Rebirth after ten years in Ponteland

Press release from Northumberland CC about the relaunch of Ponteland Farmers' Market on 22nd May (guess which bits were in my original draft?):

Ponteland Farmers’ Market will be celebrating its 10th birthday on Saturday 22nd May with a change of venue and a full-scale re-launch.
The market is moving to the Merton Way Shopping Centre from its former base in the Memorial Hall, where it has been for most of the past ten years.

Market supervisor Robert Hindhaugh, says:
“We hope that this move to an outdoor location in Ponteland’s main shopping centre will help to rejuvenate the market. We already have bookings from a number of producers and can expect more to sign up if the market goes well.”

Producers booked for the day so far include:
Castle Bakery, selling fresh bread and pastries;
Curly Farmer Fine Food, selling cakes, pates, scones etc;
Middle May Lamb selling Organic Lamb;
Patterson’s of Eyemouth, selling fish and seafood;
Richard Dennis, selling fudge;
Vince Frain, selling plants, herbs, shrubs etc;
The Women’s Institute (WI), who will be trading from the Merton Hall; and
Zest Catering, selling pasties, chilli, homemade soups.

and with a bit of luck a local microbrewery

Words put into the Council executive member’s mouth by their press office:
“We are very keen to promote sustainability through self-sufficiency and farmers markets are an excellent way of helping to support local enterprises, as well as greatly reducing food miles.
“We hope that this re-located market will have the added benefit of bringing more visitors into the shopping precinct at Ponteland, thereby supporting local trade as well.”

There will be some added attractions at the market to celebrate its 10th anniversary including a special birthday cake, plus cooking demonstrations by the ‘Cool Food Dudes’ from Real Food Works.
(photo courtesy of NEEFM)

Continental Market - not as good these days?

I thought this weekend’s ‘Continental Market’ in Morpeth was more than a bit disappointing. There were far fewer stalls than in past years, and prices were sky-high. They used to be a bit pricey – but £12 a kilo for cheese and £3 for an ordinary loaf of bread is taking the mickey.

And that is the point – we can get better cheese cheaper in the Cheese Shop, we have a baker on the Weds Market, one on the farmers’ market and two bakers in the town all selling as good if not better bread cheaper. And the other stuff on sale:
pate and dried sausage we can get at Morpeth Deli or Gebhards, or the monthly farmers market – again cheaper
dried fruit and nuts we can get at Julian Graves or Morpeth Deli
we can get better sweets, chocolate, fudge – again cheaper – at the excellent sweet shops Morpeth has, or again the Wednesday and farmers’ market
- and even the wine on sale was nothing to write home about

I’m biased – but I think both our Wednesday Market and our monthly farmers’ market have more atmosphere and offer a better range of products and considerably cheaper prices. So – I suggest that the Chamber of Trade review their regular booking of this ‘continental market’ (which is apparently based in Manchester anyway) and start supporting our local Northumbrian makets.

Happy Birthday Morpeth Farmers’ Market!

Morpeth Farmers’ Market celebrates its 10th Anniversary on Saturday 7th November.

There’ll be a real party atmosphere on the market with competitions, buskers and a birthday cake provide by Country Markets (aka the WI). And there’ll be a chef doing demos throughout the morning using what ingredients he can cadge from the market stalls – a bit like a live version of ‘Ready Steady Cook’.

And the Barnacre alpacas will be back.

It’s hard to imagine it’s been going so long. I’d been a councillor for just six months when Castle Morpeth BC first started the Farmers’ Market in November ’99. And apart from a five month gap during the foot & mouth crisis, missing one market on the day after the 2008 flood and the occasional January market date that was too near New Year - it hasn’t missed very many months.

Initially it was held in the Town Hall, then after refurbishment of the Morpeth Market Place it was split between the Town Hall and the Market Place. Then in October last year, it was switched from a Sunday to a Saturday and is now located entirely on the Market Place. And it is still thriving when other farmers’ markets are in a bit of a decline.

I think a lot of people don’t realise just how lucky Morpeth is in still having locally owned shops. These have always sold local produce, but I think the farmers’ market has raised an awareness and appreciation of local food with a wider public.

In fact, a number of businesses – including Doddington Dairy Ice Cream and Northumberland Cheese Co – which started selling through farmers’ markets are now supplying the local shops, and in some instances supermarkets – so the wheel has come full circle in a sense.

And several producers from the farmers’ market – like Jimmy Bell and Janet Lawlor – are now selling at the Wednesday Charter Market too – which I think is part of the reason why that is flourishing so much, against national trends.

All change must be resisted

I had a blazing row with a Morpeth shopkeeper in the Market Place on Saturday - and I really ought to apologise to him.

We've switched the Morpeth Farmers' Market from the 1st Sunday in the month to the 1st Saturday in the month - and last Saturday was the first one. We switched because:

i) the Town Hall isn't available at least till Christmas - and one of the main reasons for having the market on a Sunday was because we had use of the Town Hall

ii) customers have been asking us why the market isn't on a Saturday since we started

iii) a survey in Gateway magazine in the spring showed a significant demand to switch to a Saturday

iv) we've been losing traders over the past 15 months - producers don't want to work on Sundays, or they've been attracted away to the Sunday Quayside Market. And - as far as I know - the nearest markets on the 1st Saturday are Barnard Castle and Edinburgh

So - we'd discussed switching at the Markets Partnership, with Chamber of Trade reps enthusiastic about the idea, recognising that a successful market will bring people into Morpeth - and it's better to do that when the shops are open!

