WELL GOSH...

Where has the month since I last posted gone?

Well, for us it has been a crazy frenzy of packing as we have finally gotten the thumbs up for our cottage in Cornwall. It's a beautiful two bedroomed, stone built cottage circa 1780's in a teeny, tiny place just outside of St Just. To say we are excited would be the understatement of the millennium and so on the 8th January we will be spending our first night in our new home.

We've been tentatively scoping out all the organic butchers and the farmers markets and it looks like we're in luck, there happens to be an organic butchers around 10 minutes away in one direction and our local farmers market is about 10 minutes the other way from us. Of course being so far out of the way brings it's own unique problems but we can fill in the gaps online but that said, it is going to take a bit of getting used to. No more nipping down to Seewoo for Chinese ingredients or Dadoos for Indian ingredients so it's going to take some planning to keep our stocks of spices and things like Dhals up.

That aside, we have been doing some more cooking despite having to rummage through boxes we'd packed because 'hey, when are we going to get time to bake a cake before we leave?'. Oh boy were those famous last words!

ORGANIC... WHAT?

Yesterday we went shopping at Tesco whom I’m sure you are aware are one of the largest Supermarket chains in Europe. You’d think they would stock a good deal of organic and free range items for their customers wouldn’t you? Sadly, this isn’t the case at all.

I am aware they stock their stores according to their area but please, are you seriously telling me that there are that many people who are not interested in free range or organic produce? Now there was a Halal counter which was as far as the eye could see, Indian specialities, Polish, Jamaican and a whole load of other things dedicated to specialized areas of produce but when it came to finding organic produce it was as if that has slipped their minds.

For instance on our shopping list was good quality organic / free range sausages and a roasting joint or perhaps an organic / free range chicken. Well, there was just ONE single range of organic sausages out of what must have been 30 or 40 different kinds and as for organic meats, well, lets just say we had a hard time finding anything at all. Out of a huge Lamb shelf there was about 3 packets of one brand of Lamb, Chicken there was just a single lonely hugely overpriced one, Beef... well, we didn’t find any organic beef whatsoever.

Then we were onto the cheese... we bought no cheese so I guess that tells you about the situation for organic cheeses doesn't it?

I left Tesco's feeling aghast at their lack of choice for people who actually care about what they eat and let down by them for not giving people a choice.

Now, I have been watching alot of Jamie Oliver programs recently and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall of whom I enjoy watching greatly and their efforts to make Britain wake up and get eating good, well produced, free range and organic foods but how can we if the likes of Tesco won't wake up and smell the coffee? Now I'm aware they would probably say find a good butchers but truly, unless you want Halal meat (which I don't) they are very few and far between in the area of SE London I live in and although we have a car, some people don't so are left with very limited choices.

However, we will keep on with our mission to improve our lives and if that means voting with our feet then that's what we shall be doing.

I am aware we are not perfect, not everything we buy is organic as we are on a strictly limited budget (so it's no use you guys complaining about not enough money) but we'll get there in the end! Tescos however... well I think in 20 years time they will still be selling their cheap chickens and TV dinners pumped full of who knows what and people will still be being forced into making bad choices about what they eat and ultimately their health.

Please feel free to watch this programme by Jamie Oliver entitled: Eat to Save Your Life but ***BE WARNED*** this programme contains scenes of an autopsy and other scenes of anatomy viewers may find disturbing!! >> Eat to Save Your Life <<

Also there is Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstalls programme: The River Cottage Treatment but ***BE WARNED*** this series contains animal slaughter and butchery which may upset some viewers!! >> The River Cottage Treatment <<

Now you know why we are so adamant about good, healthy food and organic, free range chickens!