As I write this we have an hour before the off, it does not open until 10am. It takes an hour to get there, so now breakfast and coffee beckon. More from me later...
OK after a slightly delayed start this morning, we arrived in time to find Victoria Roberts, the chicken vet! We wanted to hear the talk on hen keeping, husbandry and diseases. She was a lovely lady who gave us some pointers on our sickly hen.
We then moved around to look at goats, a little tiddy kid and tiddier piglets. Practically every woman walking round the pens became a broody. If only we had woods and a field that were ours...sigh!
Then we walked the large hall, number 1. It took a good 2-2.5 hours to do it justice. Various stalls with common or garden herbs and fruits. This was my only disappointment - if you're looking for a mulberry, a salmonberry or a cloudberry, forget it! Not even a Rosecurrant or Glen Coe black raspberry. If you want a rhubarb, there was a great stand by the entrance selling both good old varieties and extremely reasonable terracotta rhubarb forcers. £9.99 small. £19.99 large. That's cheap!!
Other stalls of note for me were Rockdust, Wolf Garten (all their tools were on display), specialist cheese stalls, artisan bread stall, Beekeepers Association and NSALG.
What did I buy?
No seeds! T and M were there, as were DT Brown and Kings Seeds. Never saw Suttons! So I bought very cheap 20kg bag Rockdust for a test bed at the allotment - cost £9.99 RRP £14.99. Some Slug Gone wool pellets containing NPK to deter slugs, mini bag to try - £2. A Wolf Garten Seed Sower £11. A hen keeping book £10. A pot brush £5. A flagon of Perry. Some Cornish Blue Extra Mature Cheese.
In all a very pleasant six hours were spent by me and Mr VVG. Ooh and did I say we rather fancy a Haygrove polytunnel - they are very impressive!
Go, you won't be disappointed.
Note for Zazen - Vitax were there and there is no factory shop in Coalville - mores the pity!
I want a goat. *Crosses coalville off of 'places to visit'.
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