For those of you for whom Lewes is a regular haunt there is good news though. Billie Whitehead, my lovely and very capable manager for the past 4 years has taken my lease and opened her own store “Leadbetter & Good ” crammed full of gorgeous things for the house and garden.

My thanks to all of you who supported us in Lewes – do please come and see me in Tunbridge Wells or use our website which continues to showcase the super products we are known for.

Read all about it and get details of how to win …

Don’t forget, by joining our mailing list you are automatically in with a chance to win vouchers. We have a strict privacy policy and will not divulge your details to any third party.

Our favourite is this beautiful Swedish etched bonbon jar pictured left – priced at just £12.50 we think it make a great gift!

Don’t forget, by joining our mailing list you are automatically in with a chance to win vouchers. We have a strict privacy policay and will not divulge your details to any third party.

If you’d like to find out more about her designs and products you can download her full brochure, or for a more personal view, read her fascinating blog. Living and working in the grounds of Walcott Hall in Shropshire (‘a stunning Georgian gem’), you can also read about her rural adventures, discoveries and inspirations behind her designs.

They make incredibly special gifts, so browse our collection and treat yourself (or a friend) to a design classic and ‘make every day special’.

*NOTE* Lewes Late Night Christmas Shopping was cancelled and will now be held on the evening of Thursday 16th.

We’ve got a couple of lovely events to look out for over the week or so …

First up you can find us at the excellent annual Wealden Times Midwinter Fair which is being held this year on Thursday 2nd, Friday 3rd & Saturday 4th December at Bedgebury Pinetum. This wonderful forest which is home to the most complete collection of temperate conifers in the world will be the perfect Christmassy backdrop for the shopping event of the season … with the temperature dropping rapidly it may even be sprinkled with a seasonal dusting of snow so we’ll be packing our thermals!

You’ll be able to shop under the cover of a tented village to find everything you need to create the perfect Christmas: heated marquees filled with contemporary and vintage finds for home and garden, plus a fine selection of locally-produced food, gifts, fashion & jewellery. We’re proud to be among over 100 carefully selected designers, artisans and producers who will be exhibiting at the fair.

Not sure that we’ll get time, but might sneak off for a delicious lunch in the food hall restaurant overlooking the Pinetum! Admission is £6.50 if you book in advance, or £7.50 on the gate (£3.50 for children).

Next up is the Lewes Late Night Shopping Evening on Thursday 2nd December – we’ll be till 9pm to give you an extra chance to get your Christmas shopping organised. We love this event – there’s always a great atmosphere in the Cliffe and the High Street exudes goodwill, accompanied by the sounds of the brass band in the precinct, mince pies and some rather boozy fumes!

No excuses now … come along and say hello!

I’m always fascinated by anything published during the Second World War and this one didn’t let me down – the wartime context is referred to directly and indirectly throughout, often through the titles which are comments on events and slogans of the time (‘Digging For Victory’, ‘Defeatist’, ‘Sanctuary’, ‘Battle Dress’, ‘Total War’ etc) but which also hide a double meaning – the war on the garden!

There are a couple of intriguing poems which give a hint as to what was going on at the time – the first is ‘London Railings’, and I think it displays the spirit which we always relate to those times:

London railings are taken down;
The country has come to London town.
Hyde Park Corner and Marble Arch
Look like a collar without the starch:
(Twice as comfy and just as clean);
Kensington looks like a village green,
And London’s loss will be London’s gain
If the railings are never brought back again.

Of course, many of the railings never were returned again and sadly it now seems that their removal was largely a propaganda exercise to make Londoners feel they’d contributed to the war effort (there’s an interesting article here.)

It’s a neat little hard back that’s going to survive spine crunching and any splashes of hot sticky stuff. The second in a series of 5 handbooks on no-nonsense subjects such as bread, mushrooms and veg gardening, and at £14.99 a bargain to boot.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall hired Pam Corbin to organise River Cottage’s Preserving Days, and she’s done him proud with this book. She’s passionate about preserving and is keen to remind us that not so long ago it was something that most everyone did as a way of using up seasonal gluts and honouring the ebb and flow of the fruit and vegetable world.

