Farmers' market in Brixton

[iloveroman]

Hi all
The Farmers' market will be on tomorrow - though with a few fewer stalls! We're also giving away organic mince pies from Old Post Bakery and we have a new (weather depending!) stall.

The Bath Soft Cheese Co will be bringing some of their fabulous looking soft cheeses! They currently supply cheese to Abel and Cole amongst others. Will they go nicely with Free Mince Pies?
http://www.parkfarm.co.uk/

I'll be updating our facebook page with which farms have made it through the snow.
Brixton farmers market facebook page

Louise
Brixton Farmers' market manager

 

[miss minnie]

Bath Soft Cheese Co rule!

I had a bunch of people over for crimble drinks and snacks and wanted a brie or camembert but got a 'soft cheese' from the stall instead. There wasn't a morsel of it left after the party, I even saw people scraping the plate! Major compliments from everyone! A bit annoyed that I put it all out as I only got a mere speck of it for myself!

Looking forward to their next visit to Brixton.

 

[Ms T]

I thought that Bath Soft Cheese was fantastic as well. I have already got a load of soft cheese in though so I went for piece of the blue.

 

[miss minnie]

Yep, got a small piece of blue also, hid it in the fridge.

 

[Londonfarmers]

Hi everyone, glad you like Bath Soft cheese, they're attending regularly now on the 1st, 3rd & 5th Sundays and love the market and all their regular customers.
Good news- we hopefully have a new fisherman starting on 13 Feb. Bembridge Fish from the Suffolk Coast. He'll take orders for lobster if you have Valentine's Day plans via twitter or let us know via info@lfm.org.uk and we'll forward your email to him.
And...another new stall holder. The amazing Lardy Da starts on the 17th Feb and every third Sunday of the month. Malika makes her own hand raised pork pies from free range Essex pork and trust us, they are stunning.
If you haven't been to the market for a while, come along and welcome our new fisherman.

best wishes from all of us at London Farmers' Markets
www.lfm.org.uk

 

[Londonfarmers]

news update

Londonfarmers

Hi everyone, glad you like Bath Soft cheese, they're attending regularly now on the 1st, 3rd & 5th Sundays and love the market and all their regular customers.
Good news- we hopefully have a new fisherman starting on 13 Feb. Bembridge Fish from the Suffolk Coast. He'll take orders for lobster if you have Valentine's Day plans via twitter or let us know via info@lfm.org.uk and we'll forward your email to him.
And...another new stall holder. The amazing Lardy Da starts on the 17th Feb and every third Sunday of the month. Malika makes her own hand raised pork pies from free range Essex pork and trust us, they are stunning.
If you haven't been to the market for a while, come along and welcome our new fisherman.

best wishes from all of us at London Farmers' Markets
www.lfm.org.uk

 

[iloveroman]

News update

Lots to tell you about; three pieces of good news, but also two pieces of bad news. We’re glad it’s not the other way round!
1) Plants: Let’s start with the good news! Another producer returns from their winter hibernation on Sunday: Sarah, Daniel, Ben and Roy, of Bucks-based Little Coppice Nursery. As their plants are grown on the outskirts of London, they are ideally suited for gardens and windowboxes in London. They haven’t travelled a long distance and have certainly had a hardy winter behind them to make sure they are no weaklings!! The team will bring with them a great sample of Springtime offerings, including fragrant hyacinths, deep blue Muscari, delicate daffs, rosy-red tulips, snowdrops, pansies, bellis and cowslips. A good taster for what is to come at the plant fair later this year (17th April).
2) Game: From next week (13th March), we will have a weekly game stall at the market. Doug Wanstall, from Bank Farm in Kent (aka The Mersham Shoot), will be bringing up a wide variety of wild meats shot on the farm. More on Doug and Bank Farm next week…
3) Salad greens: Another sure sign that Spring is on it’s way is coming from Charbel of Akiki Organics. This week, he’ll be bringing a great range of gourmet salad leaves from his Worcestershire farm, including cress, rocket, pak choi, mustard, mizuna, Texel greens, mibuna, komatsuna, as well as his first Spring cabbages. He’ll also have four varieties of lettuce: Oakleef Red, Oakleef Green, Little Gem and Winter Density.
4) Fish: Now for with the bad news. Unfortunately Bembridge Fish will not be back. The journey from the Isle of Wight was an arduous one, and it meant that Mick and/or Mike had to be away from the boats and they couldn’t justify spending so long away from the Island. It is with a heavy heart that they have decided not to return, and they have gone back to Bembridge as firm Brixtonophiles. They have not ruled out a return in the future.
5) Preserves: Unfortunately, Carol Stoneham (aka Miss Stoneham’s Preserves) is also unable to return to the market for the foreseeable future due to an injury. We wish her a speedy recovery. She gave up most of her other markets some time ago for this reason, but decided to persevere with Brixton for a bit longer because she just likes her customers so much! Hopefully we will see her back at market at some point in the future.
Hopefully next week, we can have all good news, and no bad!!
Enjoy the market this Sunday
Louise, Emily, Cheryl, Mark, Danielle and Arthur
Brixton Farmers’ Market – Every Sunday 10am-2pm on Brixton Station Road
Brixton Plant Fair – at the Farmers’ Market, 17th April
London Farmers' Markets
11 O'Donnell Court
Brunswick Centre
London WC1N 1NY
www.lfm.org.uk
020 7833 0338

 

[Ms T]

Gutted about the fish stall - their stuff was really excellent.

