The Fordhall Initiative Diary

Happy New Year!

2012-01-08T21:42:00.000Z

Wow what a year 2011 was for Fordhall Farm, from a ramshackle to a beauty - it really has transformed. Last year felt like a roller coaster, no day stood still. Staff levels tripled, new enterprises were created and there were lots of new lessons to learn. But what made it all possible - and there were days when both Ben and I were so tired we wondered what we had got ourselves into - was the fact that all of you, our supporters, were following us and encouraging us to succeed. It has got this far because of you and it will succeed because of you. Already everything has far surpassed our expectations: the building, our staff and your support.

2012 brings even more new challenges, but we have agreed not to do anything else new! This is the year of consolidation.... how long will it last I wonder ;-)

to help keep you informed of our activities on Fordhall Organic Farm we have ventured onto twitter:

https://twitter.com/fordhallfarm

and facebook...

Fordhall Community Land Initiative on Facebook

Who knew Fordhall would venture into 21st century technology? .....I certainly didn't!

Happy New Year everyone and we look forward to sharing the journey of 2012 with you all.

Charlotte

Fordhall Calendar 2012 for sale!

2011-12-13T16:57:00.000Z

Yes, we have done it again, but this is definately bigger and better than any calendar before. We have changed printers and both the quality and design have been transformed.

You can buy your Calendar from the Farm shop website by following the link below. They cost only £10 each and all profits made will go towards educational activities and events in 2012.

You can buy one for yourself or for gifts. We can post them to you or direct to your friends and family - just send us a note!

Buy Fordhall Calendar 2012 here!

Buy your Fordhall Calendar 2012 here!

Thank you in advance for all your wonderful and continued support.

Warmest

Charlotte

Father Christmas visits Fordhall Farm!

2011-12-08T18:51:00.000Z

Visit Father Christmas in his magical outdoor Grotto. Wrap up warm, as we all know the North Pole is cold, and come and receive a special Christmas gift. Father Christmas will be visiting Fordhall on the following dates:

9th Dec: 2-4pm

10th Dec: 10-12noon and 2-4pm

11th Dec: 10-12noon and 2-4pm

16th Dec: 2-4pm

17th Dec: 10-12noon and 2-4pm

20th Dec: 10-12noon

21st Dec: 10-12noon

Each child receives a certificate of goodness from Father Christmas and a gift (£4 per child)

We will also have a festive 12 days of Christmas Trail FREE for every visitor throughout December - come and solve our yuletide riddle!

Localism Bill granted Royal Assent

2011-11-23T12:23:00.000Z

The Localism Bill has been granted Royal Assent, which is the final step required for a

parliamentary bill to become law.

Peter Couchman, Chief Executive of Plunkett Foundation, responds: "Too often there are significant barriers facing rural communities wanting to save their local shop and pub. The Community Right to Bid to Buy aims to help communities to address some of these barriers. We encourage rural communities to explore using the new Community Right powers to see how it can help safeguard their local shop and pub."

More information about the Localism Bill can be found at:

http://www.communities.gov.uk/newsstories/newsroom/2031008.

November Working Weekend!

2011-11-14T16:15:00.005Z

On 12th and 13th November we held our last Volunteer Working Weekend for 2011.

Around 9am on Saturday morning the first of our twenty volunteers began to arrive for a busy and fun weekend ahead of them. After a welcome hot drink, piece of cake and lots of mingling getting to know one another, we began with the induction for the first day.

We had a long list of jobs that needed to be started and if possible finished around the farm. All jobs were maintenance based held ouside. Amazingly for November we were lucky enough to have two beautiful, mild, sunny days.

Once eveyone was given their jobs we all got to work. I was the leader of trying to fix our board walk that goes across are marsh meadow, where a few of the boards had been broken by cows. Without the boards people would find themselves upto their knees in lovely bog water. I was joined by two young lads and together we set to work on trying to lift the boards out of the bog. It soon became clear that neither of the guys had come properly prepared so we made our way back to the portcabins to find some more appropriate clothing.

Once happy we carried on with our job at hand. Everyone had got messy from their different jobs but after much falling over in the deep muddy water I'd have to say I think we were the messiest when we returned for lunch.

Over the weekend we all achieved so much, everyone worked so hard and really got stuck in to doing their jobs. We are all so grateful to all the people who gave up their time to come and help out on the farm. Altogther we accomplished:

1) Repairing numerous benches
2) Re-gravelling the drive way and around the tearoom
3) Creating a soak away outside for the new volunteer kitchen
4) Dismantling the old compost loo
5) Making planters for the new tearoom herb garden
6) Repairing the board walk
7) Making slow signs for the drive
8) Building a Bug and Breakfast - a huge bug mansion for little insects and animals to hibernate in over the winter months.

A HUGE Thank You to everyone who came and helped, you all made it a great and brilliantly fun weekend. You are all so FANTASTIC!!!

Beth Kennett

Love Your Garden Competition

2011-11-09T16:37:00.000Z

On 26th July 2011 we began our Love your Garden competition. Fordhall Farm was joined by the Shropshire Wildlife Trust to begin six weekly events over the summer holidays trying to inspire the community to do more in their back gardens for wildlife. All events were free and were designed to give friendly tips and advice on how to invite all sorts of species into their gardens.

At the start of the year Fordhall Farm received a grant from the Big Lottery Fund to try and bring the community and wildlife together. Myself, Beth Kennett (Wildlife Officer at Fordhall Farm) and Sara Bellis (Wildlife Officer from the Shropshire Wildlife Trust), got together to see if and how we could work together and go about bringing this to life.

Other than little event days such as planting seeds ready for bees and butterflies, we wanted to come up with something that would bring together are own aims and that of the grant. Thinking of something that would bring a climax to the events and an overall aim and accomplishment to finish on was quite tricky, however, we finally came up with the competition that families and people of all ages could get involved in.

We had great fun in talking about things we could do and topics of events. All were free or low cost ideas, that invariably brought wildlife a safe haven and also could provide food for humans, such as lettuce.

The six events that were arranged consisted of a Wildlife Bioblitz, Marvelous Mammals, Amazing Amphibians and Reptiles, Brilliant Birds, Mega Minibeasts and a Wacky Wildlife Party. Overall we had nearly 300 people that came to the events, a quarter of those had never been to the farm before.

The winner of the competition was the person/family who made the most improvement and benefit for wildlife in the six week period within the Market Drayton area. There were various entries and on the 18th October Sara and I decided the winner. Ryan Kennedy from Shropshire radio came over to Fordhall ready to go to the winners home.

The winner being the Scott family. Joena, Jason, Jacob and Jasmine. After leaving the first event on the 26th they went straight home and began making plans for their wildlife garden pond. They made such brilliant habitats to benefit wildlife and to top it off they didn't spend a penny. Follow the link below if you'd like to visit thier website and see how they went about making the changes to their garden. http://loveyourgarden.weebly.com/photo-diary.html

The competition and running the events showed that people were very interested in learning more about wildlife and tips/advice they could pick up.

Even though the grant runs out at the end of this year, Sara Bellis and I are looking into continuing a 'Family Wildlife Group' for 2012. Keep a look out for that!!

Anyway, that's enough from me. Don't hesitate to get in touch if you are interested in the Wildlife Group or any event.

Beth Kennett

We have busy amidst the blog silence at Fordhall - honest!

2011-11-07T18:12:00.001Z

Hi all,

Apologies for the prolonged period of silence between blogs - we will now be resuming blogging with regularity!

So, for a catch up - the last few months on the farm have been extremely busy as a result of the renovation of the Old Dairy. We have had successful basket weaving courses, a very busy tearoom and farm shop, we have organised birthday parties, lots of people have been to visit the farm trail, the Big Draw was very popular and over 200 children plus their families attended our Fun and Frights Halloween event a couple of weeks ago. Then this weekend we have another infamous Get Mucky volunteer weekend, which is already fully booked. Phew, it makes me tired just remembering it all!

The basket is nearlly done - only 3 more hours to go..

The Big Draw saw many children make many scary creatures!

Our art fair gave local artists the opportunity to show off their talent.

Over 200 children attended our Halloween event - it was great fun!

In addition to all of the activity at the farm we have been busy developing our tearoom menu. Our new team of excellent tea room staff have been discussing lots of creative ideas to make the most of the wonderful asset we have and our new chef Barney, who has come all the way from London, has been working hard to get delicious and traditional hearty fayre onto the menu.

To help kick off the new menu we held two Autumn banquets especially for our supporters. Held in our flexible rooms upstairs, 30 people sat in a room decorated by all the wonderful things that surround us in the Autumn, and they were served a delicious 5 course menu. The atmosphere was convivial and the food pulled the evening together - it was a resounding success (and the staff learnt a lot along the way too!).

Getting ready for our first banquet and our rooms come to life

Following on from this we are excited to soon be opening an evening restaurant on a Friday and Saturday evening. The menu will be filled, of course, with the best local and organic produce we can find; providing you with a completely guilt free meal. Plus with all profits being reinvested back into the educational work of the Fordhall Community Land Initiative your meal will be achieving just more than a memorable evening experience.

Finding whatever we can on the farm to decorate our tables

We'll be in touch...

Charlotte

Big Draw and Art Fair!

2011-10-12T12:01:00.000+01:00

The Big Draw event is happening here at Fordhall Farm on Sunday 16th October 10am-4pm. The national event, endorsed by Quentin Blake, encourages children and adults alike to take part in FREE art activities around the country.

We want you to come on down to Fordhall and unleash your creativity. Have a go at inventing a Fantastic Creature. It could be anything from a Sheepig to a Hipporaffe! The event will be taking place in our classroom space, in the recently renovated buildings. We will provide all the materials that you'll need, you just need to bring your imagination! The Big Draw event is a great opportunity for all the family to get involved, whether you want to just have a go at being creative or you are a professional artist keen to show off you talent, this is your chance!

Also this year for the first time we are holding a Mini Art Fair, running from Friday 14th – Sunday 16th October, showcasing some local artists and designers. The exhibition opening times will coincide with the Fordhall Tea Room opening hours. (9.30am-5pm, Sunday 10am-4pm). We hope that this will be the start of something big; we want to give everyone the chance to get their work out there!

Fordhall Beer and Music Festival!!

2011-09-07T12:44:00.000+01:00

The bunting clad marquee

The week leading up to the Festival was busy! The breweries delivered their beer and the marquee arrived. Charlotte and Beth went with Geoff Russell to collect the stage and then spent 5 hours putting it up! Josh went to collect white wine from Ludlow Vineyard and the cider from Mahorall’s Farm and Wally (that's really his name) delivered the red and the rose wine from Wroxeter Vineyard and ticket sales were still coming in!

Saturday soon arrived, the marquee was decked out in lovely bunting (supplied by shareholders and supporters) volunteers set up the bar, Rob set up the car park, the games tent was created and people began to arrive...

Odds & Ends

The first band on was Odds and Ends. They were a musician down, but still managed to play a good set full of Greenday and Beatles covers. Next up were Folkwit, Kelly and Dave swooned the crowd with their beautiful music. Raw Lemon played next with a fantastic mix of double bass and flute combined with lovely voices. Heidi and The Brownies followed, with a wide selection of original pieces. Up next was Blues Boy Dan, it’s hard to believe that the incredible husky voice singing spine-tingling original blues actually belonged to him! The great acoustic trio, Beyond Bangg followed.

Dancing in the rain to Buffalo Riot

Then, the rain came in…but that didn’t faze anyone! The Buffalo Riot took to the stage and whilst many people crammed into the marquee, the hard-core Buffalo fans danced in the rain.

Smokin' Aces

Oaken Lee grasped the audience’s attention with original lyrics reminiscent of Paul Simon. Our very own Katy took to the stage with her partner Toby, creating the acoustic Pre Sleep Monologue and took audiences by surprise with her stunning voice. Followed by BabyTwin, who thrilled onlookers with their unique Indie style.

To end the festival was a lively, 1950’s style band, with slicked back hair and 50’s microphones. Smokin’ Aces kicked out some rock ‘n’ roll and had everyone up and dancing to Elvis, Jonny Cash and Chuck Berry. What a fab end to the night! Massive thank you to all our performers!

