Sunday 28th June 2020

Well the weather has certainly changed! Of course, it is school holidays – not that we might notice a huge difference this year. It is really good to hear and see that the parks and zoos are reopening and so there will be places to go and visit, especially for those with children who are now ‘all done’ with the at home time!

There has been great interest in the carrots’ story and so I attach a photo of the first harvested ones. Alex is keen for us to know that he grew them all himself. We agreed. ? I report that both sets of carrots were about the same size. So well done Alex.

This week we started harvesting the new potatoes in the garden. Oh they are good.  Weeding – of course but I think that I am winning. I am a ‘defensive gardener’ that means that everything that can be protected from wildlife is – mostly with nets. So now I have netted the saskatoon bush. I will get a photo of them in due course, as many may not have seen them before. They are a Canadian delicacy and are a bit bigger than blackcurrants but a softer and sweeter flavour. They are used in pies, jams and cakes or just eaten as they come. However, the blackbirds absolutely love them…… let the contest begin for this year……

The building at Kettins new community facility has restarted after the COVID interruptions. Many thanks to Mark Gow and the local contractors who are all rescheduled and back on site. We are hoping to be finished the build by the end of November. So that is something to look forward to and plan for.

Suppliers lists

As businesses start to reopen again we felt that a different approach to offering suggestions of local suppliers was needed. The local suppliers have been fantastic at adapting to the restrictions and kept us all supplied with food (and many other items too). We would especially like to thank the local farmers who have supported our work at the community support group. Potatoes from Grewar Farms at Ardler and Ian McLaren at Cronan Farm. Berries from George McLaren at Bankhead of Kinloch.  We know that lots of the farmers and producers have been supporting the  many groups in our area and so we thank you all.

To allow people to find local suppliers we have added a link on our Kettins website. https://kettins.org/discover-local-2/ this will help us to continue to support the local producers in the future. If we find, or are told about, other groups that are marketing or promoting local business, we can add them to the web site. It has been our intention to share information and not to advertise specific businesses but we hope that this approach will give you a place to find information.

Kettins Website
We thank Joy Howat for giving it a wee face lift and there you will find information about local Kettins groups as well as the information on COVID that has been circulated. If you have any ideas of how we can improve the pages , then please let us know.

Kettins Wee Store
This will continue to be held on a Monday at 10.00am – 11.00am. Last week the weather gods were against us but we are grateful that we could set up the tables inside. Please come along and if you have produce to share, then that is great too. Table berries are available on the day but if you want some jam berries, then please pre order them through me.  We do have some spares but we don’t want you to be disappointed.

There are always a few plants that are added to the exchange table and this week we will also have daffodil bulbs that are being harvested by the Lyburn’s, so thank you for them. So you never know what treats await you each week. As usual potatoes, eggs and groceries. Face coverings are also available at the Store or by request from [email protected]  See you all there.

Coupar Angus Community Larder – this is running every Tuesday and Friday in the old Bank of Scotland (Growbiz) building. Please use this resource if you are requiring support as they have a range of goods. If you are not able to travel to Coupar Angus then please call 07864 743017 and they can deliver to you. The Community Larder are requiring some more volunteers and so if you are able to help, can you call the number. They are also looking for some more donations of food –  pasta sauce, tinned fruit or veg, cereal, toiletries (esp men’s), tuna or tinned meat, jam, custard or rice pudding. We will have a collection point at the Kettins Wee Store on Monday  if you wish to contribute.

Sunday papers – our delivery boy John has taken over this role for the moment.  Let me know if you want a paper delivered.

Recipe
I am looking for ideas of recipes that use your garden produce. You know that there is always a glut of one or two things. Do you pickle, preserve or cook and freeze?  So this week I am asking your for ideas.

If you need something collected such as shopping or a prescription, then please just call. 01828 628169.

Keep safe and see some of you tomorrow at the Wee Store.

Susan

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