 

[lang rabbie]

Gutted about the fish stall - their stuff was really excellent.

[/Groans out loud]

 

[iloveroman]

It's so sad about the Bembridge fish - we're working on finding them a second market on Sundays to boost their takings but I think ultimatly it's a long way to The Isle of Wight!

However we have many, many new and returning stalls to the market these days! See email below. PIE and Keens!

Dear friends of the Brixton Farmers' Market,

Another week, another new producer starts at the market!

Last year Malika Mezeli set up a new pie company, Lardy Da, trying to apply the snout to trotter philosophy to use cuts of meat that have been forgotten or discarded. The jelly for their pies is made in the traditional way from the trotters and tails and all lard is home-rendered pork fat.

Knowing where all their main ingredients come from maintains quality, taste and ethics. Their pork pies use free-range pork reared by Keith Bennett of Stockings Farm. All ingredients have been carefully chosen to be of the highest quality and where possible always in their least processed form. Lardy-Da pork pies are traditionally hand-raised using hot-crust pastry. The meat is finely chopped by hand so the natural texture is not lost and retains it moisture.

Also, try her fantastic luxury pork terrines – they’re to die for! Malika will attend monthly, on the 3rd Sunday of each month.
Keen's Cheddar will also return on Sunday.

Louise, Emily, Mark, Cheryl, Danielle and Arthur
Brixton Farmers' Market - every Sunday 10am-2pm in Brixton Station Road
Brixton Plant Fair - 17th April at the Farmers' Market

 

[iloveroman]

Ooh Also!

Plant Fair!!! 17th April!! Already confirmed Herbal Haven, Edible Ornamentals, Beauchamp Nurseries, Dig This and all our usual pals!

 

[iloveroman]

Dear friends of the Brixton Farmers’ Market,

Just a quick note to let you know that the Brixton Plant Fair will be held next Sunday 17th April – at the Farmers’ Market as usual.

This should be a perfect opportunity to get your garden or window-box started for the new growing season, as quite a number of specialist nurseries will be bringing along produce they have grown themselves. There will be a lot of familiar faces from plant fairs in Brixton in the past, as well as some nurseries who are new to selling in London.

Some of the stalls attending include:

Edible Ornamentals- Bedfordshire

Shaun and Jo, of Edible Ornamentals, grow over thirty different varieties of chilli peppers, ranging from mild tang to scorching heat. Thankfully, someone from Edible Ornamentals will always be on hand to find you the right chilli plant to produce chillies suited to your personal tolerance. They make a great effort to produce plants which not only produce fantastic-tasting chillies, but also look amazing too – hence the name. They also have a good selection of many other herb plants. www.edibleornamentals.co.uk

Herbal Haven- Essex

If its herbs you’re after, John Webster of Herbal Haven has an unparalleled range of both popular garden herbs and unusual specialties. Their range includes, amongst many others, cinnamon basil, chamomile, mugwort, bergamot, wintergreen, marjoram, Jacob’s Ladder, wood sage, heartsease, mullein, elecampaine, bay and St. John’s Wort. We could name them all, but it would take us forever. Go and see for yourself! www.herbalhaven.com

Dig This - London

Mihaly Herczeg set up his small nursery in 2010 with a view to growing ecologically. The area on which he grows, in Welling in Southeast London, is also kept as a nature reserve. He grows a mixture of evergreens, shrubs and perennials, as well as many unusual vegetable and herb varieties, including many varieties of Hungarian origin which Mihaly has extensively tested for suitability to London soil. www.green-nose.com

Enjoy the market this weekend and the plant fair next weekend,

Louise, Emily, Cheryl, Mark, Danielle and Arthur

Brixton Farmers’ Market – every Sunday 10am-2pm on Brixton Station Road SW2

Brixton Plant Fair – 17th April at the Farmers’ Market

 

[iloveroman]

Also - Drumroll - Isle Of Wight Garlic will be now be attending monthly with their range of Garlicy goodness! They'll be here every fourth week so will arrive on 24th April.

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

Ooh Also!

Plant Fair!!! 17th April!! Already confirmed Herbal Haven, Edible Ornamentals, Beauchamp Nurseries, Dig This and all our usual pals!