Whilst the bands were playing, the beer was flowing. Beer connoisseurs had a choice of 15 different ales from 7 local breweries. Market Drayton brewery Joule’s supported our event with a kind donation of beer and cooling systems for the barrels. Shropshire breweries Wood’s, Three Tuns, Corvedale and Salopian all provided tasty tipples as did Staffordshire breweries Titanic and Lymestone.

Skeleton Emilio and Isis Jess

As always, the volunteers we had were incredible. They were extremely hard working and willing to help out in any way they possibly could. We even had a volunteer from as far as Scotland who came down to support us. They manned the door, organised the car park, ran the bar and served ice cream, face painted, supervised the games tent and litter picked as well as packing up the morning after! Huge thank you to all in our volunteer festival team!

Chilling to the music

THANK YOU!!

Still more thanks needs to go to Ben and Fordhall Farm Catering staff for supplying delicious grub, Adrian from Page Electrical who gave up his Friday afternoon to sort out our power supplies, Wenlock Water for donating bottles of water for our bar, Ago (and team) from Melody Corporation for the marquee, Geoff Russell for giving us the stage and showing us how to put it up! Thanks to the guys at Joule’s Brewery for their support and to Norman from Corvedale Brewery for his kindness and advice.

Happy crowds and Hen Party!

Last but not least, thank you to all who attended on the day. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. See you again next year!!

Having Fun with Mud

2011-08-31T12:16:00.000+01:00

Last year at the summer fair, we had a beautiful clay pig built for us in the picnic area. The weather and time have taken their toll on the pig and it was time we did something about it. On Friday a group of children got really muddy helping to put a new coat of clay on her. Using our hands and feet, we mixed clay and water together to a consistency of peanut butter!

We then added straw, sheep's wool and horse hair to give some texture to the pig and after that we coated our pig in the mix. A final coat of clay acts like plaster to protect it from the wind and rain.

A big thank you to Nicky, Riley, Alex, Jessie, Toby, Jenny, Pip, Fi. Christina, Ester and Claire for their help :)

Harvest time

2011-08-31T11:33:00.000+01:00

I love this time of year in the garden when it's time to harvest the different crops that have been busy growing over the last few months.
Last week we dug up our second crop of potatoes. We planted a variety known as ambrose which we have been really pleased with. Our seed potatoes came from the Shropshire Wildlife Potato Day and we had a variety of earlies and main crop potatoes. The ambrose potatoes are really tasty, Charlotte reckons they are great no matter which way you cook them.

The picture shows a couple of young men from the Wayfarers group harvesting them on a sunny day last week. We dug up enough to share round with volunteers, staff and the tea room. This year we have been able to supply the new tea room with other produce such as courgettes, salad leaves, radishes, beetroot, spring onions and even nasturtium flowers, which look and taste great in a salad. It's fabulous to be able to offer Carol, (our wonderful cook) our very own fresh, organic Fordhall produce. I get a real kick out of being able to pick the food and walk it over to the kitchen - not many food miles there! I have also been picking runner beans to make pickle and recently made a onion marmalade which will compliment our ploughmans on offer in the tea room. Bex

Get your ticket for the Fordhall Beer and Music Festival

2011-08-18T18:23:00.000+01:00

We will be demonstrating the best Shropshire and Staffordshire have to offer at our Beer and Music Festival in a few weeks time.

With 12 hours of music (folk, rock and blues), 10 bands, 15 local ales and a Fordhall BBQ feast what more could you ask for. Come and join is in the beautiful Tern Valley for a relaxing and enjoyable day in the country. Bring a balnket, a chair, some ball games, your wellies and settle yourself for the day.

And if you want to keep drinking, why not bring your tent and camp!?

Advance tickets only £10 (£12 on the door). Under 14's free!

Thank You to our Supporters!
Not so long ago we held a free thank you BBQ in the Fordhall farmhouse garden for all our supporters. Over 150 of you came along. It was great to see some old faces and some new ones. Ben cooked the traditional hog roast and you all had a chance to investigate the new buildings (part funded through you and the Rural Development Programme for England). It makes such a change to have the time to speak to you all properly. Alot of you also travelled some distance, which made us feel very priviledged - thank you. We look forward to seeing at Fordhall over the rest of the Summer.

Fordhall Farm on BBC Midlands News tonight!!

2011-08-15T18:12:00.002+01:00

Ok, this one is for real! Turn on your telly for Midlands Today on BBC 1 from 6.30pm - 7pm (we'll probably be on near the end). If Midlands is not your region - then check it out on iPlayer.

Fordhall Farm on BBC Tonight!

2011-08-11T16:52:00.000+01:00

We are on BBC Midlands Today this evening - turn on your tellys tonight! Whoop whoop. Or watch it on iplayer tomorrow if your not local - there is no escape!

Fordhall Farm in the Independant

2011-08-06T14:22:00.000+01:00

WOW - we can't believe it. Fordhall Organic Farm in rural Shropshire has been ranked 27th best Farm Shop in the country by the Independant newspaper.

The Independant's Top 50 Farm Shops

Our new shop and local food tearoom has only been open since the end of May and so to get such recognition is a real achievement. Thank you to all our wonderful customers and supporters.

We love selling fantastic local and organic food and we love eating it in our tearoom too :-)

As England's first community owned farm we are always wanting to try something new, and this year is no different. We are currently organising an fantastic local ale and music festival in partnership with our local micro Brewer Joules. The event will include 12 hours of funky, rock, folk and blues music coupled with over 15 different local ales.

So don't forget to put September 3rd in your diary now - tickets are only £10 per person in advance (free for under 14's) and you can camp for only £5! Bargain....

See you there!

Blogs gone haywire - an old post published by accident...oh well, remember when....

2011-07-26T17:20:00.001+01:00

Yes thats right, we are nearlly finished. But to meet our deadline we have all been working well into the night. Unfortunately, wonderful volunteers Alan and Gary had left by the time I took this photo, but they spent 5 dedicated hours clearing plastic from the stainless steel and unpacking the huge catering supplies order! Thank you to both of you. All we need is Andy, our sparky to power up the oven and freezer, a little repair job on the dishwasher and we are away. Compact and functional.

We are hoping to give it a test run tomorrow with our wonderful chef (and community garden coordinator), Bex. She will be backing some of our own bread and some wonderful soup and cakes.

Whilst my team were busy in the tea room, Ben, Ade and Josh were busy setting up the farm shop. They inserted shelves, fridges and freezers and ferried over all the new shop stock - very exciting.

But, it got to past midnight and we were all starting to flag a little. There are still boxes to unpack, tables and chairs to lay out, a till to programme and shelves to fill, but we will make it by the weekend.

Starting off small scale, this weekend will give us the opportunity to try the space and find out exactly what we have forgotten! Ready for our big event next weekend, when we have our annual AGM and Sunday Farmers' Market.

We hope to have a bigger official opening later in the year - possibly with a very well known visitor - fingers crossed.

Hope to see you soon,

Charlotte

This building is part funded by Advantage West Midlands.

2011-07-25T12:02:00.055+01:00

So, school has finally broken up and summer is here! We have loads of fantastic activities, events and courses running for all ages; have a look below to see what’s happening throughout the year…

Our “Love your Garden” workshops start on Tuesday 26th July, this weekly workshop is run in conjunction with The Shropshire Wildlife Trust. These activities will be held every Tuesday throughout the summer, from 10.30am-2.30pm and they are completely FREE!
So, bring a picnic and come and join in the fun.

Tuesday 26th July starts off with a Fordhall Farm Bioblitz! Come and help us with a giant wildlife survey on the farm, there will be a chance to do some pond dipping, bird watching and even set up a moth trap.

Tuesday 2nd August we will be looking at Amazing Amphibians and Reptiles. Simon Airey will lead a talk on reptiles and amphibians and show you the wonderful world of our slippy and slithery friends. After lunch, there will be a craft session where you get the chance to make your own frog, newt or toad to take home.

Tuesday 9th August is Mega Mini-beasts; you can join a giant bug hunt and discover how to welcome these brilliant small creatures into your garden.

Tuesday 16th August is all about Brilliant Birds, you can search the skies of Fordhall for our many feathered friends and make your very own bird box and feeder to take home with you.

Tuesday 23rd August, we will be admiring Marvellous Mammals, you can find out all about the little mammals that may visit your own garden at home, learn how to look for mammal tracks and trails and help us make a home for hedgehogs at Fordhall.

Tuesday 30th August rounds all of these activities off with a Wacky Wildlife Party! Join us as we celebrate the summertime and all the wildlife in our back gardens and surrounding areas. You can also find out how to enter the “Love your Garden” Competition and make your garden wildlife friendly – great prizes to be won!

ALSO at Fordhall Farm this year:

An example monoprint

On Saturday 30th July, you can take part in a Print Making Workshop. Here you can create your own, unique artwork with local artist Helen Thompstone. She will be here to teach you a simple mono-printing technique that you can put into practice on your artwork. Think you haven’t got a creative bone in your body? This is the perfect way to start testing out your artistic talent!

This is from 10am-12pm and only £15 per person!

Friday 5th August is Family Pizza Day! Come and join Bex Syrett, our Community Garden Officer in our picnic area where you can make, bake and eat your own pizza in our outdoor clay oven! This session is from 10am-1pm and only £15 per person.

Rag Rug by Lynne Stein

At Fordhall on Saturday 13th August Lynne Stein will be here teaching traditional rag rug techniques. The course is suitable for total beginners as well as those with more experience. This is a great opportunity to reuse and recycle old material that you have lying around. The course is from 10am-4pm, £50 per person and includes lunch from our local food tearoom!

On Thursday 18th August at Fordhall Farm there is the chance to learn how to get the best out of your compost heap AND enjoy a delicious hot drink and homemade cake too, come down to Coffee, Cake and Compost with Bex!From 10am-12.30pm and costs £7.50 per person.

Pippestrelle Bat

On Thursday 1st September we are having a Brilliant Bat Bonanza. Come for walk around Fordhall Farm with our very own Batman, Dan Merrett, from The Bat Conservation Trust. He will be here to help us to identify the bats that we see and show us how they feed and where they roost. It starts at 7.45pm and it’s FREE!

Saturday 3rd September is Fordhall’s Beer and Music Festival, with great local beer, great local food and great local music!! From 11am-11pm we will be enjoying the sounds of Buffalo Riot, Raw Lemon, Pre Sleep Monologue, Heidi and the Brownies, Alfie Chevans plus many more great bands! Tickets £10 in advance/ £15 on the door. Camping is also available for £5. Keep an ear to the ground for more information coming soon.

Weasel Diesel at 2010 Beer Festival

Fancy having a go at Basket Weaving? Why not come down on Saturday 17th September and learn the traditional art of willow weaving with experienced weavers Helen and Kevin Stanley and take home your very own basket. This creative session is from 10am-4pm and costs £45 per person.

For those of you who have artistic talent The Big Draw event will be held here at Fordhall on Sunday 16th October. Get your creative fingers at the ready…

And finally, come and celebrate Halloween with us on Saturday 29th October with Fordhall Fun and Frights. This Spooktacular event is full of treats for all the family!

To book on any of the courses, events or activities please get in touch with Beth or Becca in the office on 01630 638696 or email project@fordhallfarm.com

Summer Fair and 5th Birthday Party!

2011-07-08T12:24:00.000+01:00

The Summer Fair held at Fordhall Farm on 26th June was a brilliant celebration of 5 years in community ownership! Over 600 people came out to join in the fun and spend the day at Fordhall.

The day started with a slow, but steady trickle of people, 10am on a Sunday morning must have been a bit early! However by the time Sharon Males arrived in her RAF Squirrel Helicopter the crowds had arrived too.

Meanwhile, the Farmers’ Market was bustling and the queues had begun to form in front of Ben’s hog roast.
Whilst parents were munching on good local food and some supping on good local ale, the kids were having a fantastic time.

If they weren’t riding donkeys up and down the field, Jonno from The Good Tree Company was showing them how to climb up the big oak tree behind the picnic area.

Sharon Jones was giving them an opportunity to delve into a Giant Dressing Up Box and revamp some recycled clothes, ready for their afternoon fashion parade.

Inside the Giant Pig Arc, you could paint a bird box, make a clay animal, identify some wildlife and pet some caid (orphan) lambs, all under the watchful eye of Beth Kennet, our Wildlife Officer. Also in the Pig-nic area was Bex Syrett, slaving over a hot Pizza Oven – you could make your own pizza and have it cooked for you in minutes in our beautifully crafted clay oven.

