The snow continues at Fordhall

As the cold weather continues, Fordhall is yet again under snow. The animals have developed lovely winter coats and so they are all taking the cold weather well. They also have our woodlands for additional shelter.

The hardest hit seem to be the pigs. They have been able to keep warm with straw beds in their arcs, but their water troughs have not been so lucky. With cold temperatures the water has frozen. Ben had to take a crow bar to it last week as the ice was too thick to break with your hands. Since then we have painted the south side of the troughs in black, in the hope that the morning sun will warm the trough enough to keep the ice at bay - and so far it seems to be working :-)

With frozen pipes we are carrying many buckets a day to ensure the livestock have plenty of fresh water. However, the farm does look beautiful in the snow and despite the cold it is a lovely time of year to be outdoors.

We hope the rest of you are not suffering too much in the cold weather and are now used to wearing plenty of layers!

Snowy days at Fordhall (oh, and Fordhall calendars now half price!)

Well, It's been a cold week here at Fordhall (but very pretty!) so I thought I would share with you a few photographs that Charlotte took yesterday.
Also - it's the 'Fordhall January Sale'strong> !!
We still have some of our fantastic 2010 calendars left and they are now reduced to just £5 plus £1 P&P (They were £10 + £1). All calendars have fantastic images of Fordhall on and are guaranteed to brighten up your January!
To purchase a calendar and support Fordhall, please call the office on 01630 638696 for more details. Thank you. Hannah

Introducing the FCLI 2010 team.

Happy New Year!
As requested by many blog readers, here is your introduction to the FCLI team. So what better way to do it than through my very first blog of 2010!

Below you will find pictures of the lovely team along with a brief overview of everyone's roles within the FCLI.


Charlotte Hollins -The FCLI Manager.
What do I do for the FCLI? - Manage the finances, organise strategic direction for the FCLI and keep the others in check!
My hobbies outside of work - Working in the farm shop (!) and cooking lovely food - apart from baking...I'm rubbish at that!
My favourite thing about working for the FCLI - Developing Fordhall into a wonderful asset.









Hannah Saunders - Community Development Officer
What do I do for the FCLI? - Organise all the lovely volunteers, organise events, fundraise and lots lots more.
My hobbies outside of work - reading Heat magazine (I am celebrity obsessed,) planning my wedding and spending time with my lovely family
My favourite thing about working for the FCLI - The sheer generosity of our supporters and their willingness to see the initiative succeed.







Becca Cartwright - Admin Officer
What do I do for the FCLI? - Open all your post, deal with any shares that may come through and whatever else comes through that day!
My hobbies outside of work - Belly dancing, life guarding (which is my second job)and I do love drinking Rose!
My favourite thing about working for the FCLI - Seeing the change that can be made when people work together.



Sharon Jones - Grants Officer
What do I do for the FCLI - I write lots about Fordhall's vision for the future, and talking and reading lots too!
My hobbies outside of work - Um, not found the time for hobbies lately, except partying but I plan to join the sailing club asap!
My favourite thing about working for the FCLI - Working at and visiting the farm.







I hope you enjoyed this blog - anything else you would like to know - just ask!
Please remember that our jumble sale is on Saturday 6th February 2010 and we are still appealing for jumble. Please contact 01630 638696 if you can help. Thank you.

Happy New Year!

With Best wishes from new piglets, Hamish, George and all at Fordhall

Christmas wishes to everyone

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM FORDHALL

Well 2009 has been another fantastic year for Fordhall. Despite the recession the farm shop has remained busy and the Fordhall Community Land Initiative (FCLI) has received over 6000 visitors at its events.

George (our resident cade lamb) has entertained us a lot this year, whether he was trying to help in the office or even help Ben with Christmas orders - of which there were many, infact double last year. Of course this was extremely positive, but it also resulted in a lot of stress for Ben and his team (Chris, Steve, Hugo, Dale, Josh, Kevin, Charlotte) as they gathered boxes, three bird roasts, gammons and turkeys, carefully checking to ensure that every customer received the correct order!