I've targeted sorting out our overgrown back yard in time to be able to buy some plants at this next week (and have somewhere to put them). Definitely after some chili plants.

 

[iloveroman]

Definitely after some chili plants.

Ddi you spot edible ornimentals then? She had some good chillis. I brought a jalapeno for my boyfriend - that's about where his interest in gardening begins and ends but i should encourage!!

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

Yes I got a couple of different types of chili, and a few herbs.

And half a vegan creole loaf thing which was good.

 

[newbie]

can someone explain to me why iloveroman is able to use this thread for commercial advertising.

S/he has posted 28 times on these boards, 27 of them on this thread. That's clearly offering nothing at all to the urban75 community at large and is merely here to use these boards to make money.

ban, imo.

 

[tarannau]

Add to that they keep promoting traders that never turn up - Cuckoo Box Chillies I'm looking at you.

The Farmers Market seems to be lacking good traders atm. The plant fair livened things up a little, but that was a little disappointing too - good to see Herbal Haven early in the year and there were a couple of decent plants at Edible Ornamentals, but there wasn't much beyond the norm after that. I came away a little disheartened to say the least - I thought I'd be coming back with armfuls of plants, but instead came back with a bag of onion and some undersized herbs that I would have probably bought at the Country Show later in the year

The £9 'large' pork pie stand can go swivel too. I'm sure they're perfectly nice, but with that lack of range and pricing it's difficult to see them lasting. Whatever happened to Baker's Treat and their much better (and cheaper) pie selection

 

[newbie]

ok, misleading commercial advertising

 

[Aspasia]

S/he has posted 28 times on these boards, 27 of them on this thread. That's clearly offering nothing at all to the urban75 community at large and is merely here to use these boards to make money.

I find I can't quite reconcile the accusatory nature of your comment. The thread is clearly titled Farmers' market in Brixton and was obviously set up to keep the community well informed regarding it's activities which are, though well done for spotting it, obviously commercial by nature.

What I also find difficult to reconcile is that you are criticising an active member of the Brixton community, who organises a farmers market in the local community every week for the sole benefit of the local community, for posting on this site. If this isn't of interest to the local community then I truly don't know what is.

If you do feel the burning desire to reply to this comment I would be most interested in hearing how it is that you contribute to the community in which you live as to be so ready to find fault with others. However, that is neither here nor there. The crux of the matter is this; if you are not interested in the thread nor in the market itself then attend to neither. I believe that to be the happiest possible outcome for all concerned.

 

[editor]

I've got no problems with the manager of the Farmers Market in Brixton posting up updates about the market in a thread called Farmers Market in Brixton.

 

[miss minnie]

I find I can't quite reconcile the accusatory nature of your comment. The thread is clearly titled Farmers' market in Brixton and was obviously set up to keep the community well informed regarding it's activities which are, though well done for spotting it, obviously commercial by nature.

What I also find difficult to reconcile is that you are criticising an active member of the Brixton community, who organises a farmers market in the local community every week for the sole benefit of the local community, for posting on this site. If this isn't of interest to the local community then I truly don't know what is.

If you do feel the burning desire to reply to this comment I would be most interested in hearing how it is that you contribute to the community in which you live as to be so ready to find fault with others. However, that is neither here nor there. The crux of the matter is this; if you are not interested in the thread nor in the market itself then attend to neither. I believe that to be the happiest possible outcome for all concerned.

Did you actually go to the trouble of registering here just to tell long-standing posters on urban75 to piss off?

The happiest outcome for all concerned is for both iloveroman and newbie to continue posting on this site. IMO.

 

[newbie]

I find I can't quite reconcile the accusatory nature of your comment. The thread is clearly titled Farmers' market in Brixton and was obviously set up to keep the community well informed regarding it's activities which are, though well done for spotting it, obviously commercial by nature.

What I also find difficult to reconcile is that you are criticising an active member of the Brixton community, who organises a farmers market in the local community every week for the sole benefit of the local community, for posting on this site. If this isn't of interest to the local community then I truly don't know what is.

If you do feel the burning desire to reply to this comment I would be most interested in hearing how it is that you contribute to the community in which you live as to be so ready to find fault with others. However, that is neither here nor there. The crux of the matter is this; if you are not interested in the thread nor in the market itself then attend to neither. I believe that to be the happiest possible outcome for all concerned.

hello. when you've hung around this community- urban75- for a while you'll come to understand some of the intricacies. One of which involves commercial advertising.

