30-Day Goodbye Supermarkets Challenge (Review)

Yesterday was the last day of my challenge.  Today I went out and celebrated ... no, not by dashing into the nearest supermarket to stock up on all the goods I'd missed, but by buying my first mince pie of the season ... from one of our local independent bakers.

Because you see, this challenge has been much easier, and more enjoyable, than I feared.  True it's required more forward thinking, and seeking out alternative traders and ingredients, but even on days when I haven't had time to give it much thought I've managed to put something on the table.

A few observations:

I am very fortunate to live within walking distance of a not just one, but two thriving high streets and a couple of markets, without which I would surely have failed in my challenge.

It's difficult to tell whether I'm better or worse off avoiding supermarkets.  Independents can't always match Aldi & Lidl prices but I've been more discerning in what I buy and haven't been tempted to buy more than I needed or give in to irresistible special offers.

I've eaten even less processed food than usual, preparing meals from scratch based on grains, pulses and vegetables, with fish and meat thrown in at the weekends.

The percentage of Bristol Pound payments has increased.

I've discovered a new supplier for the Indian dishes I enjoy preparing, as well as a new baker and cafe.

There is a sense of satisfaction in supporting local traders and keeping my local high street alive.

So although I'll eventually return to some of the smaller supermarkets it will only be for the handful of items I can't buy elsewhere.  I'll also be setting a weekly limit to prevent me from succumbing to old habits.

Perhaps you could give it a go.  If you do I'd like to hear how you get on.

30-Day Goodbye Supermarkets Challenge (The Bristol Pound)

One of the benefits of going supermarket-free is being able to make greater use of Bristol's local currency.  Launched just over two years ago the £B supports local independent traders by ensuring that every £B spent continues to circulate within the local economy, creating jobs and fostering links between local businesses, long after its sterling equivalent has flown the city.

There are now over 750 traders accepting £B in paper or digital form, including cafes, chimney sweeps, brewers, photographers, web designers, health food shops, publishers, plumbers, accountants, cycle couriers, buses ... but no supermarkets!

To find out more log on to www.bristolpound.org, open an account and see where it takes you.  I promise you will not be disappointed.

Oh, and look out for the brand new Official Bristol Pound Directory 2015 hitting the streets as you read this.

47/365

and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
 and their spears into pruning hooks:
 nation shall not lift up a sword against nation,
 neither shall they learn war any more

If I had £100 billion would I spend it on ...

... building more hospitals, employing more doctors and nurses, ensuring that every child had access to a good school, investing in the public transport infrastructure, supporting individuals and their families with physical and mental needs, sponsoring medical research, providing shelter for the homeless, funding research into sustainable energy, ensuring that everyone is paid a living wage, eradicating extreme poverty ...

or would I spend it all on a nuclear deterrent?

Hmmm.

On the Fifth Day of December

As a frugal Scot, brought up to wait until I could afford anything I wanted to buy, the only major debt I've incurred was our mortgage.  I'm therefore horrified by the pre-Christmas advertising campaigns encouraging people to spend, spend, spend - and pay later.  The impression created is that Christmas isn't Christmas without shop bought canapes, over packaged toys, liver pickling quantities of alcohol ...

Christmas is a time for celebration - to eat, drink and be merry - but by keeping it simple it's possible to have a good time, without breaking the bank.

The photograph is of my dinner tonight.  As part of my countdown to Christmas I've prepared an inventory of my the contents of our freezer and we're eating our way through it to make space for Chinese pancakes, mince pies, soups, bread etc.  Today I had a chickpea and potato stew served with rice, roasted tomatoes and olives and a dollop of yoghurt.

C* Begins Here

Every year I intend to bake our Christmas cake in the October half term holiday - and every year I end up leaving it until the week before the big day (which doesn't allow nearly enough time for 'irrigation'!).

So today marks a remarkable achievement in our household.

I usually follow my trusty Good Housekeeping recipe for a traditional cake (not the 'economical' one - what a ridiculous proposition!) but this year I've opted for Nigel's version from his first volume of The Kitchen Diaries. And, rather than go straight out and buy all the ingredients without any reference to my larder, this year I rummaged around the back of my shelves and unearthed quite a few lurkers.  I also managed to buy quite a few items with Bristol pounds.

I leave you, not with a image of the finished cake (which is still in the oven!) but of my favourite step in the process, the chopping and mixing of the dried fruit, which always puts me in mind of strings of lights in the hallway, baubles on the tree ...  Enough!

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.

The Bristol Pound is Here!

Today saw the launch of Bristol's local currency - the Bristol Pound.  Equal in value to its sterling counterpart it will be accepted in around 300 local independent shops.  Because it cannot be spent in any supermarket or national/international chain it cannot leave Bristol but will circulate in the local economy enabling it to grow and prosper.

I bought my Bristol Pounds at the Tobacco Factory, where they are on sale from 12 noon until 5 pm from Monday until Saturday.  I was the Southville Deli's first Bristol Pound customer, where I bought some Parma ham and Pendragon cheese for lunch.

In the evening we went down to  St Nicholas Market where the queue to buy Bristol Pounds stretched out into the street.  In addition to most of the regular stalls there were dozens of extra ones and shoppers were entertained by circus players and musicians.  We ate in the Moroccan restaurant and bought a mug depicting the £10 note.  The optimism was tangible.  I sense a real desire to make this scheme work.

Tomorrow I'll have to call in at the Tobacco Factory for more Bristol Pounds as I've already spent most of the ones I bought today!