Of course, the renowned Welly Wanging competition was in full flow, well done to winners, Jamie Russell and Tom Lowry who wanged their wellies 13 metres and 26.1 metres respectively! Littlies could collect an array of stickers from five activities around the fair, including finding Scarecrow Ben in the centre of the post maze and taking part in egg and spoon, and sack races!

A.R Richards brought their tractor and were trundling people around the farm, with Denise onboard pointing out Fordhall’s main assets and Edwin Jones had brought his lovely vintage tractor too for people to admire.
The Emergency Services all turned up to join in the fun and kids had a chance to nose around the vehicles and the police even put their sirens on!

If that all got too much, Geoff Turner and co. were entertaining the crowds with folk tunes, so you could settle down in the sun and have a doze whilst others were enjoying a wide selection of ice creams to keep themselves cool in the summer sun.

The fashion parade paraded around the fair at 2.30pm, followed by the raffle, and then by the departure of the helicopter. Sharon Males took off with our camera and snapped some aerial shots of the farm (Everyone Wave!).

Before the end of the day, Chris Eldon Lee, who had been our MC for the fair started up a chorus of ‘Happy Birthday’ and Charlotte and Ben cut the fantastic birthday cake.

It had been a very long and hot, but fun and successful day.... everyone trailed off just after 4 in search of some shade, with smiles on their faces.
Once again, none of this would have worked with out the generous time and effort given by our fantastic team of volunteers. They carried, set up and ran stalls and activities all day, and were still there at the end to help us to pack up. A very big thank you from all of us!

Community right to buy proposal is 'in jeopardy', warns Locality

2011-06-28T22:03:00.000+01:00

A proposed new law to make it easier for community groups to buy land is "in jeopardy" because of widespread misconceptions about how it would work, the community umbrella body Locality has warned.

The community 'right to buy' is one of the major proposals in the Localism Bill, due to be debated by the Lords today.

If this bill existed 5 years ago when Fordhall was in jeapardy, the landowner would have been forced to offer us the opportunity to buy Fordhall. This bill could offer communities thousands of opportunities to retain assets in their ownership for the good of the community.

Watch this space.... More.....

Summer Fair Sunday 26th June

2011-06-20T15:55:00.000+01:00

This weekend is Fordhall Community Land Initiative’s biggest event of the year. We are celebrating 5 years in Community Ownership at our North Shropshire organic farm, near Market Drayton, and we are all very excited!

There will be loads of stalls at our Farmers’ Market and activities galore for all the family!

Have a go at fishing on the River Tern or climbing a big old oak tree. The RAF will be here with a Squirrel Helicopter and keeping things airborne, you can have a go in a beautiful hot air balloon!


Tony Knight's Hot Air Balloon

Back down on the ground, we have donkey rides and tractor rides, face painting, sheep shearing, welly wanging, sack races and live music.

A.R Richards tractor trundling around Fordhall Farm

There will also be the chance to name our brand new bull – so lots to entertain the children...and grandparents!

Our curious young bull

Ben will be serving delicious hot food and we will be providing organic and local refreshments and cakes in and out of our stunning new tearoom!

So come down, bring your friends and join in the fun for our 5^th birthday party!

Sunday 26^th June, 10am - 4pm, £3 per person.

AGM, Barn Dance and Spring Fair Weekend!!

2011-05-24T16:34:00.000+01:00

The Fordhall Community Land Initiative's 2011 AGM was held at Fordhall Farm for the very first time! It was really well attended by shareholders from all over the country. As it was held here, it gave people the chance to have a hot drink and a piece of cake in the new tearoom, which was opened last weekend. The meeting was chaired by the Chairman of the Board, Chris Eldon Lee.

The official AGM ran until 2pm, when it broke for a delicious 'bring and share' lunch and a local choir, the Mere Singers, came to entertain everyone. They sang some beautiful songs, including the famous "Pancake Day" from the play "Arthur's Plough".

After lunch, guided tours took place around the farm and new buildings led by Charlotte, Ben, Beth & Bex and for those who didnt fancy the walk, Alec Nunn led a great Pyrography activity for adults and children alike.

In the evening, we celebrated with a Barn Dance and Hog Roast. Lots of fun and laughter was had by everyone, the food was delicious (as always), local ale was sold at the bar and the band kept everyone up and dancing throughout the night.

The next day, Fordhall Farm was bustling...or should that be blustering with visitors attending the Spring Fair and Farmers' Market. Some 20 Stall Holders battled against the gale force winds to sell their local wares. There were opportunities to try out our new family orienteering course and kids could have a go at hunting out all the Fordhall Staff in Beth's Wildlife Treasure Hunt. Ben's sheep were being sheared ready for the summer and the Tea Room was still being checked out by one and all taking shelter from the gusts of wind.

Despite being windswept and a little bit chilly, a good day was had by all!! A big thank you to all who helped to make it a really successful weekend!

clay oven update

2011-05-17T10:14:00.000+01:00

Not only has the rennovation work of the dairy been completed, so too has work on the clay oven.
We held a fabulous hazel hurdling course back in April and Alan Houseman, who taught the course, also delivered the hurdles he had made, using hazel coppiced near LLanymynech, close to the border with Wales.
The hurdles now surround our clay oven to protect it from the elements and the finishing touch has been a lime wash on the base of the oven, which you can see being painted on by Sharon and Georgina, two volunteers who regularly help in the community garden.
I have also attached a picture of the hurdling course participants; watching and listening intently to Alan. The weekend was a great success with all the participants learning a lot about the tricky art of making hurdles. We were able to host the course with help from the Aggragate Levy Fund, managed by Shropshire Council and as it was oversubscribed we would certainly run it again next year.
Comments from the participants were all very positive, no one wanted the weekend to finish and everyone went home with the a hurdle they had made over the two days of the course. Bex

NEW Tea Room and Farm Shop NOW OPEN!

2011-05-14T23:16:00.001+01:00

Yes that's right - after years of planning and months of construction our new tea room and farm shop opened at Fordhall Farm this weekend.

We went for a soft opening, so no major publicity, but lots of signs at the end of the drive. We thought that we needed a little time to find our feet before we invite the masses... This would allow some time for staff training, remember everything we've forgotten, plan the menu etc. But a lack of publicity did not seem to matter, at lunch time every table in the tearoom was full!

The farm shop was bustling and everyone jumped in to help. The rustic tearoom and the clean lines of the oak canopy to the farm shop, make Fordhall a lovely space to sit and relax, and our visitors seemed to agree. With homemade soup, local cakes, sandwiches and organic teas, the tearoom vision we had is now a reality.

To be honest, it still feels like a blur. Arriving at Fordhall, with the new signs at the entrance, the gravel on the drive, and then the beautiful old dairy building, restored and revived. It is a sharp contrast to the run down buildings that greeted us only 9 months ago.

There are so many people to thank for this project, too many to list here. But they all know who they are. From the thousands of people who donated to our appeal last year which matched the generous funding from Advantage West Midlands, to our board members, our staff, and the many volunteers who tirelesly sanded tables and chairs, moved equipment and helped clean the space in preperation for today. Not to mention all the professionals who worked on the build including Shingler Construction, Seven Architecture and WCP Associates. And of course to Oliver Allan for his wonderful photos. Thank you all.

With the first day behind us, our focus now turns towards our AGM and Farmers' Market next week. Our upstairs classroom and office space is still in construction, but it won't be long until we can fully move in.

We hope to see you soon.

Charlotte

P.S. Lots more photos can be found on Oliver Allan's Flikr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/42865673@N07/

The BigWalk visit Fordhall!

2011-05-09T19:35:00.000+01:00

Helen Hedges a shareholder in Fordhall Farm, dropped by on Friday to lend a hand. Currently Helen is the logistical support behind The Big Walk http://thebigwalk.co.uk/ and took the time to fit us in inbetween dropping off and picking up her walking team. Helen's husband Geoff Hedges and friends Diana & Drew Kirby from Tockenham, Wiltshire are walking the length of the country more than 1,100 miles from Lands End to John O’Groats! The team of four will be traveling the entire journey together, with Helen organising all the background details needed to keep the walk on schedule and keep everyone healthy and happy.

Helen walked the farm trail during her visit to Fordhall Farm and then helped the Fordhall Community Land Initiative (FCLI) in our office for the afternoon; we were then able to stamp Helen's Land's End to John O'Groats logsheet before she sped off to pick up the rest of the team at Friday's finish line! Geoff, Diana, and Drew started their 12 week mission on the 1st April 2011, that works out at about 15 miles of walking per day with 6 days walking and 1day rest.

A very inspiring bunch of people!!! Check out their blog at http://thebigwalk.co.uk/ pledges to the charities that they are supporting can be made through this webpage too!
Thankyou very much for your help Helen, we appreciate that you took the time to visit us on your epic journey.

Fordhall's New Farm Shop is nearlly finished!

2011-05-07T13:53:00.000+01:00

The transformation at Fordhall over recent months has been staggering. Can you believe that in 2 weeks time we will have a fully operational farm shop, tearoom and classroom space??

Our new septic tank!

Lovely Hazels and Daisy's have been planted outside, by volunteer Keith Atkey. Bex has planted a herb garden, our air source heat pump is now fully operational (after a few issues with the installation), lights are in, toilets are in and we even have a new septic tank! What more could you need?

This morning Ben and Azhar (from UK Equipment Direct) installed his new fridge. It took 7 men a good two hours to get it into place, but they got there in the end, and it now looks the perfect centre piece for the new farm shop.

The kitchen in the tearoom has all now arrive from Catering Centre UK and Shingler Construction are busy with the installation. Our beautiful Clearview Stove (made in Shropshire) has also arrived and been installed. Meanwhile, wonderful volunteer Viv has been busy gathering tables and chairs ready to fill the space.

The number of people involved with this build continues to grow and we are grateful to each and every one of you. We plan to open the week of the 16th May - a little behind schedule but it will be worth it..

This means that the perfect opportunity to come and visit is our Farmers' Market on Sunday 22nd May.

See you there..

Charlotte

The Magic of Fordhall Farm, by Sophie

2011-05-02T13:02:00.000+01:00

Charlotte watering the newly planted
green roof
in front of the newly installed
PV cells thanks to Salop Energy.

It’s all go here at Fordhall where the new walls are being painted, calves are being born and volunteers are beavering away fixing fences and building carparks. Things seem to be in constant fast-paced change, but at the core, things are very much still the same since I left in 2008. Charlotte is still running around doing 700 things at once, Ben is still thriving as a farmer, and there are still so so many others pottering around lending helping hands. But there are some significant differences of course.

The new buildings: it is fantastic to see the vision from the early days in the campaign coming into fruition. It is almost like a little dream, but the noise of the diggers and chickens confirm that it is actually happening, for real, right now. It is great!

Bex (Community garden
coordinator) on
her way to water the garden

There is an immense level of productivity at the moment, and the momentum is peaking as the deadline approaches. Whether it is making decisions on crockery, to ordering toilet signs and planning computer networks. The level of detail that is needed from Charlotte, Ben and all those that are helping out is really impressive. They are champions are dealing with stress with a smile.

The photos show Bex off on her mission to water the new hedgerow at the driveway entrance. This involved a complicated process of connecting 3 hosepipes with much hilarity. The next photo is of Andy supervising Hugo (my husband!) as they put Andy’s car park plan into practice. And it looks pretty impressive.

Charlotte tells me that there is only one week to go until they open. The pressure is on...

Andy (left - our wonderful volunteer landscape architect) and
Hugo (right - wonderful volunteer) constructing the new car park.

I sincerely hope that you are able to visit the farm this year, either during an event or to enjoy a walk around the extended and idyllic farm walks. To see your dream come true is such a special moment. And as supporters, you should take a moment to enjoy it for yourselves. I know I will certainly be visiting again in the near future.

Sophie (ex-employee, volunteer and dog’ s body. Or “Sophie from the book” as Charlotte calls me).

Ben, Charles and Chris moving hanging rails
for Ben's new burchery fridges.

Almost there - now just the finishing touches

Charles monitors the laying of our oak flooring in the upstairs office.
You can see the recycled newspaper insulation sitting below.

