Posted by Dunc on Jul 24, 2009 in
Products 
Here’s one for the graphic designers out there! Any print designer worth their salt should already be aware of this great paper manufacturer but for those who don’t – a recent postcard popped through the letterbox extolling the virtues of their Britishness so I felt duty-bound to bung it on the blog…
For over 100 years, GFSmith have been trading from their warehousing and manufacturing head quarters in Hull, East Yorkshire as specialty paper merchants. They source and manufacture some of the most interesting, beautiful and also unusual papers for the Graphics and Printing Industries.
Whenever a nice job comes around with a decent budget, one of the first things that designers reach for is the iconic SEA Designed ‘ink splash’ GFSmith swatch book (stolen erm ‘borrowed’ from my last place of work) to pick out some weird and wonderful stocks. Invariably, budgets get cut and the paper choice gets tamed – but hey – us designers can dream, can’t we?
GFSmith cards and papers get used in a multitude of creative ways from simple business cards, to elegant stationery and exquisite invitations. Folders, brochures and annual reports to greetings cards and packaging. Indeed, as they say on the website – wherever there is a need for paper there is a need for GFSmith.
This tradition and innovation from 100 years of experience make GFSmith some of the most unique and respected paper people in the world. As their beautiful union jack emblazoned, red, white and blue triplexed, metallic screenprinted, 350gsm colourplan mailer says…
GFSmith are British
GFSmith are privately owned
GFSmith are independent
GFSmith are 110 years old
GFSmith are unique
Amen to that!
//Geeky paper-fetish gushiness. Done! 
Posted by Lou on Jul 24, 2009 in
Food Shopping 
A wise woman once asked me “what is your favorite vegetable?”
To me this is an easy question. It is quite obviously the humble potato (although parsnips come a very close second).
Potatoes are ultimately versatile, but of the many end uses, the best is most definitely crisps!
This is where our friends at Tyrrells Potato Chips step in. I became very closely acquainted with Tyrrells one evening in our local pub, where I demolished bag after delicious bag of mixed root vegetable crisps until, alas, I couldn’t look at another parsnip ever again (ok, well it was only for a couple of days until we made potato and parsnip mash).
Anyway, where am I going with this?….oh yeah…crisps! I love crisps, what an amazing concept – I could live off crisps and cheese and be really happy for the rest of my life (I’d be fat, but at least I’d be happy). So last week, after a really rubbish day at work, I was over the moon to find Tyrrells had sent us a box of crisps to try…wahoo!!! Makes going to work worthwhile when you come home to that (sorry Duncan). If you sign up to their website, then you too can become part of the taster panel. Every month they randomly pick people from the list and send out 100 boxes of crisps for people to try. If you love food and love life, then you definitely should be doing a bit of Tyrrelling
Tyrrells was named after the farm where William Chase, the founder of Tyrrells was brought up and still currently farms. In the late nineties, Will traveled the world researching the perfect potato chip production methods and brought his knowledge back to Herefordshire where Tyrrells potato chips were born. All the potatoes are grown locally within a 50km radius of the farm and they use some delicious varieties such as Lady Claire and Lady Rosetta.
You have to check out their very beautifully designed website for more info and the full selection but I urge you to have a bag of the Ludlow Sausage with Wholegrain Mustard crisps! Lush!
Kettle crisps had best watch out!
On a final note, they now do potato vodka. See – I told you potatoes were the best vegetable 
PS… You can get in touch with Tyrrells on twitter… @Tyrrells give them a nudge and tell them we sent you
Posted by Lou on Jul 17, 2009 in
Food Shopping,
Stuff 
I have just found this from Stuart Gardiner, a tea towel with a yearly guide to 74 British seasonal fruits & vegetables printed on it. It comes in a six colour unbleached organic cotton tea towel and its made in the UK.
How cool is that.
You can buy it here
Posted by Lou on Jun 29, 2009 in
Places 
Saltwater St Ives is a tiny restaurant that Duncan and I found when we stayed in Cornwall a few weeks back.
I was really looking forward to staying in St Ives but I must say I was a little let down. The beaches were lovely, we saw an amazing sunset (the first one I have ever seen), and the shops are great but we didn’t find many restaurants. After what felt like hours (OK it was half an hour) walking around St Ives trying to decide where to eat, Duncan got pooed on by a seagull.
That was the last straw. We needed food and we needed food fast!
Luckily, we happened to walk past Saltwater and it looked like a little piece of heaven. The menu sounded good so we dived in. After sorting himself out (getting rid of the bird poo) Duncan sat down and we checked out the menu in more detail. In a nutshell, I managed to eat lots more shellfish/seafood and Duncan ate lots more fish, but the food really was lovely and the surroundings were very clean and modern. The people who served us were just so polite and very keen to make sure we enjoyed our meal. This kind of service can so often be overlooked in nice restaurants. Anyway, the puddings were brilliant – we had the usual argument of who was going to have the treacle tart, which I lost. I had vanilla panacotta with homemade biscuits and roasted seasonal fruit. It was amazing, so I was happy to lose the treacle tart fight that time!
If you’re in St Ives and stuck for somewhere to eat, we can recommend Saltwater. It is a really small place with only a few tables but this just adds to the cosy atmosphere. We were quite lucky to just walk in off the street but on busier nights it would be better to give them a call to book. It’s located on Fish Street – which has got to be a good sign! Just try not to get pooed on
Posted by Dunc on Jun 23, 2009 in
Food Shopping 
Sometimes in life, you go through phases where you can’t get enough of something. You know those guilty pleasures that you can’t get through the day without thinking of at least once.
I’ve had a fair few of these weird and wonderful food addictions over the years (jacket potatoes with cheese and battered fish butties from the chippy are two notable examples – not at the same time though!) but the latest thing that’s got a grip on me is olives!
Now this is quite strange because up until a couple of years ago, I couldn’t stand the salty little beggars! For some reason, at the moment I crave Pimento Stuffed Olives ALL THE TIME!
“WHAT!?” I hear you shout – Olives aren’t British!
I know, I know, and for this I am truly sorry. The source of my guilt is that this delicious delicacy that I can’t keep my grubby mits off, comes from Greece.
But wait…
So imagine my surprise when I did a little googling only to discover that due to climate change, we are now able to grow olives in this country. Now imagine my excitement (yes, very sad I know) that there are farmers who are actually growing them by the chuff-load.
Mark Diacono on Otter Farm in Devon, is taking advantage of Britain’s warming climate to grow more Mediterranean crops like olives, peaches, almonds, szechuan pepper, apricots and a vineyard. 5 years ago, he planted 120 olive trees on his 17-acre farm and hopes to be producing British home-grown Olive Oil within a year.
And it isn’t just me who is rather excited about this. As rumour has it, a top London department store, has offered to pre-buy the entire production run. Mark, however, has said that he would prefer to sell locally to keep the food miles down.
Brilliant stuff. One less pleasure to feel guilty about
To learn more, have a read of the article on Country File.
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As well as planting and maintaining Otter Farm’s orchards, vineyards, forest garden and veg patch, Mark Diacono leads the Garden Team at River Cottage. He also runs the growing courses at River Cottage, gives talks and hosts events at RCHQ, and appears in the River Cottage TV series too. Busy bloke then!
