October Open Farm Day - Hog Roast & Ice Cream

Saturday 13 October 2012 between 10am and 4pm is the October date for the Wysipig regular Farm & Machinery Open Day (the farm shop at Ellis’s Hill Farm, Sindlesham Road, Aborfield, RG2 9JG).

Learn about traditional farming methods, admire tractors, steam engine and vehicles of years gone by whilst seeing the pigs and goats in the farm, surrounded by the glorious Coombes woods.

Traditional and wonderfully tasty Wysipig hog roast.

Kevin the Master Butcher will be showing off his skills and tempting you with all cuts of pork, bacon and sausages, his chilli sausages are certainly worth a try!

The Original Present Cupboard offers beautiful gifts and home wares sourced by Nell including oils and creams from the amazing Lubatti range, Christmas decorations & stockings, handmade pet treats, door stops, bathcakes, notebooks, wrapping paper, cards, tea towels, aprons, plus much much more.  Personalised items are available to order. 

Nellie’s Wellies offers a selection of funky wellies, welly warmers and boot bags for men, women and children.  Wide sizes are available for those with generous calf muscles or bunched up jeans!

Muddy boots can be removed easily with a boot jack Decorated by Deryn

Cake Obsession will be returning with fabulous themed cup cakes and cakes to tempt you, as well as a delicious Gingerbread House to drool over, available to order.  Order early for Christmas!

Daisy Ices, a beautifully restored vintage ice cream van will tempt you with delicious flavoured ice creams and hot chocolate.

QGlass will be showing off some amazing stained glass window panels.

Brighten up your home with finds from the gloriously brightly coloured shelves of the very popular Shirleyz at the NEW Shirleyz at Home venue. 

Jack French’s Firewood offers dry seasoned firewood from pick up loads to net bags, providing a year round service, free delivery available on bulk loads!  Net bagged kindling also available.

Ample parking, entry is free.

Please note that the shop accepts cash or cheque only

Look out for us on Twitter  @Wysipig @MrsOrigiPresent @DaisyIces @Cakeobsession1 @qglass @shirleyzshop

Years and years ago

Years and years ago I was given an Abba album by my brother.  Years before that he gave me the 7" black record of Vienna by Ultravox and some popcorn, years later in a final act of kindness he gave me away when I eventually married a friend of his.

Sometimes I wish that I could freeze the picture ....

I adore my brother, he is 2 years older than me and has always looked out for me, sometimes it's through his fingers covering his eyes but he will always be my brother!  He placated mum when I got rusticated; he told mum I'd had my ears pierced; he once ran away when I thumped a contemporary of his at prep school.  Oh yes, he's my brother!

I always have sepia memories of my school days at this time of year.  The trunks would come out and we would sort out our school uniform, tuck and sometimes contraband.  I recall Mum driving us both to Malvern and we'd then set about starting a new school year!  Mine would be peppered with explosions of teenage love angst, my brother never expressed angst - only exasperation - possibly because I had the monopoly!

Now, years later and my own children are starting afresh in key stages and schools.  My smallest starts junior school where the other two had been, she leaves behind the comfort of the infant school that welcomed us when we arrived, crushed by the private sector and my old prep school.  The middle child goes up to the secondary school and joins the eldest who begins her GCSE years.  I admit I did shed a tear on the last day of the summer term as I dropped them to school! 

I hope in years to come my girls will look back on these days and remember their sisters with fondness and love.

School bag in hand she leaves home in the early morning ...

Team Gloriously Bonkers

I bought a second hand purple bike with a basket last month, I have always cycled and I love it, if it's flat  My lovely purple bike puts a smile on my face!

My husband on the other hand is what is known as a keen cyclist.  By keen I mean sort of obsessive, he wears lycra, his shoes clip into his pedals, he does "oh about 100 miles out with the club", he cycles up (yes UP) Watlington Hill, he cycled from Wokingham to Broadway, he once cycled to Bognor Regis with jet lag (more on that another time) and he has also done the etape du tour which is 95 miles up hill following the route of the Tour de France.  He cycled where Bradley Wiggins cycled!

I am not the most sporty person you will ever know, I am not even the least sporty person you will ever know, I am the most useless person in a sports quiz which frustrates my husband and makes me appear somewhat dim watching a Question of Sport.

In my youth I did some activities that are sports!  I used to ride (at the time I smelt more of hoof oil than Anais Anais - that'll date me), cycle (no public transport in the village and if you wanted to go out you had get there yourself), lacrosse (well the pitches were past the Boys Coll), squash (we used to get dropped off and then run back to the Boys Coll), tennis (well sort of dress up in a short white skirt and pretend) but hold on I ski!  

Skiing - what a great holiday!  I have no sense of direction and a very short memory so each time I approach a chair lift I feel it is a brand new one and each slope is new!

Being married to a Welshman I do get excited about the Rugby, I like the singing and I've actually been to Cardiff Arms Park (ok it was 23 years ago to see Simple Minds and Texas as the support act) and the Milennium Stadium.  I love the way that he supports Wales first and then anyone who is playing England second.  It's the way it is!