Dawn Chorus Walks at Fordhall Farm on Bank Holiday Weekend

2011-04-22T16:01:00.000+01:00

This May bank holiday weekend we are holding a Dawn Chorus Walks at Fordhall to help celebrate International Dawn Chorus Day and of course the Royal Wedding!

It will begin at 4.30am on Sunday May 1st at Fordhall. Led by local twitcher and lifelong bird enthusiast Paul Rutter. Paul has a wealth of knowledge and will lead you around Fordhall, through woodlands, over wetlands, diverse grass meadows and more. You will get the opportunity to hear many birds and enjoy the challenge of deciphering which bird is associated with which call! Something that I have fun with every year :-)

Each morning the sun rises around the world facing ever more environmental challenges. Everywhere people face problems of pollution, famine, climate change and habitat destruction. Yet each morning the birds awake and sing their songs with enthusiasm

International Dawn Chorus day is a chance to set aside all our challenges for a few minutes, join in with your friends around the world in enjoying and celebrating nature’s miracle – the Dawn Chorus.

This is the time of year when all our birds come back to mate and nest. They are all competing with each other for mates and we have the wonderful opportunity of being part of that experience with them.

In previous years we have spotted pied wagtail (as in the photo above), lapwing, buzzards, teal, chiff chaffs, woodpeckers, thrush, reed bunting and more... Who knows what other unusual birds you may find this year or what other wildlife you will see?

If you would like to join us please can you contact the office to book. The walk will end with a full cooked breakfast from the farm (veggie options available too). Full walk and breakfast costs £10.00 per person.

We do hope you will be able to join us.

Charlotte
01630 638696 or project@fordhallfarm.com

Only 4 weeks until Fordhall Farm re-opens...

2011-04-16T14:24:00.002+01:00

Fordhall Farm's new green roof canopy

As time moves on and Easter approaches, the final touches on our renovation project begin. This week Sedum Supplys have been putting the gravel base onto our green roof. This substrate will hold a beautiful biodiverse roof, which all the local widlife will be able to take advantage of throughout the year.

Welsh slate really makes
the new Farm Shop special

Inside the building progress continues. Downstairs is fully plastered and has even received its first coat of paint. Our welsh tiles have arrived and Mick has been carefully laying them through the building - with a little (OK a lot) of moaning in between because they are not the square straight tiles he is used to! The farm shop is now complete, the toilets and tea room will be next. I have to say that it looks beautiful and Mick has done a fantastic job - despite the moaning!

Meanwhile, work has continued upstairs and outside. Warmcell recycled newspaper is blown in between the floor joists to help insulate the building and reduce noise between the floors.

The recycled newspaper is blown in between the joists. It is shredded so fine, it looks like we have had mice!

Plasterers work hard in
our new office

And lime plaster is applied to the walls and ceilings. After all coats have been applied we are left with about 13mm of lovely lime plaster. This type of plaster allows the building to breath and provides a lovely rustic feel with it. To compliment the plaster, these areas will also be painted with a chalk based lime paint, which along with being breathable have no nasty VOCs that can affect your health.

Externally, the drainage is in, our soakaway and septic tank have arrived and most of the external paving is complete.

With only 3-4 weeks before we open, it is all hands on deck. Ben and I and the rest of the team are busy finalising the details such as tables, shelves, crockery, suppliers and more. There are so many things to think about - we hope we remember to get the coffee!

Charlotte

This work has been part funded by Advantage West Midlands

New workshops at Fordhall!

2011-04-08T15:22:00.001+01:00

I know that I haven't written on the blog in a while but thought I would write again and keep up with the trend of good news and progress by announcing and drawing your attention to our new programme of events!

With our fantastic new facilities here at Fordhall very nearly ready I have been busy planning some fantastic workshops for our new classroom. It's great that we will be able to host these, it will really help to enhance Fordhall and what it has to offer. We have rag rug workshops, printmaking, basket making, digital photography and lots more to come so please take a lok at our events page on our website for more details and let me know if any take your fancy!

http://www.fordhallfarm.com/fordhall_events.php

(Even if you are not interested please let anyone know that might be! Spread the word!)

Hannah

Fordhalls new facilities have been generously part funded by Advantage West Midlands

Happy Hemp!

2011-04-07T21:09:00.003+01:00

The hemcrete is shoveled in between shutters. Once dry the external shutter will be removed to allow the hemcrete to breath.

Today we built our Hemp wall, and boy were we excited! It has been a long time coming. It is something new for our architects, our builders and us. Mixed in the cement mixer, this hemp and lime mix will create stability and insulation for our classroom walls. Over the last few months, Jemma from Seven Architecture, has been working closely with Lime Technology to get our design just right.

Unlike the rest of the building, there is no cavity, no stud wall and no insulation - just solid hemp through and through. For those of you who have not come across hemp before, you may be familiar with another variety - the cannabis plant. Different varieties of hemp have different uses and characteristics including medicinal, nutritional and even as a biofuel.

We are using hemp to consolidate and insulate our walls, as well as acting as a moisture regulator for our lovely new classroom space. Plus as hemp absorbs carboon dioxide and releases oxygen as it grows, it is seen as a carbon negative product - even better for our carbon footprint!

It is so simple to use, a quick mix in the mixer with the lime and water, and then into the walls and left to dry. It was so simple, it was a task we could all help with - although I think we may have slowed the process down more than we speeded it up...

Sharon puts in her first shovel of hemcrete

Volunteer Ann soon follows suit

..and Sarah our graduate is not far behind.

But of course, I had to have a go too!

In some areas of our building we have used a recycled aggregate block for structural support, and although hemp can act as structural support we do not have enough time to allow it to harden - many weeks. The timber frame within the hemp therefore has to take the load of our roof.

But don't fear, I have lots of samples of all the materials we have used within our build to have on display when you visit, and don't forget we will be open in May!
Charlotte

Fordhalls new facilities have been generously part funded by Advantage West Midlands

Hedge planting in the picnic area

2011-03-29T17:12:00.000+01:00

A Big Cheer for all the families that came to Fordhall on Saturday to help us plant a hedge in the picnic area.
Inspite of the recent sunshine the day was cold and grey but that did'nt stop 20 families from coming along to help with the planting. Our hedging came free from the Shropshire Council and the Woodland Trust, which both running a scheme to encourage more tree planting and more hedges. Our hedge is designed to help cut down the wind that whips up the Tern valley and also supply us with a good supply of fruit and nuts - sloe berries, elderberries, damsons, cherries, crapapple and hazel. As a result, we expect to attract more birds into the garden and no doubt, a few squirrels but lets hope they leave some for us. As there were so many children and grown ups to help we were finished in a tick so we warmed up on hot soup and ate scrummy chocolate beetroot brownies. Once again a big thank you to everyone that helped. Bex

Timber construction everywhere!

2011-03-23T22:13:00.002Z

WOW, everything is coming on at speed at Fordhall. Last weekend lots of wonderful volunteers helped us to re-erect our yurts.Bex organised a good clean and some well needed tlc, before our yurts were erected in the fields, with a beautiful view across the Tern Valley. It was heavy work and 7 of us worked on it all weekend, working over 8 hours a day to ensure we completed them in time. Perhaps the most difficult bit was getting the timber base where we wanted it. It was like piecing together an enormous jigsaw, with at least 4-5 people required to move each section, it was a big heavy jigsaw!

We eventually got the bases where we wanted them, only 3 hours later! Then we had to lay the insulation on the base and another timber floor on top of that. Once the floor was in, we could begin to erect the lattice structure. All made from steam bent ash from Shropshire Wildlife Trust Reserves. This was great fun and probably the easiest bit. With the basic structure in place, it was time to add the insulation to the sides and roof - lovely sheep's wool from the lake district; a cosy, warm blanket.

..and then came another tricky bit - pulling the canvas over the insulation without it all coming off... With Phil directing things from the middle and others pulling on ropes or pushing from the bottom, we soon pulled it over. And as 6 o'clock on sunday evening approached, the yurts were finally water-tight and insulated. We also have a new found respect for native Mongolians, who take down and move their yurts more than once a year - once every 5 years is enough for us!

Meanwhile, work has continued with the renovation of our Old Dairy. Another site meeting was had today with our fantastic design team to ensure that everything is on track. Sitting amongst our community growing area, the ideas were flowing. We have been busy organising renewable energy solutions, finishes, drainage and paints. All in all, we are currently due to complete the build at the end of April and therefore hope to be open early May - possibly even in time for the Royal Wedding...

The design team (Shingler Construction, WCP Associates, Seven Architecture and
Charlotte and Ben) meet in the picnic area to discuss progress.

As you can see from the images below, the build really does do Fordhall justice. The design is in-keeping and classic and the detail is finished with skill. This was evident again today, as Castle Ring Oak Framers arrived with our timber frame for the grass roof canopy.

The last of the scaffolding is removed to uncover the beautiful gable end of Fordhall's NEW classroom.

In the same format as the oak on our gable end, this oak canopy is pegged together through real joints and then lifted into place with the help of a crane.

By the end of the day the canopy was in place, sitting neatly on the stone plinths and awaiting the green roof that will soon cover it. This oak framing company are only across the border in Wales. Everthing is bespoke and made with care and attention. http://www.castleringoakframe.co.uk/html/gallery.html
The whole building is fantastic.

We really can't wait for you to all come and visit - and I haven't even shown you the new compost toilet yet...

Charlotte

Fordhalls new facilities have been generously part funded by Advantage West Midlands

..And hemp insulation too!

2011-03-18T13:26:00.002Z

Looking towards our farm shop entrance, these british stone plinths will hold our oak canopy.

The renovation of our old dairy building at Fordhall continues to progress. Earlier this week saw the foundations for our oak green roof canopy go in, along with our wondow and door frames. This is when it all starts to feel real...

Preparation works for the oak canopy.

Following the installation of the sheep's wool in our roof, hemp batts have been pushed into our walls. I asked Sarah, our graduate who is carefully calculating our carbon footprint, to provide me with some information on the material and she said:

"Don't be mistaken that this is in any way similar to the stuff that can be smoked! Although the same plant hemp insulation is a sustainable, environmentally friendly alternative to traditional insulation materials and it is becoming an increasingly popular construction material due to its durability and effective thermal properties. The hemp insulation also helps regulate internal moisture levels, creating a more comfortable space in the building in terms of humidity and air quality.

The hemp batts can be seen between the
timber frame.
Above is the wool wood board and
all in a mornings work!

Excitingly, hemp insulation is ‘carbon negative’ as the hemp crop absorbs carbon dioxide as it grows which is then retained within the hemp insulation. More carbon dioxide is absorbed during crop growth and harvesting than is released during the insulation production stage. This is great for the Old Dairy building and its carbon footprint."

On top of this hemp will be woolwood boards. A more environmentally sound alternative to plasterboard and with the added benefit of being fantastic for noise and heat insulation. As you can see these are being laid directly infront of the hemp batts. Eventually, these will all be covered with a lovely traditional lime render.

Simultaneoulsy, the roofers outdoors have been busy applying the zinc covering to the new roof spaces. This is a very skilled job, but the workmanship has been first class and it looks wonderful.

Keep up the great work chaps.

Charlotte

Fordhalls new facilities have been generously part funded by Advantage West Midlands

The yurts are on the move..

2011-03-14T16:28:00.000Z

Our yurts have been in desperate need of repair for some time. As we approach the end of our building project our focus moves towards creating a car park space and improving the remaining infrastructure on the farm.

As a result, last weekend was spent erecting a new compost toilet (well starting to erect one!) and taking down and repairing our 10-year-old yurts. They have begun to look a little untidy through the harsh winters and the canvass has been especially hit. But unable to afford to buy a new canvass we are repairing, cleaning and re-waterproofing the ones we have.

Taking the yurts down was like peeling an onion: first the canvass came off, then the sheep’s wool insulation, then the sheets inside, and then the timber structure (which was almost like a stack of cards collapsing). Everything was bundled into Ben’s van and moved into a temporary container, ready for us to re-erect them this coming weekend…

In the meantime the canvass has been cleaned with big brooms, bins full of waterproofing soap and then hung over any available fence (or pig ark!) we can find to dry.

Meanwhile another willing group of volunteers were erecting the frame for our new deluxe compost toilet. It might not look like much at the moment, but just give us another weekend and it will look amazing.

