Out and About - Winter 2021

FOOD & DRINK - HONESTY ROMILLA ARBER looks back on an extraordinary year, looks forward to a brighter future and encourages us all to think about sustainability. Plus a fabulously simple Plum Whip recipe

Honesty cookery school

W hat a difference a year makes. I can still remember the feelings of despair this time last year, in December when we were all entering very dark days. We are not completely out of the woods as we see everyday with increasing numbers etc, but at least we now know what we are dealing with. My heart and gratitude goes out to NHS workers, care workers and many public sector workers who have just had to get on with things with no let-up. My favourite time of year is

the autumn as the days get cooler, but we can still enjoy some perfect sunny days. The colours start to turn from the bright shades of summer to the burnished, warm colours of autumn. Home beckons and is the best place to be as the evenings draw in. At Honesty we are starting to make preparations for Christmas. Christmas available for order and all the Christmas products tried and tested ready to go into the shops. With worries about certain puddings are being wrapped, turkeys are

shortages in the coming months we have been prudent and ordered more of some of our staples to make sure that we do not have to disappoint customers. I have been working on the company’s sustainability plan. I imagine that sometime in the not so distant future all businesses will need to publish details of their carbon footprint, which is why I am working on it now. I think it is important to know what impact we as a business are having on the planet. I have been reading writer called Wendell Berry, who was ahead of his time when he was lamenting the damage being done to the land by American agriculture back in the 1970s. He urges us as individuals essays by an American environmentalist and

demand that our businesses and governments do the big thinking, punishing them through democratic accountability if they do not. This makes more sense to me, as so often we as individuals can look at the task ahead and only cower in the shadow of its magnitude, feeling pretty powerless to make the changes needed to ensure that there we leave a stable future for our children and grandchildren. We have lots of plans for the end of this year and next with a few more openings. We are determined to stick to our principles and ethos when it comes to our food production. We want to increase the strength of our local ties, working with more individuals, groups and businesses that make up the local economy and community in Hampshire and West Berkshire. I hope everyone has a happy and healthy Christmas and see you in the New Year.

to “think little” when it comes to the positive impact we can have on our environment, and

Honesty at Beale Park

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O&A WINTER 2021