Use it or Lose it

On last week's Would I Lie to You, David Mitchell mocked the suggestion that Sue Perkins paid regular visits to her local butcher, describing the practice as a '1950s idyll' reserved for 'posh' people because 'most people buy meat at supermarkets, don't they?'

Well I have news for David.  I'm not posh and the last time I looked it was 2012, and I buy most of my meat at my local butchers.  I realise it's only a comedy programme but I get sick and tired of people assuming that supermarkets are the only place to shop and that people who do otherwise are slightly odd.

I was therefore delighted to read Steph's account of the Totally Locally Leek first birthday party.  Totally Locally is an organisation committed to celebrating the wonderful independent shops, business and people of our towns.  It provides a free award winning marketing and branding campaign to any local community wanting to breathe life back into its high streets.  I love their manifesto which you can read here.

And, according to their online calculator, if every adult in my district, spent just £5 per week in local independent stores, instead of in a supermarket or on the internet, it would plough £2.3 million into the local economy.

As they say, it makes you think.

The photo is of a blackboard in my favourite (yes, we are lucky to have more than one!) local butcher's showing where all his meat comes from.