If anyone would like to come and help erect the yurts or complete the build of the compost toilet this coming weekend then please let us know.

Charlotte

Insulation at Fordhall - a first!

2011-03-10T15:15:00.002Z

This week has seen insulation enter our old drafty farm building. Already, even without windows, it feels warmer than our thin steel portacabin!

Trying to be as environmentally friendly as possible, we are using a natural welsh sheeps wool in the roof instead of normal glass fibre insulation.

Consequently, the builders have enjoyed installing the insulation; with no need for masks and no itchy skin at the end of the day - even those who suffer with asthma have been fine.

There are many other benefits of using sheeps wool insulation. Being hygroscopic, it can absorb and desorb water vapour without detrimental effect to its thermal efficiency. It is therefore ideal for use in roofs, and timber-framed walls designed to avoid a damaging build up of moisture by allowing water vapour to migrate through the structure. Wool also generates heat when it absorbs moisture from the air. This helps prevent interstitial condensation in construction cavities by maintaining the temperature above the dew point in damp conditions.

Furthermore, wool insulation is truly environmentally friendly. Production takes a fraction of the energy required to produce glass fibre insulation. And the life expectancy of such insulation is more than 50 years and it is recyclable.

Plus if you want to roll around in it - you can!

Charlotte

Fordhalls new facilities have been generously part funded by Advantage West Midlands

Scaffolding is down on the Old Dairy

2011-03-05T13:15:00.002Z

As the tiles cover the whole of our Old Dairy roof at Fordhall, the beauty of the building again shines through. Most of the scaffolding is now down and the lovely circular brick window that was previously blocked up has also been uncovered. The Zinc for the classroom extension is still on order, but the rest of the old roof is pretty much complete. Work over the last 10 days has concentrated on the first fix for plumbing, electrics, phone connections and our network points. Carefully guided by our Site Manager Charles (see upper left) the work has been efficient and without a (major) hitch....

Although every time I walk onto site the sparkies and plumbers seem to run out of my way! Left (lower left) you can see Andy our electrician trying to hide, but not quite being successful!

Charles has also been working hard to bring back the one timber truss from the original building. Due to the fact that it is very old timber, our structural engineer Peter, was not happy with it forming part of the structural wall. As an alternative we have sat it against the main classroom wall (very close to its original position) as a reminder of the old construction.

You will notice that you have to duck to get through the doorway, but I am assured that Charles will sort this out for us before we open! Fitting it into the space I know, has not been easy.

Charlotte

Fordhalls new facilities have been generously part funded by Advantage West Midlands

Fordhall has a fun working weekend!

2011-03-01T16:50:00.000Z

What a great weekend, lots of new faces and many returning faces came to help us on a very pleasant (for February!) volunteer working weekend at Fordhall Farm.

We made bridges, human photo frames (well planters for the car park really!) and hung gates plus lots lots more.

The next working weekend is the 11th-12th June, so sign up quick as with all our new facilities by then it's sure to get fully booked!

Hannah

The sky is the limit!

2011-02-23T10:44:00.002Z

More photos from the building as we get close to being water tight. The conservation roof lights went in yesterday and the structure around the dorma windows is being worked on today. Even Ben is getting excited now. He has been working hard to plan the butchery space with butcher, Charlie and as you can see the photo below, he can't contain himself!

Charlotte

Fordhalls new facilities have been generously part funded by Advantage West Midlands

Fordhall Farm in the Guardian!

2011-02-22T17:07:00.000Z

Take a look at Guardian Rural Social Enterprise Article by clicking this link or pick up a copy today! Great publicity for Fordhall

Go Social Enterprise - whoop whoop!

Our first glimpse of our new offices!

2011-02-21T16:01:00.001Z

Today the roofers are in, battons are on and the waterproof membrane is being laid. All too quickly our outer walls are being covered in and rooms are being created.

Looking to the end of our new office.

As I wandered upstairs I was taken aback by the wonderful space Seven Architecture have created and Charles and the team at Shingler have built. Although not complete, it is already beautiful.

Looking into our new classroom space, this old brick
wall will fall against our new staircase

Today the electrician (Andy) arrived to begin the first fix and so it has been all hands on deck to ensure that the light fittings and plug sockets are all where we want them. The worst thing would be to not think about this properly now and have sockets in front of cupboards and lights behind shelves!

Whilst I look at plug sockets and light fittings, Ben has disappeared off to Cumbria to look at fridges and butchery equipment. He has taken Charlie, our butcher, and together I am sure they will create a functional and open space, which will allow the public to see the whole butchery process.

Everywhere you look there are men working (although as soon as I turn up with the camera they quickly hide!): nailing timbers together, attaching the membrane, finishing brick work, measuring and sawing. The site is a real hive of activity and the workmanship has been excellent.

As attention begins to move towards the finishing detail, we realise how much valuable work our architects and project manager, Gavin (WCP Associates), are putting into the project. Everyone is working together to ensure that this project completes on schedule.

Thank you.

Charlotte

p.s. Don't forget - if you want to make the images larger, simply click on them!

Fordhalls new facilities have been generously part funded by Advantage West Midlands

The sand blaster is here..

2011-02-17T16:15:00.001Z

As work on the rafters draws to a close and the bickwork is almost finished, the sand blasters have come in to remove the white wash from the remaining old farm shop walls.

It is strange to think that the old farm shop will never look the same again. The white wash walls at Fordhall have been part of the farms character and appearance for many, many years. But all of this will now disappear. The sand blaster, dressed like an astronaut or someone dealing with radioactive waste (!) is busy blasting the walls with tiny fragments of sand that dislodge the lime wash from the walls, revealing the lovely red bricks behind.

Its a messy job and a slow job, but the difference is fantastic.

Fordhalls new facilities have been generously part funded by Advantage West Midlands

2011-02-13T15:13:00.001Z

As the work to re-roof the old dairy continues we are looking for ways to use the materials and plants that have had to be moved to make way for the build. When the driveway was widened in November we had to remove a small section of the old hawthorn hedgerow. Not wanting this to end in the chipper, Charles and Duncan very kindly agreed to replant the best hedge trees into the field as a wildlife feature.

Formed into a small ring, these trees will hopefully re-grow during the spring to create a wildlife sanction amongst the grazed grass. We also plan to plant other wildlife friendly plants in this area over the coming weeks. Even if the hawthorn does not regrow the dead matter here will provide a wonderful habitat for invertebrates, birds and small mammals.

Fordhalls new facilities have been generously part funded by Advantage West Midlands

The roof structure goes back onto our Old Dairy

2011-02-10T17:07:00.002Z

Today the steelwork to hold our new roof began to be pieced together. Charles led his team of merry men and the skilled crane driver to place each heavey piece in exactly the right place. It has taken most of the day, but almost every steel truss is now in place. Ready to receive the rafters that will soon hold our tile roof.

Work has also been carried out on the oak dorma windows (right), which fill the gaps of old loft hatches and a dorma window which was removed when the roof was damaged in a fire in the 1970's. You can see the old black loft hatch on the image above left. It definately seems strange to think that we will never see the building as it was in its black and white form again. This renovation will transform Fordhall. The delicate, elicate and sympathetic design by Seven Architecture and the careful guidance of our QS Gavin from WCP together with the great team from Shingler, has ensured that so far (not wanting to pre-empt anything) this project has been a real joy to manage

The walls that front our tearoom also continue to build up, with all the same character as they had before the came down - and a even little straighter! The brickies have been going for perfection and it shows.

Our attention is now being turned to the internal finishes and layouts, all those small decisions that you don't think about when walls are coming down, but which at the end of the project are what make all the difference. One of my current tasks is to find a woodburner for the tearoom.... just in case anyone has one going spare!!

Charlotte

Fordhalls new facilities have been generously part funded by Advantage West Midlands

The building work at Fordhall continues...

2011-02-03T19:37:00.001Z

The rebuilt brick walls put the old walls to shame, but when they are sand blasted and the lime wash is removed, they will all merge beautifully.

Apologies to those who are checking the blog on a regular basis, after taking a few days off myself, the build has moved on at the great efficient speed we have come to expect from Shingler Construction. The warmer weather has allowed the old brick walls (some of which were taken down and some of which fell down!) to be rebuilt. Using the relcaimed bricks from the original walls and building with lime mortar the walls look fantastic - definately straighter than they were before! Seeing the old brick walls go back up has begun to bring back the character to our Old Dairy building. It is definately more exciting to see things going up, than it is to see them come down!

Alongside this we have incorporated as many of the original timbers from the building back into it. Unfortunately, due to their age they have to remain cosmetic rather than structural, but we are happy that they have gone back from where they came from. These timbers have seen a lot of changes at Fordhall over the years and we are glad to see that they will get to see many more.

Simultaneously, the inner recycled blockwork leaf, which will hold the new roof, has been erected at super speed. The floor joists for the first floor are now in, providing us with a real sense of the room sizes, as we begin to plan how best to utilise the compact space within the building. But we all know 'small is definately beautiful'.

Tuesday this week saw a vast change in the build as the oak frame arrived for our classroom window. This is sitting above the old farm shop, and will have views across the farm for visitors. It was a substantial structure and had to be put in place with cranes, which took the team most of the day to erect. Each piece being pegged in place with oak pegs - no nails in sight! Absolutely beautiful.

Thank you Seven for a fantastic design.

Charlotte

Fordhall Calendars now just £5

2011-01-24T13:08:00.000Z

.........Still not got a 2011 calendar? Then what are you waiting for!

Please contact Hannah in the office on 01630 638696 or email project@fordhallfarm.com

Our Old Dairy now has a toilet and shower.... well nearly!

2011-01-21T16:35:00.002Z

Looking into Fordhall's new farm shop and butchery

WOW - things are definately gathering speed on site now. As the joists for the ceiling go in, you really get a sense for the different rooms. The photo above shows the view into Ben's new farm shop with the butchery at the end. Although there looks like a lot of space on the photo, when you are inside it is not a huge amount bigger than our previous shop. Nevertheless, he will have the added benefit of the butchery onsite.

The warmer weather has meant that the brickies have been able to crack on with relaying the old bricks with lime mortar, and as a result the character of our old building is coming back.

A volunteer emailed me earlier today to ask if I could send him evidence of the shower room that will go in for volunteers (those who have volunteered at Fordhall will know that the current asbestos decontamination unit can get quite cold in the winter!). It is a bit difficult to see as walls are going up very quickly, but there is one single and one disabled toilet on the left behind the old brick wall (in the image below) and the shower will be in with the disabled toilet. Volunteers may be disappointed to hear that it will be smaller than the current shower, but it will at least be warm and available all year!

And behind the old brick wall toilets and a volunteer shower are being created from recycled blocks.

Charlotte

Fordhalls new facilities have been generously part funded by Advantage West Midlands

Conferences, farming and biodiversity.

2011-01-19T09:47:00.001Z

Birds, butterflies, insects and small mammels all need diverse plant life to survive.

Over the past few weeks I have been fortunate to be asked to speak at two high profile conferences on future farming. Both conferences were keen to hear about our Foggage farming system at Fordhall Farm, highlighting the consumer and industry shift towards methods of more diverse and ecological farming systems. The first was the Oxford REAL Farming Conference at the beginning of January, jointly organised by author and scientist Colin Tudge and Agricultural Editor of the Archers, Graham Harvey.

http://www.oxfordrealfarmingconference.org/

Due to all the renovation works at the farm, I could only make it to one day of the conference, but it was an inspiration. I was most impressed by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, a neurologist and nutritionist. She described how the human gut is to us, what the soil is to the plant - the source of all health. Whether you are talking about the human body or the environment, it makes sense. The healthier and more balanced the source of nutrition is, the healthier and stronger the bodies or plants it supports will be, and this is of course the lynch pin of organic agriculture.

For years, we have treated the symptoms of unhealthy plants by prescribing fertilisers and pesticides or imposing mechanical operations. We have ignored the crucial role of the soil - the area which for milennia has been the backbone for all life on the surface. By working to improve the health of our soil, our plants/crops will grow healthy and in abundance.

It was an inspiring talk and for me it reminded me of the struggles dad had when he took over Fordhall in 1929 and the direction he chose to take to improve his crops - to protect and nurture the soil.

Clover - one of the farmers' best friends.