You may also come to appreciate some of the undercurrents of the very longrunning discussions about the real market alongside those about gentrification and so on. It's not a foregone conclusion that the sunday market is a good thing for the wider communities in Brixton, nor is it entirely obvious why it's seen as positive that white van traders travel a hundred miles or so to flog their wares here. Those issues have been discussed previously and will doubtless be discussed in future. But this thread (and that particular poster) is somehow at odds with the general nature of discussions here: it's entirely commercial in nature which marks it out as very different, just as the sunday market positions itself separately from the market for the bulk of the ordinaries in Brixton.

it's the editors site and his call. All I can do is register my displeasure at someone posting here who contributes nothing except adverts for his business. I don't think it's appropriate simply because of the nature of the business, nor do I understand what makes this acceptable and someone promoting a gig or a shop unacceptable.

 

[editor]

it's the editors site and his call. All I can do is register my displeasure at someone posting here who contributes nothing except adverts for his business. I don't think it's appropriate simply because of the nature of the business, nor do I understand what makes this acceptable and someone promoting a gig or a shop unacceptable.

There's been lots of posters asking questions about the market, so I'm at a loss why should object to someone from the market taking time out to update readers and also answer criticism.

 

[newbie]

as I've said, because it amounts to straightforward commercial advertising. Have a look at #400, #401, #402, #403 at the top of this page. There is no content other than attempting to drum up more business.

In fact a quick look reveals that two of the top 10 posters on this thread are iloveroman and Londonfarmers, who between them have posted a grand total of one, yes one post that's not on this thread, ie that's not in their own direct financial interest. Is there any other business, or any other poster, given that sort of opportunity?

All other people who want to use these boards for their own financial benefit are given short shrift. That's one of the reasons I, and many others, value U75. So what makes this business so special? They have their own website, their own Facebook and for all I know their own Twitter and their own LinkedIn, there are plenty of places that interested people can ask questions.

 

[editor]

All other people who want to use these boards for their own financial benefit are given short shrift. That's one of the reasons I, and many others, value U75.

Again, it's because posters were were asking for information about the market.

In fact, gaijingirl even posted up one of their earlier email mail outs because people were looking for details - and no one has ever complained.

The market is dynamic, with different independent traders every week and some people find it useful to know what will be available. I think that makes it very different to a business just promoting themselves.

 

[tarannau]

Bollocks ed - they basically spam the same chain email here that they do elsewhere. It's exactly the same method that other businesses use to promote themselves on here and get told off for. They occasionally feature slightly different traders on rotation, but that's little different to any commercial organisation choosing to highlight different lines or brands in their regular promotional mails. I'd certainly quibble that this is no more 'dynamic' than any other half arsed marketing mail out. And besides, as pointed out earlier, they're so 'undynamic' that their mass mailouts are often not even accurate, being spam for a previous era featuring traders that don't turn up.

I'm not massively up in arms about it fwiw, but it's a bit of a rubbish double standard to be honest and Newbie has an obvious point.. Genuine engagement from the farmers market people is very limited indeed. They're a commercial organisation acting exactly how you'd expect one to act. I use the Farmers Market regularly, don't mind the place - but it seems unnecessary to cut them some special kind of slack or to deny that there's blatant commercial spamming going on.

 

[newbie]

Again, it's because posters were were asking for information about the market.

In fact, gaijingirl even posted up one of their earlier email mail outs because people were looking for details - and no one has ever complained.

The market is dynamic, with different independent traders every week and some people find it useful to know what will be available. I think that makes it very different to a business just promoting themselves.

so she has. Does gaijingirl have a financial stake in the success of the sunday market, or is she just one of us posting info on a thread? The answer to that seems obvious to me. So why on earth bring her into this?

You said earlier that they're here to "answer criticism". You've obviously been doing your research, show me where they've answered anything, engaged in any conversation, posted anything other than business promotional material.

What's this about dynamic? The company that brands itself "London Farmers’ Markets" and boasts on its website that it's been going since 1999 and makes its money at 17 sites across London, that one? What's dynamic about it? The dynamism, for better or worse, is in Granville atm.

btw I'm sure a marketing bod at Picturehouses would love the opportunity to regularly post their 'Dear Customers' newsletter to drum up attendance at their dynamic programme. The Ritzy has a far better claim to be an integral part of the Brixton communities than the minor bit of gentification on Station Road. You wouldn't have any objection, I presume?

 

[miss minnie]

Bollocks ed - they basically spam the same chain email here that they do elsewhere.

That is true really, you can get the same updates on Twitter and Facebook. I don't mind LFM *chatting* with us here if they care to, but newbie and tarra have a point about the LFM posts having settled into cut'n'paste marketing spam.

 

[editor]

What's this about dynamic? The company that brands itself "London Farmers’ Markets" and boasts on its website that it's been going since 1999 and makes its money at 17 sites across London, that one? What's dynamic about it?

'Dynamic' as it can change over the weeks, with different stalls and traders. Personally, I find it useful to have that information on a thread that is entirely dedicated to the market. But I would prefer a bit more chat to accompany these postings now.

iloveroman - could you make future postings less cut and paste please?