Simultaneously, work on the farmhouse roof continues.... It was supposed to be complete by the end of the year, but as you'd expect with old buildings more problems were uncovered as we went along. There is one final roof on the right of the house to repair which we hope this will be complete early in the New Year.

The photo on the right shows the roof earlier this week. Thankfully all the tiles are now on and we are watertight for the Christmas break (we hope). No insulation yet, but we are hopeful that it is not too far away.

We would like to again pass on a big thank you to all who have supported us through 2009. Whether it be through the farm shop, the FCLI's events or our appeals (such as the roof appeal). It is only through your support that we are here today. Thank you for choosing to buy local and for choosing to be part of 'your' farm.

We hope that you will continue to be part of Fordhall Farm through 2010 as Ben continues to build up the farm and his catrering enterprise, and as the community trust continues to develop the farm as a community and educational asset. We will also begin to develop our old farm buildings (The Old Dairy) into a classroom, office space, tearoom and a new farm shop and butchery for Ben. It will be an exciting year with a lot to organise, but we are sure it will all be worth it.

We look forward to seeing you all in 2010 and sharing the journey with you all.

Charlotte, Ben and George :-)

Calendars now REDUCED just £8! Merry Christmas!

Well, this is my last blog of 2009 so I'm signing off and wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Just to let you know that the Fordhall 2010 calendars have now been reduced to just £8 - perfect for those last minute stocking fillers! These can be purchased in the Fordhall Farm shop!

See you in 2010.

Hannah

Fordhall office staff venture outdoors...

Yes thats right, Charlotte (FCLI Manager), Hannah (Community Development Officer, pictured below) and Becca (Admin Officer, pictured above) decided it was time they took a day out of the office to help progress the farm trail. Perhaps the middle of winter was not the best time to do it, but if thats when the work needs doing, thats what has to be done!

The job for the day was helping to complete the boardwalk and we were accompanied by one of our capable volunteers, Steve. We all worked extremely hard, through the cold and into the dark and we were all happy to say that a further 10 metres of boardwalk was laid, making it almost now complete.

Together with the remainder of the improvements on the farm our NEW FARM TRAIL, with the help of some Heritage Lottery funding and the fantastic support of our members, will be open in the Spring of 2010... all very exciting!

Seedy Saturday and a Rumble in the Jumble!

Fordhall hosts it's first ever renewal and recycling event! A jumble sale and a community seed swap!

..........How exciting does that sound?!

We need your help though- Have you got any jumble you could give us? We are looking for clothes, bags, shoes and accessories as well as of course bric a brac, curtains, and linen etc..... We can collect locally or will take collections in the farm shop. Please help us to make a success of this event, we will be very grateful.


Also of course we will be holding our first ever community seed swap which is where you can come along and swap (or just pick up for a small donation) lots of seeds to go home and plant! It's a great chance to get some seeds for 2010 and let other people appreciate what you grow every year!


Please, please put this event in your diaries and tell your friends and family all about it! Please help us to make this event a huge success!

This event takes place at the Beacon Community Centre in Market Drayton on the 6th February 2010 at 10am with all funds raised going towards the ongoing work of the FCLI. To enter costs just 50p!
If you would like us to collect jumble/ seeds please call Hannah on 01630 638696 or email project@fordhallfarm.com.

Hannah

Did you notice our deliberate mistake in the newsletter?!

For everyone that subscribes to our newsletter, did you spot the, ahem DELIBERATE mistake on the future events page?!

Our 2010 Summer Fair and Beer Festival is in fact the 3rd and 4th of JULY (the same weekend that it normally is) not what is printed in the newsletter

Sorry for any confusion!

If of course you don't get the newsletter and would like to subscribe to it please contact Hannah in the office on 01630 638696.

Hannah

The Fordhall 2010 Calendar has arrived!

It's exciting times here in the Fordhall office as the 2010 calendars have arrived! We are really pleased with the calendars this year and hope that they will sell well, we have attached a few of the images that we have used on the calendar.

These are great to hang up in your home and also make fantastic gifts...at the same time as supporting Fordhall and they only cost £10 each!

To purchase a calendar and support Fordhall, please call the office on 01630 638696 for more details. Thank you.
Hannah