We had hoped to tell everyone at the Sept Market - but that was cancelled - so it was a scramble to get the message out. My apologies to anyone who turned up on Sunday looking for the market!

Anyway - the gist of the shopkeeper's argument was that the market represented unfair competition for local butchers and greengrocers who depend heavily on Saturday trade. I still believe that a farmers' market once a month on a Saturday will bring more people into Morpeth and increase trade - and increase demand for local produce which local shopkeepers can supply the rest of the month.

Dave Hall cooking at Ponteland FM

Dave Hall was back at Ponteland Farmers' Market yesterday - and did another three superb recipes:

lamb with broad beans & mint: simple enough - using neck lamb fillet (from Jimmy Bell 'the lamb man') thin sliced and stir-fried, broad beans from Craigs of Tritlington - with shallots, mint, lemon and Feta cheese - and eaten with sourdough bread from Auroan. Very much an Eastern Med style

Romanesu cauliflower - that's the lime green, pointy one (again from Tritlington) with poached duck eggs (from Haydon Bridge), streaky bacon (from Moorhouse Farm) - and shavings of parmesan

and - Strawberry and Raspberry Vanilla Mess, a variant of Eton Mess with raspberries and strawberries (from Tritlington) - the latter macerated in Ponteland heather honey - with double cream, yoghurt and meringue.

All delicious - and all made in 10-15 mins using local ingredients available on the market. Dave is back again at Pont for a last time this year next month (Sept 27th) - I wonder what he'll give us then?

Dave is available through ExpoChef and his recipes can be found on his blog

Dave Hall at Ponteland Farmers' Market

Had a good time at Ponteland Farmers' Market yesterday. We had Dave Hall, the South Shields lad who was a MasterChef Finalist last year (2007), along demonstrating recipes - and I got to taste all of them!

My favourites included:

• a salmon, crab and coconut curry - a South Indian style dish made (in fifteen minutes) with coconut milk, chillis, mango and lime
• a Thai-style hot & sour beef salad - flash fried strips of beef with a salad of spinach, coriander, tomatoes, avocado and spring onions - with a dressing made from peanut butter, fish sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar and chilli
• and - strawberries softened in melted honey and dusted vanilla salt!

Dave is coming back to Ponteland Farmers' Market on Sat August 23rd amd Sat Sept 27th with all-new recipes. Can't wait!

All Dave's recipes are on his website.

Farmer's Market of the Month Award

BBC Countryfile magazine is going to be launching a 'farmers market of the month' shortly.

This will be by nomination from readers of the magazine. See the website

Markets in transition...

A fair turn-out at Morpeth Farmers' Market today - and the Wednesday Market seems to be surviving the usual post-Christmas decline, despite the occasional cancellation due to high winds.

However - I'm worried about the future of the markets in the transition to the unitary authority. It's a small issue relative to the massive problems involved, but I think it is of major significance to Morpeth. I really can't see the new unitary authority being interested, or having resources, to run the Wednesday Market let alone any farmers' markets.

In theory, I'd have thought that the Morpeth Market Charter would properly come to the Town Council - but I'm not sure they'd be interested in actually running the market.

Then - I can't think of any organisation who would have an interest in running both Morpeth and Ponteland farmers' markets.

Even if there is no interest from parish or town councils, partnerships or trusts - at the very least I think there needs to be some sort of community group or social enterprise running the markets to protect their ethos and objectives.

Ecover Refill Point at Morpeth Wednesday Market

Have you been along to Morpeth Wednesday Market recently? There last few weels there have been 15-18 stalls - it's looking like a real market.

One new stall I'm particularly excited about (well - I don't get out much) not only sells Ecover products - but has barrels to refill bottles from.

Although Morpeth has a great reputation for recycling, we shouldn't forget that re-use (and repair) is better than recycling....

What do you think of the market so far?

There’s a survey about the Morpeth Wednesday Market in the latest issue of the Borough Council’s ‘Gateway’ magazine. I’m hoping that people will take the opportunity to respond to it – because (if re-elected) I’m likely to be working on further development of the market.

I’ve been on the Castle Morpeth Markets Partnership – which includes Morpeth Town Council, Morpeth Chamber of Trade and the Greater Morpeth Development Trust – since it was set up – and I’ve been chairman for the last five years.

So – I’m one of the ones to praise or blame for the transfer to the Market Place and the investment in new stalls etc. Of course, I think it’s a big improvement – though it could be even better – and I think we’re bucking the trend which is seeing markets across the country in decline. But – complete the survey or get in touch with me direct to tell me what you think…

If you haven’t seen the survey – and it’s only one page – get in touch and I’ll send you a copy.

I’ve also been responsible through the Markets Partnership for Morpeth farmers’ market – which I’m immensely proud of, and think is one of the best things the Council runs. There should be survey about Morpeth (and Ponteland) farmers’ markets in the June issue of Gateway – but you needn’t wait till then to tell me what you think about it.

If you’ve not been yet – do come along and see what Morpeth farmers’ market is about – Sunday 1st April and Sunday 6th May.

Election Imprint: Promoted by Nic Best, 57 Olympia Gardens, Morpeth on behalf of MidNorthumberland Green Party