Most recently I spoke at the Organic Producers Conference, organised by The Organic Research Centre (Elm Farm). Again the message through this conference was biodiversity, both above and below ground. My particular workshop focusses on whether the 'land-sharing' approach was better than the 'land-sparing' approach that separates natural areas and agriculture into parks and (intensive) farmland.
http://www.organicresearchcentre.com/?i=events.php&event_id=185

Martin Wolfe provided a wonderful presentation from his farm in suffolk, demonstrating how intercropping with trees and other woodland shrubs increased natural biodiversity and increased stability of the farming system. The benefits resulted from a reduction in the spread of disease and an increase in the health of the soil. Overall, a more sustainable farming system, which had the added benefit of being very pleasing to to the eye!

... I can't wait for our orchard in the pig paddocks to blossom!

All in all, a very fascinating January, with lots to spear us on at Fordhall for the next 12 months.

Charlotte

p.s. If you haven't already joined Hugh's Fish Fight - do it now!
http://www.fishfight.net/sign-up

Fordhall Jumble Sale this weekend!

2011-01-17T17:15:00.000Z

Please don't forget that its our jumble sale at the Beacon Community Centre in Market Drayton from 10am - 12pm this Saturday. So come along and grab a bargain! We will also be serving hot teas and coffees.

All funds raised will go towards The Fordhall Community Land Initiative.

Hannah

Look at Fordhall's new tearoom!

2011-01-14T14:33:00.000Z

The view inside our tearoom. It might not look like much yet... but just wait and see :-)

Work on our Old Dairy has notched up a gear as the walls go up extremely fast. There is even talks of the mild weather allowing the external old brick work to be repaired next week. We are all keeping our fingers crossed for the mild weather to continue.

Looking toward the new farm shop and butchery.

We have floors!

2011-01-13T15:42:00.000Z

New sub floors go into our Old Dairy. The space here will include Ben's butchery and farm shop as well as toilets and a volunteer shower - very exciting!

As the new year gets underway our building is really starting to take shape. Last week the warmer temperatures allowed our first layer of concrete to be laid. This has provided the remaining walls with much needed stability, whilst work on the internal structure continues.

It is amazing to walk around Fordhall and each day there is a different view to look at. Now building sites might not always be the most exciting places, but we are certainly getting a lot of enjoyment about seeing our building at Fordhall progress. Seeing the new floor go in was a great step forward and allows us to really begin to visualise the space.

But, as soon as the floor was set, Shingler set about building the internal structure and it began to look smaller again! This inner leaf will provide the stability we need to hold the first floor and the roof. Although it looks like a lot of concrete block, these blocks are all 80% recycled aggregate and so we are doing our bit wherever we can. Soon the structure for the roof and first floor will appear and our building will really begin to take shape.

... Meanwhile we are planning for the opening... If anyone has any lovely old chairs and tables (in good condition) or tea sets (which are dishwasher proof) then please do let us know.

Charlotte

Rumble in the Jumble and Seed Swap

2011-01-11T11:56:00.000Z

It's nearly time for our 2011 Rumble in the Jumble!

This years jumble sale and seed swap event takes place on the 22nd January 2011 at the Beacon Community Centre in Market Drayton from 10am-12pm.

Everyone loves a January bargain so come along and see what you can pick up!

Hannah

P.S - We still need more jumble so if anyone is having a new year clearout?!

Calendars now REDUCED just £6! Merry Christmas!

2011-01-10T13:17:00.000Z

Fordhall 2011 calendars, filled with stunning images of Fordhall throughout the year, are now reduced to just £6, so if you haven't got a 2011 calendar - why not get one from us?

We also have our stunning Fordhall Farmhouse from Lilliput Lane back in stock here in the office after we sold out over the Christmas period. Stocks of these are limited too so please be quick if you want one! To reserve one please email the office on project@fordhallfarm.com or call 01630 638696.
These are £25 each.
Hannah

Progress on Fordhall's Renovation

2011-01-06T16:26:00.002Z

Fordhall Farm Frost Dec 2010

Well what a winter already. Apologies for not keeping the blog as regularly updated over the Christmas period. It was extremely frantic in the run up to Christmas with everything taking longer in the frost and almost 400 turkeys and gammons to prepare ready for everyone's Christmas dinners. As Christmas day quickly came upon us, we took the opportunity at Fordhall Farm to rest for a few days and enjoy the beauty of Fordhall at this time of year - although Ben slept for most of Christmas Day!

2010 has been a very busy year with many milestones achieved, not least the successful appeal to raise £100,000 towards the renovation of the Old Dairy and the successful grant funding from Advantage West Midlands. Both of which we could not have achieved without your continued support for the project - thank you from the bottom of our hearts. 2011 will now see the fruits of our labour.

So new the New Year begins. Work on our Old Dairy building did take a small turn for the worse before Christmas, but we are now definately back on track and amazingly still on schedule. Due to the unstable nature of our old barn, three walls collapsed just before Christmas. It was a real shame that more of the existing building was lost, however Shingler will ensure that they are erected straighter than they began! Additional scaffolding was erected during the winter period to support the remaining walls and we were grateful that the winds remained low.

Our Old Dairy loses some walls!

All whole bricks from the walls were cleaned and stacked ready to re-erect the wall in the New Year. The biggest drawback to this incident is that our outer walls are built with old bricks and traditional lime mortars, which need the warmer temperatures to work. We will now have to keep our fingers crossed more than ever, that we get some warmer spells over the next few weeks.

Shingler construction soon move forward with rebuilding the internal walls in recycled block whilst additional scaffolding supports the existing walls.

To enable the builders to continue work during the cold weather and to facilitate the incorporation of a damp proof membrane through the back walls of the Old Dairy, Shingler have built the first 1600mm of wall in 80% recycled block work.

The damp proof membrane goes in Fordhall's Old Dairy Building and final touches are made before the concrete is laid.

The result is that progress this week has been quick and already they are preparing for the base layer of concrete to the building that will provide the support so desperately needed for the remaining walls.

Fordhalls new facilities have been generously part funded by Advantage West Midlands

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2011-01-04T11:42:00.000Z

Happy New year from all at the FCLI! What a great year 2011 is going to be for all at Fordhall Farm - we can't wait to see the buildings finished!

Keep checking the blog for up to date news on the buildings renovation and don't forget - If you haven't made any New Years resolutions yet why not make visiting Fordhall one of them?

P.S - If anyone is having a 'New Year' clear out then please remember us as we really need jumble for our sale on the 22nd of this month! Thank you.

Hannah

The first foundations have gone in!

2010-12-15T12:27:00.000Z

It was a momentous event earlier this week, when the first concrete foundations were laid. It is amazing how quickly they were in. Any concrete on Fordhall has previously been mixed in a wheelbarrow or on a board on the floor. So, a large mixer truck on the farm simply pouring ready mixed concrete into the 4m whole within minutes, was quite a sight.

These foundations will now allow the walls of our new tearoom to go back up - and so we still have our fingers crossed for a mild winter.....

Hopefully, the rest of the building will now begin to take shape quickly. :-)

2011 Fordhall Calenders

2010-12-13T10:39:00.000Z

Fordhall Farm are pleased to announce that their 2011 calendars have now arrived! These are great to hang up in your home and also make fantastic gifts...and they support Fordhall at the same time. These cost just £10 each (+ £1.99 p+p)

We also have Fordhall Lilliput Lane farmhouse for sale for £24.99 plus £3.50 p+p

Both are perfect for a last minute gift for someone this christmas. To purchase a calendar and support Fordhall, please call the office on 01630 638696 for more details. Thank you.

Hannah

Sustainable bunting - DIY

2010-12-08T11:02:00.000Z

As many of you may have read in the Fordhall Grazer (our newsletter) we are looking for people to help us to make decorations to celebrate the opening of our new visitor centre.

We want to make lots of bunting to use for the opening and that we can use for future events, and we would like your help. We would like people to make and then send us the triangles that make up the bunting then the bunting can be proudly displayed as a real community decoration. Bunting is very simple to make and many of you may know how to already, however if not Viv one of our wonderful volunteers has put together a simple guide below.

You can make one triangle for our bunting or as many as you like, the only thing we ask is that they are the size dictated in the guide below we would also like the bunting to compliment the colours around the farm, so earthy/autumnal colours – reds, oranges, yellows, browns and greens would be ideal, any pattern is fine too! Please send them to and we will put them all together – Thank you!

You will need.

* Scissors.

* A4 paper.

* Pen.

* Ruler.

* Material.

* Needle & thread.

* Pins or sellotape (to attach pattern).

Instructions

• Take a piece of A4 paper to make your pattern. Fold your paper in half (lengthways) open up the paper and then mark where the centre of the short side is -- this is going to be the top point of the triangle. Then use a ruler to draw a line from the top centre point to the bottom left corner. Do the same again to the bottom right corner; this should give you a long isosceles triangle.

Cut out your triangle – this is going to be the pattern for the flag.

Temporarily attach the pattern to your chosen pieces of material and cut out two triangles.

Put one triangle on top of the other, with the patterned sides facing each other and sew the long edges together, making sure that you sew 1cm in from the edge to create a neat seam. Do not sew the top of the triangle together; we need this left open to attach to our tape.

Turn the piece of bunting inside out (so that the pattern is now on the outside).

Then iron your flag or flags and send them to us!

If you want to embroider your name etc...on your bunting then that would be a lovely extra however this is in no way essential. We look forward to seeing the finished product!

Hannah

Nature hibernates, but work on the farm continues

2010-12-06T17:26:00.000Z

As the cold weather has hit Britain hard, we have all been busy keeping warm and ensuring the livestock have enough shelter. The snow and ice is beautiful, allowing every corner of Fordhall Farm to glisten and shine.

But as beautiful as it is, winter on the farm just means shorter daylight hours to do the same amount of work, especially in the run up to Christmas. This weekend alone Ben was at two farmers' markets (Rode Hall left and Attingham Park), then it is back to organising christmas orders on the farm, and defrosting water pipes so that the pigs and livestock always have access to fresh drinking water.

Meanwhile work on the renovation of our Old Dairy building continues.

Above right: the corner of the building that you see as you get to the top of the farm drive - this will be where our new toilets will go!

Until now, the builders have had enough work dismantling parts of the building - the roof has come off and internal walls have disappeared, with all the bricks being carefully cleaned and stored ready to be reused in other areas of the building.

Above right: This will be our new tearoom - the walls here have been removed as they were not structurally safe to leave. They will be rebuilt using the original bricks and here will be our new tearoom - fancy a cup of tea? (click on the photo to see a larger image).

They are now at the point of laying foundations and rebuilding but the cold temperatures are just too low to allow even the concrete to go off. This could delay our Easter opening and so we have our fingers and toes crossed that the weather warms up soon. We really need to have stable temperatures of at least 5 degrees for the concrete to set properly and ideally we would be regularly reaching temperatures of 10 degrees for the lime mortar. It is the lime mortar that will be used to rebuild our external walls and so this could prove to be a serious delay for the project.

As always at Fordhall, we feeling positive and hoping that the winter cold spell has come early, and the coming months will remain mild....

Normally I long for a white Christmas, but this year lets all hope for a sunny christmas!

Charlotte

...and the snow keeps falling!

2010-12-02T17:37:00.000Z

What an early start to the winter and the snow keeps coming... As regular blog readers will know, Ben's (the farmer) cattle and sheep remain outdoors year round. With the minor exception of this years calves, which are currently indoors as Ben weans them from their mothers. The rest of Ben's Aberdeen Angus and Hereford cattle have now developed hardy winter coats, which will keep them warm through the harshest of English winters.

Back in the office we are all wrapping up. The portacabin is not the warmest building on the planet, but thermals, multiple layers, hot drinks and lots of bodies working, all help to keep us warm. And so far, we have not reached the cold temperatures of last winter. Meanwhile, the Shingler lads are still working outdoors on the renovation of our Old Dairy.

As you can see the roof is completely off and those walls which were unsafe have been dismantled, to be rebuilt. But as pretty as the snow is, we are all hoping for warmer weather soon to allow our walls to go back up! We are using traditional lime mortar on our Old Dairy building, in keeping with the traditional farm and the old bricks, However these materials need warmer temperatures to work - so we have our fingers crossed that the cold spell will soon lift.

The next job will be to lay the concrete base for the new farm butchery (right), but even this modern material needs temperatures well above zero to work best!