Big fella used to play cricket - despite playing it myself at prep school and being made to play it by my brother and all his friends I still had no clue, I could make cricket teas and drink Mount Gay rum, I have met Courtney Walsh & Sid Lawrence at Hurst Cricket Club, I met Bev Bevan at Rowington Cricket Club (where I also met my husband) and often drive past the Somerset ground in Bath.

See what I mean, I really am clueless and am useless in a pub quiz BUT and it's a pretty big BUT I am emotional and loyal and so totally into the Olympics and after the Opening Ceremony who doesn't want to be part of Team GB?  That's Team Gloriously Bonkers in my mind!

Wasn't the opening ceremony just such a wonderful snapshot of our crazy little island, an island of history and a wealth of quirks and characteristics that put a smile on our faces and such pride in our hearts.

I have goosebumps as I type this, I am a hugely emotional person and to see those Olympic greats bring home the medals makes my heart swell with pride and yes I cry.  I cry great big fat sobbing tears.

As I said I am no sporty person, I am just gloriously bonkers and proud and I can say in years to come "2012, I was there!"

I was there in Richmond Park for the cycling, my husband and girls were there for the hockey, they were there for the Time Trials, we were there glued to our seats, we were there as we screamed and cried and hugged each other and above all we were there and we are here,  we are part of that small crazy island and its achievements has put a smile on everyone's faces.  

Pretty much like my bicycle puts a smile on my face, but on a larger scale.

Harvest Open Day

The second Saturday of the month is the regular Open Day at Wysipig the farm shop at Ellis’s Hill Farm, Sindlesham Road, Aborfield, RG2 9JG.

Saturday 8 September 2012 is Harvest Open Day, between 10am and 4pm there will be the wonderfully tasty hog roast and Kevin the master butcher will be showing off his skills.

The Original Present Cupboard's shelves will be groaning with beautiful gifts and home wares  sourced by Nell Pritchard-Gordon from her talented friends and Twitter followers including handmade pet treats, door stops, bath cakes and notebooks plus much much more. 

Nell has also brought together a selection of her fabulous friends for the event ~ Lickety Split a travelling sweet shop, Claire with her wonderfully themed Cake Obsession Harvest cupcakes from and display pieces from Quintessential Glass .

There is plenty of parking and a warm welcome guaranteed!

We look forward to seeing you!

Are you a hoarder?

I was asked this week by a very dear friend if I was a hoarder and I said yes!  


However after 48 hours in the company of a friend's daughter (who is really rather lovely and isn't as stern as all that despite being queen of clutter clearing) I embarked on the mind blowing Phase II of clutter clearing and sorting and tipping and charity shop dropping and giving away and clearing and cleaning and and and and (you must get the picture by now) I can now say "I am Nell and I used to be a hoarder".


Unfortunately the rest of the family haven't caught up and they are still trailing around leaving everything where they feel it should be, whilst I have turned into the Meryl Streep character from the fabulous Lemony Snicket's Unfortunate Series of Events film and see disaster at every dropped hair clip!


I am longing for my mother and step father to come for a visit, it normally entails my mother tutting and sniffing and my steppa marvelling at how much useless stuff I can hoard for a rainy day!


We've had more than enough rainy days and nothing has been useful so it's all gone!  
Gone gone gone.  


I am hoping that I will remain strong and it wont start creeping back in, if it does will you remind me that the 'must have bargain that I can't live without' has to serve a useful purpose.


I've emptied the house of everything and have actually sat down and read a friend's Growing Spaces blog and marvelled, the perfect excuse to go shopping for storage!  I've also found a pile of books to keep me on the straight and narrow  (Dawna Walter, Judith Wilson) AND I now have a coffee table, ok so it's a coffer, which this week include  my favourite books from the wonderful and talented (of course I'm biased) William Yeoward.


There's so much more room that I can now share my 80s dancing techniques with the children, they are understandably not impressed but it clears the room!  Bonus!!


See you again soon!


Nell x

Camping in Berkshire

The Farm Shop is open Wednesday to Sunday 10am to 4pm selling my favourite ~Present Cupboard Loves~ every aspect of pork, as well as serving teas, coffees and cakes.  Do follow us on Twitter @Wysipig

Put a date in your diary for Saturday 14 July 2012 which is the July Open Day!

You could always make a weekend of it and pitch up a tent, have a look at the Camping Berkshire website http://www.camping-berkshire.co.uk/.  You can follow them on Twitter @campberkshire

The farm is surrounded by The Coombes (http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4067) which is a wonderful place to walk and lose yourself in peace and quiet.

I do hope you will find your way up to the Farm Shop soon, be sure to tell us how you heard of us.

More smells

As soon as I publish a blog I think I should have added in something else!  Bear with me, I'm new to blogging and clearly have a lot to learn!

Following on from my Smells blog I wonder how many have you have said "well where can I get lavender cream?".  I am very pleased to announce that I am a Consultant for a Jüstrich Cosmetics.  Please do browse the website and if you are in the Thames valley then contact me via the website to book presentation of Just ~ Swiss herbal bodycare  products.  If you do order anything and are prompted for the consultant code then my code is NPG2012.