaining 2% by artisan bakeries? It’s crazy isn’t it?

After World War Two, mechanised baking equipment was developed to produce high-speed loaves, this was known as the Chorleywood Process. At the time and for subsequent years, it was a good thing as it helped create a constant supply of fresh bread for families who relied heavily on the cheap and vaguely nutritious loaf.

Thankfully, our tastes and knowledge of food are changing for the better. As we become more food aware, we discover that the always available, plastic wrapped, industrial loaves which make us feel bloated and sluggish are incomparable to the superior artisan produced bakes which are becoming increasingly more available (but then, they don’t contain ascorbic acid, liquid gluten or doughs made and risen in less than 4 minutes).

Skilled, artisan bakers create breads that are hand crafted and are made using leavens (natural yeasts). Batches of different dough are slowly fermented over several days using just natural ingredients.  They prepare beautiful, rustic loaves with unprocessed flours like spelt, rye and stone-ground which typically are sourced from mills using traditional processes, often using organic or untreated grains like my local mill at Letheringsett and my not so local Shipton Mill in Gloustershire.

Farmers markets are a great place to buy hand-crafted and unprocessed breads. Here in Norfolk, we are lucky enough to be supplied wholesome loaves by Metfield Bakery who bake delicious breads created from a wide range of flours, seeds and nuts as well as excellent cakes and pies.

If you fancy a go at creating your own natural loaves, I highly recommend reading Baker by Dean Brettschneider. This book gives both basic and comprehensive techniques on bread and cake baking.

Dan Lepard is also a well sung baking guru, his website lists some excellent UK bakeries defiantly worth looking at which may even tempt you to find your local wholesome bakery or order your daily bread on-line.

Bromptonaut

Having pondered the idea for some time I’ve finally taken the plunge and bought a Brompton.

Conceived and designed by Andrew Ritchie, these miracles of British engineering are hand-built in West London to order.

The story of the Brompton is many ways similar to that of James Dyson’s vacuum cleaner. In the mid 70s, Andrew began work on 3 prototypes in his London flat overlooking the Brompton Oratory (hence the name).

With a single-minded ambition that has to be admired, Andrew Ritchie took the business through various stages of pilot production and finally in 1998 the first production bikes rolled out of a railway arch in Brentford.

Bromptons are now exported round the world – with two thirds of sales going overseas. And if you want a particular model, be prepared to wait!

But it’s been worth it. I’ll probably not be using the bike as you’d expect (i.e. ride to station, train journey and a ride at the other end). Having a folding bike has already thrown up a number of ways in which you can make a journey – especially when an onward journey by car might normally put you off taking a normal bike to work etc.

And it feels like the start of an exciting relationship. I’m inspired by this report of a trip to Barcelona and Brompton touring.

You might find Andrew Ritchie’s philosophy inspiring. And The Folding Society has some useful links. The photo above is by Olivier Pascaud.

Yetman's Beer

Those of you familiar with the North Norfolk town Holt may also be familiar with the name Yetman's. For nearly two decades husband and wife team Ali and Peter (Yetman) have cooked and served outstanding food in their restaurant. It was the place to go for highly flavoured and unpretentious quality food, and a laid back service (I should know, I waitressed there for nearly 15 years). But as with everything, all good things come to and end and the restaurant closed in January of this year.

When Peter worked in the City twenty years ago, he developed a skill and taste for brewing in his spare time in an attempt to relax and unwind from the stresses of his job. Years later, and not totally put off with being the person always mixing and pouring drinks in the restaurant, Peter decided to reignite a dormant passion for brewing and started his own microbrewery.

When they moved to Norfolk to start the restaurant, the brewing kit was stored and almost forgotten until a few years ago, Peter decided to start brewing in the garden shed where he was able to try out his pints on his customers in the restaurant.

With the punters loving his pints, Peter took the plunge and decided to up-scale his operation and set up a microbrewery. No longer able to brew in the tiny shed with Ali's vegetables, he moved into and helped restore some old cattle barns in an idyllic location on the Bayfield Estate outside Holt. With the mash tuns in place along with a sofa and a loud sound system, Peter has all he needs to create a smooth pint.

With hops sourced form Worcestershire, Germany and America, there are currently five brews varying in flavour and alcohol content. The types range from his Red label (Abv 3.8) to the more stoic Green (Abv 4.8). There is also Stout (not sure of it's colour tag) and a new one Amber (Abv 4.0) appropriately labelled with the colours orange and green.

If you would like to try Peter's draught beers, you can buy them in hearty pints in a number of pubs in around Norfolk; The George Hotel, Blakeney White Horse, Wiveton Bell,and the Buckinghamshire Arms.

To purchase bottles visit Byfords, Samphire, Humpty Dumpty Brewey Shop, Fishes Restaurant and Picnic Fayre.