Latest opinions
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Supporting charitable causes
11 July 2014 Town CrierThey come into the shop, usually on a busy Saturday, and join the cheese queue. They don’t look at the cheeses, but have an air of urgency that prompts me to pick up the pace and deal more swiftly with the... -
Letter from America
01 July 2014 Speciality BitesI am currently at Fancy Food Show in New York, but possibly more importantly a few days out of the office to clear my head and get my head out of my laptop, and get an overview and fresh perspective -
Nigel Barden Talks Awards
30 June 2014 Fine FoodNigel Barden, Gastronome of BBC Radio 2 and Farm Shop & Deli Awards Chair of Judges talks independent retailing. -
Summer Holidays
09 June 2014 Speciality BitesI always know it is summer when I arrive at the office at 7 a.m. on a Monday morning and have to open some of the 18 windows to let the weekend heat out! And that was the case... -
Expansion & Investment
28 April 2014 Speciality BitesIt’s been a busy 2-3 weeks since coming back from Italy, with a weekend away in Prague (not work), a 24 hour trip to Ireland and our residential Christmas Sales Meeting -
The Art of Patience
09 April 2014 Speciality BitesI am writing this at the airport, waiting for my plane back to the UK, after an interesting few days in Italy in Verona. What a splendid city, one I haven’t visited before, but must do again when not working. ... -
From Bala to Birmingham
20 March 2014 Speciality BitesI am in the middle of a gear change – desperately trying to catch up with lots of projects after coming back from Kenya earlier this week, before heading up to the NEC on Sunday for the Farm Shop and Deli... -
Supplier & New Supplier of the Year Announced
31 January 2014 Speciality BitesApart from continuous rain, the last two weeks have seen me first in Scotland, as you know from the last blog, followed by the annual pilgrimage to ISM in Cologne. The latter event always involves prolonged periods in the evening... -
New Year, New Products
20 January 2014 Speciality BitesI always love this time of year as it is “show-time”! I am quite often in San Francisco this week at the Fancy Food Show, but not this year. It’s Scotland for me. In particular Scotland’s Speciality Food Show... -
For Some, Christmas Is Not All Joy
10 December 2013 Speciality BitesA slightly more reflective piece this week, and perhaps good for us all occasionally to step back and think about priorities
