Campden Country Market

A quick update on the blog today,  -  Friday morning, and a very rainy day which is such a shame as the past couple of days have been almost 'spring like'! ...

A trip down into Chipping Campden this morning found me at the Country Market which is in the Town Hall every Friday morning from 9 - 11am.  Mainly to catch up with my dear friend Judith from  http://shakespearessisterssoap.com  who creates the most amazing soaps, and balms.

I arrived towards the end of the morning, but still got a feel for the lovely "countryside" atmosphere in the Town Hall, particularly as it had been classed as "Marmalade Morning"! Judith explained - and luckily for late arrivals there were still a few jars to be had, alongside home baked goodies, spring bulbs and lots of other lovely stuff ....

   

Judith's soaps and balms

 

Spring bulbs

Jams & Marmalades

A spokesperson for Campden Country Market told me "there is an obvious quality to these products"  (you know who you are :-) !!)  ... and looking around the room I had to agree!

all that was left of the homebaked goodies!

handmade cards

The reservation enquiries for Crafty Cottage are now coming in most days, and we have taken some great bookings particularly during summer - a big thank you to everyone if you're reading!  I would like to think you would enjoy mooching around the Campden Country Market during your visit to Chipping Campden, and your stay at Crafty Cottage :-)

After visiting the Market I headed around to the cottage to drop a few things off & generally check up on things.  I've recently added a new feature to our kitchen window ...... do you like him :-) ?

 

The cottage always feels so cosy when I pop in, - and I usually have the overwhelming temptation to light the log burner -  put the telly on, pour myself a nice glass of wine & .... move in !

One of my little jobs this morning was to update the visitor information, - there's a selection of leaflets & business cards on the dresser ready for guests to look through.

this morning I added info on Chipping Campden Literature Festival 2014 which is 6th - 11th May 

Crafty Cottage local information

  

.... and if you're wondering,  - (hard to believe I know !!) Crafty Cottage still is available during the Literature Festival !

You might even enjoy yourselves so much you'd want to write a book about it :-)

-S-

  Crafty Cottage is on Facebook

and Twitter ... although i'm a total beginner!

and Pinterest .... total newby!

"... the angle of the mangle!"

It seems ages ago now,  but at some point last year - can't remember when exactly - I was mooching my way around ebay and found an old mangle for sale not too far away, - in Gloucester....

     

I had a cunning plan!  .... and as we have been led to believe the crafty cottage garden was once where families of the guildsmen did their washing on a daily basis (beside the 6 privies in the corner), I thought it might be quite nice to remember them by adding a mangle in the corner, .... and if I get it right, it may even look as tho they left it behind perhaps :-) !

I am ashamed to say I had my Iphone on the table beside me in "Michaels" the night it was declared I had the winning bid, - so apologies for anyone watching at the time!

The good news is that the mangle was a great buy! still fully operational although I have no ambition to try it out on my B&B sheets thank you very much!!  The bad news, -  ....  it's red and blue, which I am afraid just doesn't go with my colour scheme!  Hence the mangle was dragged from the garage where it had been hibernating for most of the winter, - and into my lovely kitchen, where an old curtain seeped up the drips of hammerite as I covered the apposing colours with a lovely shiny black paint whilst watching "Bargain Hunt" at the same time, and most importantly being in the warm!

Not knowing much about mangles,  I was keen to do some Google research, and after making out the words "Taywil Hero" on the side of the base beneath the drive wheel/handle found enough information to satisfy my curiosity:

TAYLOR AND WILSON

of Taywil Works, Accrington, Lancashire. Telephone: 2519 Accrington. Telegraphic Address: "Taywil, Accrington". (1937)

1866 Company founded.

1894 Private company.

1928 Patent - Improvements relating to the mounting of tables, especially in mangles. ^[1]

1931 Patent - Improvements relating to wringing and mangling machines. ^[2]

1937 Listed Exhibitor - British Industries Fair. Washing, Wringing and Mangling Machines. Also Household Step Ladders. Our Washers are fitted with Copper Pan and Lid. Also supplied Gas Heated. Mangles fitted with Wood or Rubber Rollers. (Stand No. A.717). ^[3]

1961 Manufacturers of washing, wringing and mangling machines, gas heated boilers, garden seats and step ladders.

All about mangles

As Charles Ashbee and his guildsmen arrived in Chipping Campden in 1902, I thought the dates were near enough for me to be authentic!  Arts and Crafts in Chipping Campden

Well,  my mangle became more or less a permanent feature for a couple of weeks in the kitchen,  - too heavy for me to move, and I was usually too busy doing something else to finish painting it!  ... eventually it was moved into the utility where it spent a couple of days being something of a clothes horse to resident Rob's biking gear !

Eventually,  I had caught up with my odd jobs and was able to focus on finishing off the mangle, with only the wooden tray left to paint beneath the rollers.  I can only assume this was there originally to catch the squeezed items before they fell into a tin bath beneath ready to hang on the washing line ....  if one good thing has come out of this recent exercise it is that I have learnt to love my tumble drier even more :-)!

And to dispel the worries of any future Crafty Cottage guests,  - yes the washing machine also has a dryer!

There were two reasons why I chose F&B Lichen to paint the wooden tray,  - 1.  it "goes" with the black! and for those of us who may be a tad OCD this matches perfectly with the exterior look of the cottage. and   2. there was a tin already open in the garage!

and   ....   "Hey Presto"

The angle of the mangle !

Taking up residence in the corner of the garden!

 ..... the plan is to wind Ivy around the mangle, and overgrow it with instant history!

it's wooden tray will be the ideal spot for spring bedding plants ...

so watch this space   - you'll be "hard pressed" for anything more exciting!

-S-

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