She’s meticulous on health and safety in a modern up-to-date way, including sterilising, filling and sealing tables – chutneys are treated slightly differently than marmalades etc. – which makes you feel in incredibly safe hands. And she includes three different tests for setting.

The style is chatty and informative, the layout simple, with each recipe having its own page. There are lovely photographs too. Most recipes include suggestions for modifications if you have different ingredients or want to try something a little more adventurous.

Armed with a preserving pan, thermometer, recycled jam jars and long wooden spoon I started with a glut of damsons and made jam using the Plum Jam recipe. It’s delicious – soft but not runny, fruity and not too sweet:  the recipe uses more fruit than sugar, rather than the usual half and half. O.k, so I didn’t manage to skim off all the pips but I warned all recipients!

Next up came the more challenging Quince Cheese, aka Membrillo. This is delicious eaten with cheese, particularly Manchego, and also brilliant for giving a certain zing to stews and tagines or pork gravy. It’s also good after dinner with coffee. Chopping quinces is a trial, and stirring the molten lava that they turn into when they break down rather hairy, but once poured into the tray it is jewel like. It needs to mature in the fridge for a few weeks.  I then cut it into small squares and rolled in a little caster sugar before putting into bags for Christmas presents – beautiful and delicious.

Lastly I made Melissa’s Chestnut Jam. I had been given a large bag of wild chestnuts collected in a forest in Shropshire. Peeling chestnuts is extraordinarily fiddly, especially wild chestnuts which are tiny.  I now realize why they are so expensive! Once you’ve got this bit over the jam is straightforward to make and made a perfect present to give back to the chestnut giver!  I used vanilla sugar rather than honey and rum instead of brandy but any combination would be good I’m sure. It’s rich but utterly delicious. I’m planning mini Mont Blancs for New Years eve dinner: meringues with cream, chestnut jam and a little melted dark chocolate.

Now January beckons and hopefully there will be some seville oranges in the supermarket for my next preserving adventure: marmalade. But there’s lots of other things I want to try too: fruit leather, cordials, jellies, & ketchup. I’ll have Christmas presents for next year all sewn up by October!

Sissinghurst

Wealden Times Midwinter Fair

Thursday 3rd – Friday 4th December 2009
11am – 4pm
Sissinghurst Castle Garden, Sissinghurst nr Cranbrook, Kent TN17 2AB
Tel: 01580 710700

A great opportunity to buy your Christmas presents in the luxury of heated marquees surrounded by the renowned gardens of Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicholson. The fair is held upstairs in the Restaurant and Oast Exhibition. You also get a chance to visit the Book Barn where writers including Sissinghurst residents Adam Nicolson, Juliet Nicolson and Sarah Raven will be talking about their work.

Costs £5.00 booked in advance and £6.50 on the gate. Children under 5 are free and 5-12s pay £3.25. Book Barn is £2.00 (all talk proceeds go to charity). To book tickets call: 0800 294 9011 or book online.

For more information go to The Wealden Times website.

Glyndebourne

Glyndebourne Christmas Fair

Tuesday 3rd November
10am – 4pm
Glyndebourne, Lewes, East Sussex, BN8 5UU
Tel: 01273 812321

What better way to shop for your Christmas presents than in the beautiful and esteemed grounds of Glyndebourne?

Enjoy a day in this stunning setting, courtesy of the Christie Family, and take lunch and light refreshments in the Mildmay Restaurant. The event will be held in a Marquee and is in aid of Lewes and District Group of East Sussex Disability Association.

Entrance £3.

Gardener & Cook, Lewes

Lewes Late Night Shopping

Thursday 3rd December
10am – 9pm
Gardener & Cook, 33a Cliffe High Street, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 2AN
tel: 01273 47749

We are thrilled to say we’ll be open until 9pm for Lewes Late Night Shopping night. Traditionally this is a lively and atmospheric evening particularly in Cliffe High Street – brass bands and stalls add a sense of Christmas spirit to the occasion (as does the mulled wine flowing freely on the night!)