Fordhall Wins Social Enterprise Photography competition!

2010-12-01T11:01:00.003Z

Definately a more interesting blog this time. We are celebrating after topping a public vote to become the winner of a national photography competition for social enterprise. The result of the online poll was announced last night (30 November) at a special event held at the social enterprise Lumen, in London.

The ‘Social Vision: business at its best’ competition set out to find images that show the unique and transformative work of social enterprise - businesses trading for social and environmental purposes.

Now in its third year, the photography competition was for the first time jointly run by Triodos Bank and the Social Enterprise Coalition in association with Social Enterprise Magazine and the regional social enterprise networks of England.

Charlotte travelled through the snow last night to attend the event in central London, where Fordhall amazingly won first place. 1,640 were cast and Fordhall Farm received 22% of those to see off the ten other finalists!

Winning the Social Vision competition is a great honour. Fordhall has come a long way over the last five years. It is a wonderful feeling to see how much children and families get out of experiencing the farm - so much more than we ever imagined. Social enterprise really is a wonderful business to be in. A big, big thank you to all our shareholders, volunteers and supporters who voted for us. To Caroline Edge who took the fantastic photo and to Social Enterprise West Midlands for encouraging everyone to vote.

We hope that this award will help Fordhall continue to be a flagship for Social Enterprise across the West Midlands and even further afield.

Peter Holbrook, CEO of the Social Enterprise Coalition said: “Congratulations to Fordhall Community Land Initiative on their success – the standard of entries was very high this year making their win all the more impressive. Their story is a great example of what individuals can achieve by coming together to work for a common aim and, like all social enterprises, people and planet lie at the heart of what they do.”

And Charles Middleton, Managing Director of Triodos bank said: “We’re delighted by the superb standard of photography in this year’s competition, which really captures the spirit of a better approach to business. Our congratulations go to Fordhall Community Land Initiative for their fantastic photo which really does highlight the strengths of social enterprise. Social enterprise has so much to offer today’s society and economy and it’s vital that we continue to support this growing sector.”

Our winning photo will be on display alongside the other finalists as part of a free exhibition at Lumen in Tavistock Square, London until 7 January 2011.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you

The driveway gets lines!

2010-11-29T10:15:00.000Z

OK, I know this may not seem like the most exciting blog, but for us at Fordhall, it is quite a moment. It suddenly makes Fordhall 'seen' to passing traffic. We are now no longer 'just there' - and it all took less than an hour. Lindon and Andrew (I hope I remembered their names correctly) arrived on Friday and closely watched by site manager Charles, they created Fordhall Farms new entrance. First they heated up the tarmac with a very scary looking blow torch and then simply painted the white lines with a bucket and another painting contraption (!).

Did you know: When painting white lines on the road, they scatter finely crushed glass on top to ensure that they sparkle under cars headlights?

After leaving Fordhall Lindon and Andrew went on to paint more white lines across the country. Something that they do everyday, all year round... Quite literally painting their way around the world.

Thanks guys!

Last chance to vote for Fordhall Farm!

2010-11-26T13:46:00.000Z

http://www.socialenterpriselive.com/competition

The last working weekend of 2010..............

2010-11-25T12:29:00.000Z

........and what a chilly one it was too! However we had lots of people turn up for some physical outdoor work and we got lots done!

Scarves and gloves were the name of the day and lots of delicious home cooked food to keep them going! We managed to fence off more fruit tree's from the pigs, created a walk way for the farm trail and made the steps on the farm safer for the winter months. Our next working weekend is the 26th-27th February 2011, if you are interested in coming along please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Thank you.

Hannah
Project@fordhallfarm.com

Someone's been watching Bob the Builder!

2010-11-25T08:38:00.002Z

Work on the Old Dairy renovation has been progressing well. With the driveway complete, work has progressed with removing the roof and internal walls from the building. Never far behind builders Duncan and Roger, is mum! She is always there to ensure that they are doing the job properly and sends regular reports to everyone in the office.

Those of you who have met mum (Connie) before, will know how passionate she is about Fordhall's heritage and how conscientious she is about retaining it. Over the last few weeks Duncan, Roger and Charles have taken mum under their wing, and she seems to have become the new 'apprentice builder' on site. Each morning she is ready to go at 7.30 with her his-vis jacket, boots and hard hat. She has now progressed from guardian of the past, to helping the builders progress the building for the future... and more than just in support... evidence suggests that she has been sneakerly having a go in the driving seat... watch out lads!

Meanwhile, our QS, Gavin, Jonathan and Jeremy from Shingler and myself have been meeting with renewable energy companies to confirm the technologies we will put into the building. Yesterday we met with Eco Living. Ground source heat had been a favourite, however our sandy soils at Fordhall, although great for out wintering our cattle, are not suitable for a Ground Source Heat pump as they do not hold enough embodied heat, which then reduces the efficiency of the system. The alternative may prove to be an Air Source Heat pump, but we will let you know as soon as decisions are made. Thought is also going into to PV cells for electricity generation, recovering warm air from the butchery refrigerators, and recovering warm moist air from within the building and converting that energy to fresh air to help keep the building warm (heat recovery system). There is a lot to think about. There are now many technologies available and we must be sure that we are investing our funds in the most sustainable and efficient system for Fordhall... perhaps we should see what our new apprentice builder thinks?

...watch this space.

Charlotte

Driveway is complete!

2010-11-22T17:12:00.002Z

Yes that is correct, the entrance to Fordhall is now open - safer and easier for visitors. All we need now is a tearoom at the end of the drive to encourage you to enter it!

There were a few problems with getting the driveway large enough for a bus and a car to safely pass, but with careful thought we got there in the end.

Huge thanks must go to shareholder and volunteer David Grain who did all the wonderful drawings and plans for the driveway. David put a lot of time into our access plans along with the Building Sub Group (a sub group of our 14 Board members). The highways department at Shropshire Council have also been extremely supportive and helpful. All the things that you need when you are embarking on a building project for the first time.

Passers by will never miss Fordhall Farm again!

Scaffolding is up... and PLEASE KEEP VOTING for us!

2010-11-18T18:27:00.002Z

Renovation plans are Fordhall are gathering pace all the time at Fordhall Farm. Over the last few days the remaining floors within the building have been removed and scaffolding outside has quickly gone up. The site manager for Shingler is Charles and he is pushing hard to keep the project on schedule for us - which so far is looking good!

Roger is our resident dumper truck driver (photo right). He always has a smile and has been paying careful attention to his work, with digger partner Duncan. They have been learning all about Fordhall’s history from mum and have been uncovering more of that history as they have gone along. Whilst excavating one of the central rooms - to be the end of Ben's farm shop - they found an array of water pipes. As the walls were all insulated we believe that this was used as a walk in cold room, back when Fordhall was a dairy farm producing yoghurts and selling them in department stores across the country.

Cooling pipes below the floor was quite a serious investment, especially during the 1960's which reflects the success dad's business had at the time. It is strange to think of the number of local dairy maids who must have walked through these walls, the cows that must have slept in them before that and the customers who will visit them in the future. All farms change over the years and Fordhall is no different. Even the last 5 years we have seen many changes, but none can compare to the changes that will happen over the next 6 months - Fordhall will never look the same again.

Over the next few days, so long as the wind stays away, they will be removing the roof. All tiles will be stored and placed back on in a few weeks time when the new roof structure has been built. This new roof will have to be supported by a new inner leaf to the building, so that we can support a first floor level, enabling us to make full use of the space of the buildings. We do not have enough tiles on the building to complete the re-roofing, but luckily we have a stock in the field that were kept for just this purpose when other old farm buildings were dismantled a few years ago.

Please also remember to vote for us - we can win £500 and some free accounts software! It may not sound exciting but it will be really useful in the new project. No need to fill in any forms - just click vote by following the link below...
http://smallbusinessbritain.intuit.co.uk/charity-challenge/projects-detail.aspx?id=324

Many thanks to you all

Charlotte

Fordhalls new facilities have been generously part funded by Advantage West Midlands

Work onthe driveway begins and PLEASE VOTE FOR US!

2010-11-11T13:08:00.001Z

Firstly, we have entered the Small Business Britain Charity awards. There is a potential for us to win £500 plus some exciting new accounting software! But WE NEED YOUR VOTES! Please follow the link below and vote for the Fordhall Community Land Initiative - it's that easy... You don't even have to add your email.

http://smallbusinessbritain.intuit.co.uk/charity-challenge/projects-detail.aspx?id=324

Closer to home and you can see from the photos that the builders have now started to remove the render from the external walls and work has begun to widen the driveway. We will increase the size of the first 10m of the farm entrance to allow two cars to pass. The result is that some of the old hedge has been removed. However, we are going to replant what we can and this will be accompanied by some traditional mixed hedgeing planted by our volunteers in the next few weeks, creating a safer and more wildlife friendly entrance to the farm.

The water has also now been reconnected and apart from some damaged bricks beneath the render, we are still on track for opening next April - yay!

Building work has begun!

2010-11-09T13:53:00.003Z

Yes after many years of planning and many months of fundraising and worrying about grants, work to renovate our Old Dairy building into a tearoom, classroom and office space has now begun. Builders arrived on site yesterday and wasted no time by beginning to remove the old lean-to, once used as a loading bay for the farm when it was making yoghurts back in the 1960's and 70's (see photo below).

We are working with a family based firm from Shrewsbury, Shingler Construction. Together with Gavin, our wonderful QS from WCP Associates, and Ian from Seven Architecture we have a great team on the case. Furthermore, Connie, Charlotte and Ben's mum is busy keeping a close eye on everything - just in case any old farm artifacts are dug up during the process. With hard hat and high-vis jacket on she is never far away, but this morning she even had a friend helping her out. After feeling something funny tingling her head she took off the hard hat, and there sitting on her head curled up was a small mouse! As you can imagine, Connie was not too pleased, but it is good to know that everyone on the farm is following the progress... :-)

After set up and some demolishment work yesterday, today has been focussed on reducing ground levels around the building, which also means moving current water supplies. As you can imagine it didn't take long for the builders to tear the water pipe with their digger, and so whilst that is repaired and new supplies are brought onto the farm, we are having to limit our cups of tea in the office!

However, all the inconvenience and chaos is worth it when we remember the vision that these buildings will soon turn in to. A big thank you must always go to all of you who donated towards this landmark project and to Advantage West Midlands for their grant aid support, without either this project would not go ahead.

We will try to keep everyone informed of progress on this blog, with photos and updates - so please keep this page as a favourite.

Thank you

2010-11-05T11:59:00.002Z

Just a quick blog to say thank you for all the support we had for our Halloween event last Saturday - it was busier than we could have ever dreamed of with over 200 children, and everyone seemed to have so much fun. Thank you to all that supported us. This is a great event that we can build on for the future.

Thank you.

Hannah

Fordhall Community Garden and Farm on Sky TV

2010-11-03T17:14:00.000Z

Members from the Wayfarers group from Raven House in Market Drayton will go global next week when they will be screened on the BBC Good Food Channel next Tuesday at 7pm. They have been helping to manage our community garden in Fordhall's picnic area under the skilled eye of our Gardener Bex Syrett.

The cookery show Market Kitchen, is on a regional Big Adventure as they travel the breadth of Britain in search of the best produce. In this episode celebrity chef Matt Tebbutt and guest chef Tom Kerridge visit Shropshire and amongst the producers they meet is of course Fordhall Organic Farm!

Matt and Tom visit Ben and Charlotte to find out more about the Foggage Farming system we run; one of only a handful of farms in the country to rear our livestock outdoors on grass all year round.

After walking the fields with Ben, Matt and Tom visit our community vegetable garden, which is tendered by the Wayfarers group from Raven House in between the involvement of three local schools. The group explain their involvement with the garden and provide the chef’s with some freshly picked vegetables for them to take back to the London Kitchens, along with a large piece of Fordhall beef rib.

Bex manages the garden with the Wayfarers group and local schools and said “over the last few months the group has helped out in the garden - weeding and watering the raised beds, helping to maintain the compost heaps, raking up the grass, measuring the fences to put in rabbit proofing and generally keeping the garden tidy. It’s not all work though, there is always time for a cuppa or a walk round the fields!”

The community garden at Fordhall project has been generously funded through the Big Lottery Local Food project to help inspire and teach local people about growing their own free of charge.

