Last year, Wonderwool was paired with the Smallholder Show and somehow, I suspect that this might have offered families a little bit more to see and do than the Mid Wales Mouthful?
a bicycle powered smoothie maker
the fruit art lady contemplating...her fruity layout?
So, gently putting families to one side - what counts as a gourmet, Mid Wales Mouthful then?You know, I am not sure. The food fair part of the event was a sort of large farmer's market. There were plenty of preserves, delicious cheeses, homemade cakes, nuts, chocolate, cider plus other British alcohol on offer alongside produce from organic butchers and veg suppliers.
There was also a stand selling excellent bread and a patisserie stand where we picked up some apple strudel and brownies as a Sunday afternoon treat. Yum, yum, yum:
Then, there was a stand selling 26 of their 37 varieties of scotch egg. I hate scotch eggs...shudder.There seemed to be a lot of stands selling large packs of sausages and there was also someone selling Welsh jerky, including vegetarian jerky. Yes - Welsh jerky. Don't look at me like that, I have no idea why one would need jerky in Wales - for the long arduous hikes between home and the village pub, perhaps?!
Now the Fella led our purchase of jerky yet I notice that he did not take any of it home to Canada with him! Actually, writing this has reminded me that it is sitting in my cupboard, so I have just taken a photo, opened a pack and now I am sitting here, writing this and chewing long and hard on something which describes itself as "Blackbeard's Buccaneer Jerky".
I take it all back - I have no idea why I am chewing on something that looks like it's been hoiked out of an Egyptian tomb or why it is being made in Wales but d'you know what? It's not bad - salty, spicy and it tastes totally of that welcoming wood fire smell you get when you walk into a good pub with an open fire, on a bitterly cold winter's night.During the course of the weekend, the Fella did some wandering about on his own. Once he returned triumphant with cider. However another time, he returned with a bottle of Elderflower wine - um, not so successful! However, on Sunday we did pick up a trio of Herefordshire wines which were...
...alright! I was surprised as I am not a fan of British wine at all. To be honest, I thought that those might have to quietly exit the house via the same route as the Elderflower wine.
To finish off my account of the food fair, there were stands selling Bara Brith and Welsh cakes. Now these are both very bright memories from my childhood (warm and buttered) and this photo may tell you why we thought that this man deserved (and got) some of our business!
Otherwise, here are my Mid Wales Mouthful photos and below is our food haul!
In terms of Wonderwool on Sunday, it got very quiet towards the end of the day and, despite one very wonderful 'pick me up' moment when I got back to the stand to find that Dee had popped by with a present for me (grin...more on that another time), our energy had completely flagged and there were signs that, at least for some of our party, some of the excitement had started to wane:
Um, perhaps it was time to go?!
It seems only right to wrap up my account of the Wonderwool weekend with the main protagonists for the weekend - Anne, Tony, Aria and that sort-of-new business venture, Artisan Yarns.
In terms of Artisan Yarns, I think that my mother was pleased with how the weekend went - raising both profile and awareness of what she is doing, not to mention everything she learned about having a stand at this type of event. (I know that I learned a lot too.)
Actually, if we hadn't all been so tired, I think that I would have been sad about packing away the stand at the end of Sunday. As it was, once it was all dismantled and packed away, the Fella and I headed the 3 hours home, where we pretty much collapsed.
Anne and Tony, on the other hand, did something far more sensible. They loaded Aria and headed back to their campsite to conclude their weekend together in the peace and quiet of rural Mid Wales.
A sunny Monday morning near Builth Wells!
Wonderwool Weekend
The End
2 comments:
OMG those cheeses look absolutely fab and I am intrigued by the fruit artist. Abike powered smoothie maker also looks a lot of fun too!
G & I just had a chuckle, agreeing that the best part of Mid-Wales Mouthful was returning home with our hoard of cheese, wine, and smoked nuts! Don't forget the great bread fresh from the oven of a local baker, and the tasty steaks from a local butcher. The all natural, 'straight from the cow' flavoured ice cream was nothing to write home about, and neither was the Elderflower Wine, but the cheese that some how ended up in Vancouver with me, tastes twice as good as you might think. mmmmmm. Wonderwool Wales 2009 G? It's my turn to drive next time. Do you have one of the 'Caution! Bulls! sign photos?
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