Why not come and join us next spring?

Other places featured on next weeks show include the Ludlow Food Centre, Sansaw Estate in Hadnall and more.

So if you have Sky then set your recorders and if you don't - find someone that does! :-)

P.S. Building work on the Old Dairy will start very soon.... watch this space for updates.

Fordhall Farm mourns stolen pumpkin

2010-10-28T11:49:00.000+01:00

Sadly on Wednesday night someone has stolen our giant (and real) pumpkin from the bottom of our drive. This was meant to advertise our up and coming Halloween event on Saturday. If anyone has seen our giant pumpkin with a scary jack- O-lantern face please can they call us here in the office and let us know.

Hannah Smith

The photo is me with another giant pumpkins that luckily we hadn't yet put down the bottom of the drive.

Fun & Frights - Halloween fun this Saturday!

2010-10-25T13:43:00.000+01:00

......have you bought your tickets yet?! Our halloween event is THIS Saturday and tickets are still available. The event is at Fordhall Farm from 5pm -9pm. Call us in the office on 01630 638696 for tickets (these are cheaper in advance!) Please see a previous blog below for more information!

See you Saturday!

Hannah Smith

Big Draw and Fordhall Working Weekend

2010-10-18T15:48:00.001+01:00

Wow! What a weekend that was! This weekend, Fordhall Farm hosted The Big Draw event (a national art event) and held one of our regular volunteer weekends. We called our event 'Dingly, Dangly Drawings' where we made hanging mobiles from natural materials with the help of an artist. This gave people an opportunity to come along to the farm and get involved with some art. This year we made mobiles from natural items found on walks around the farm and encouraged everyone to unleash their creativity!

We also hosted another great working weekend which was a success. The event was fully booked weeks in advance and people came from far and wide to enjoy some physical outdoor work. Jobs that included some fantastic new benches and storage for our human pig ark, which could not have been completed without the skilled help of Matthew Simon from Stockport. Fencing was also erected, bales moved, and tables were made. Everyone had a great time and we had lots of new volunteers (that have also promised to come back and help us again!).

Here is a selection of photographs from the weekend and the Big Draw - enjoy.

Fordhall Farm on Ebay!

2010-10-14T13:39:00.000+01:00

.....well not quite! But a kind shareholder is listing an auction for us at the moment....have a look. Here's what Kelvin has to say....!

''I have recently had a clear out and have posted 2 Beatrix Potter,Beswick characters on the site and the proceeds will go to The Old Dairy Project.Perhaps others might consider doing a similar thing and selling an item on Ebay and donating the proceeds to the project. Below is the link...please make a bid if you would like in order to get things going! Keep an eye on the auction and see what happens.....!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280572149552

Kind Regards

Kelvin Baines, Shareholder.''

Fun and Frights on the Farm!

2010-10-11T11:33:00.000+01:00

Here at Fordhall we are very excited to be hosting our first ever Halloween event on Saturday 30th October. Specifically aimed at children and families this will be a great evening of spooky Halloween fun on the farm!

Suitable for families and children aged 4-14 years this event is spooky, (not scary!) so come along and hunt for the scarecrows on our treasure hunt, carve a pumpkin to take home with you and listen to the spooky Fordhall stories with a storyteller.

Not only that but we will have a fancy dress competition at 5.30pm and face painting taking place all night. So don't be late! Hot food and drink will be served all night and there are lots of delicious local beers for the adults to try!

Tickets can be purchased in advance for £3 per child (Adults free) and for every 4 children booked on and paid for in advance you can claim a token for one free bottle of local beer (!) All children will receive a free spooky goody bag with Halloween treats on the night.

Make a real evening of it and don't forget your torch!

To purchase tickets please contact the Fordhall office on 01630 638696 or email project@fordhallfarm.com

Hannah

Good News - Funding Awarded!

2010-10-08T18:35:00.000+01:00

After a very long wait from the grant body for the Renovation of the Old Dairy, Advantage West Midlands, we were put forward to their approval panel today and approved! Whoop whoop :-)

The last few weeks and months have involved a lot of emails back and forth, supplying more evidence and answering their questions. Obviously, with the budget cuts everyone is watching their money very carefully and we were beginning to get concerned that the funding level would be dropped considerably.

However, the team at our Regional Development Agency, Advantage West Midlands, are very supportive of our project and are really keen for it to succeed. They see the vital benefit that Fordhall has for the local community and for tourism in the area. They want to help us involve more people in the farm and spread the wonderful message of local food, conserving our natural environment and living sustainably. A big thank you to Jo Jury at the Regional Development Agency who has held our hand through the whole process and been a fantastic support.

The funding came through the Rural Development Programme for England and will contribute 40% towards the project costs. The exciting result is that contractors will be on site early November. So, we still hope to complete the bulk of the work by Easter 2011, so you can all pop over for your tea and cake!

A lot of work has gone into this application by the team at Fordhall Farm, but special thanks must go to Sharon Jones for her many hours spent working on the application, to our board for their guidance and positive support and not least to all of YOU. Without your support during our desperate appeal in July, this funding would not have been released.

This building will be built in memory of our later father, Arthur Hollins. Without his dedication to organic farming Ben and I, and all of our shareholders, would not have the wonderful foundation that we have at Fordhall today. It is his legacy and his philosophies of life and nature that will be exemplified through the new building and through its use for the local and wider community.

This marks an important step for the Fordhall Community Land Initiative. It creates the ability to take more formal educational groups and the ability to generate our own revenue to support this educational work. The management team will now go over the budgets to check that everything is still on track and that we are achieving the highest environmental standards we can within the budget that we have for the building. All funds raised from now on will allow us to improve those credentials, exchanging more energy intensive materials for more natural and sensitive alternatives (click on the link below if you would still like to contribute AND have your name on the plaque inside the building).

http://www.fordhallfarm.com/donate_fordhall.php

Many, many thanks once again and warmest wishes to you all - now to the beginning of another important journey for Fordhall Organic Farm.

Charlotte Hollins

(FCLI Manager)

The Big Draw!

2010-10-06T16:53:00.000+01:00

A week on Sunday Fordhall not only opens it’s doors to another set of helpful volunteers but hosts 'The Big Draw', a national art event that is free to take part in. We hold this event every year and it is always great fun. This year our event is centred around drawing and making bugs, creepy crawlies etc.... from natural materials and turning them into a fantastic dangly mobile to take home and keep! What creatures will you create?! This event runs from 11am-4pm at the farm.

You don’t need to have any previous experience to join in, all you need is the enthusiasm to get involved! So spread the word and come and get involved! Hot food and drink is available, so why not make a day of it?!

Hannah (Pictures from last years event.)

Hannah gets married

2010-10-05T09:37:00.000+01:00

Yes, that's right, Just over three weeks ago I got married, so from now Hannah Saunders is no more and from now on Hannah Smith is writing blogs and newsletters, organising working weekends etc........ and I couldn't be happier! So don't be confused by the name - it's still me!

I'm excited to be back after my time away especially since there is so much still happening during the last part of the year. Our Halloween event is going to be fantastic - perfect for families at half term and hopefully really successful for the FCLI - have you bought your spooky ticket yet?! Also if anyone is interested in volunteering at this event then please let me know. Thank you.

Hannah Smith (!)

Moo-over Maz is coming through...

2010-09-19T21:11:00.001+01:00

Today, Marie-anne (Ben's girlfriend Maz), ran the Newcastle half marathon in aid of Fordhall. She sucessfully completed her half marathan in a cow suit, which could not have been easy. All of the hundreds of pounds that Maz raised through her sponsorship has been generously donated towards the new classroom that the Fordhall Community Land Initiative hopes to put up this winter. So a big thank you goes to her from everyone at Fordhall. Thank you for the money that you raised, and for putting yourself through all those miles of pain!

Woohoo for Maz

For anyone who still wants to sponsor Maz for her brave half marathon then it is still possible. Follow the link below to donate and choose the 'renovation of the old dairy' as your appeal title and we will add it to Maz's moo-athon pot!

http://www.fordhallfarm.com/donate_fordhall.php

The Fordhall Office has moved...

2010-09-14T15:22:00.001+01:00

.. and we now have a much better view! The renovation of our Old Dairy building will begin this winter and so in preperation we have been busy making space for contractors. This has resulted in us needing to move our office... from the farm entrance into the field.

It was a big challenge as the cabins had to be completely empty before they could be lifted and moved - by two JCB's and a tractor and trailer from A.R Richards near Market Drayton (as Ben's quad bike was not quite strong enough!). Everyone mucked in and it gave us a much needed opportunity to sort through and reorganise our cupboards and stores. You can see Charlotte, Becca, Hannah and Beth with the almost empty office on the right, but we also had help from Detlav, Josh, Tom and Bex - a big thank you to them all, we could not have done it without you.

Now safely in the field, a little more organised, and with our broadband and telephone sucessfully reconnected, it is back to work as usual. Our view used to be Ben's butchery and the hay barn, now we can see sheep, cows, pigs and families enjoying the picnic area. We are still without running water, but at least the compost toilet is a little closer.

It's wellies to work for all the staff and volunteers now, but the wonderful views of the Tern Valley at Fordhall make the muddy walk to the office worth it.

On a completely different point, you may be interested in an article published in the Telegraph today explaining how research has proven that organic soils are healthier than non-organic soils due to higher levels of micro organisms. Shocking news since organic farms rely on soil organisms. They help their soils to produce food for the plants which grow on them, where as non-organic farms remove all the food that these organisms live off. However, obvious, all new research helps the cause.

If you want to read the full article follow the link below
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/agriculture/8000399/Organic-farms-have-better-soil.html#disqus_thread

Bread making course at Fordhall

2010-09-07T15:45:00.001+01:00

Our new clay oven the weekend it was built.

Come and spend the day at Fordhall Farm learning how to make bread in our new clay oven.

Having successfully built a clay oven we shall now be showing participants how to bake bread in it. Find out about sourdoughs and have fun making pizza to take home with you - if it doesn't get eaten first!

The course will be on Saturday the 18th September from 10 am - 4 pm and costs £30.00 for the day including a light lunch and refreshments. All ingredients will be provided.

If you are on a low income, please ring and talk to Bex on 07875742522 as we are able to offer a reduced rate thanks to funding from Shropshire Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund.

If you would like to bring children, please ring to have a chat.

Fordhall Farm Working Weekend photo.

2010-08-16T11:21:00.001+01:00

Last weekend we had the last working weekend at the farm. I thought I would share with you a photograph of the hardworking volunteers. We didn't take too many photo's on the weekend as we were so busy clearing the buildings.

The next working weekend is on the 16th October - 17th October, so book your place now, it's always popular!

Clay oven build at Fordhall Farm

2010-08-11T16:00:00.001+01:00

Last weekend a group of us got together to build a clay oven at Fordhall Farm. We spent the first day mixing clay and sand to form out first layer. The mix was a bit wet but with a bit of ingenuity we wrapped a 'girdle' around it to stop it from slumping. On Sunday we proceeded with a mix of clay, sawdust and straw to create an insulation layer which was then covered with a final layer of clay, (from Fordhall's pond) and horse hair with one secret ingredient to help waterproof it. To finish it off, we moulded a worm, (much loved here at Fordhall) around the outside of the oven. The oven will be protected from the elements by a structure built by Mel Draycott, which will eventually have a grass roof on top. The wooden uprights for the structure are ash and alder and were donated by the Shropshire Wildlife Trust and come from the Ercall a woodland area near Telford. Hazel hurdles will surround the structure to further protect the oven from wind and rain.

But we could not have achieved any of tihs without the generous support from Shropshire Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund - thank you.

I shall soon be trying out the new oven to see how much wood it needs to get hot and in September, will be running a weekend bread making course, using the oven to bake the bread and cook pizzas. For more information about that, please see the events page on our website. Bex

Be a Norman for the day at Fordhall Farm

2010-08-10T17:48:00.000+01:00

Be a norman for a day! If you are interested in history or simply dressing up then this childrens activity morning is for you. We will be dressing up as Normans on our very own Ringwork and Bailey site, using nettles to make string to tie around our waists, making dough rings to cook on the fire and more - generally eating drinking and being merry jsut as the Normans did... without the alchohol of course!

10am-12.30pm. £5 per child, suitable for ages 4-12 years. All children must be accompanied by an adult