So, Christmas is over for another year and we’re all supposed to start thinking about making resolutions for the New Year.
Reflecting on this Christmas, I can say it was really different and made me think about how we deal with all the glitz and the bling of this particular holiday. For various reasons – some of which were a result of the fantastic support we’ve had in the shop over the past couple of months – we had no Christmas decorations, tree or baubles at home. I just about managed to get our Christmas cards put up, and I must admit that, to my embarrassment, some of our cards were only delivered yesterday. Our Christmas was disorganised to say the least. And yet, it was one of the best I can remember.
We had our busiest Christmas ever in the shop – thank you all for your custom. It was fantastic. (We’ve had brillian feedback on our pre-ordering system for veg, bread and basics and many customers used it for their Christmas orders rather spending time in the supermarket).
This meant we just didn’t have time to do anything fancy for Christmas ourselves. Christopher and Helen made lunch on Christmas day, and we spent the time, quite simply, being with family. It was just perfect. For us, Christmas was spent doing what we enjoy; cooking good food and sharing it with people we love. Simplifying it all meant we could be more relaxed and focus on getting back to basics. I thoroughly recommend it. I hope yours was just as good and you got to celebrate in whatever way you enjoy the most.
One of the highlights of this Christmas for me was taking the food we’d collected and donated to Jimmy’s Night Shelter. It was sobering and at the same time immensely uplifting to hear staff saying things like, “Oh, look at this broccoli!”, and “Brussel sprouts! Fantastic!”. They told me that this was just what they needed and said we’d somehow managed to give them just the right quantity of fresh fruit and veg for their Christmas. Here’s the list of what went to Jimmy’s
And so, on to the New Year…
I am questioning the wisdom of New Year resolutions this year. We make them in the hope that we will become better – healthier, thinner, more knowledgeable or whatever you think you should be – all of which sounds laudable. But here’s a thought: Why do we only think we should start doing these things on the 1st of January? Why not the 29th of December, or the 15th of May, or any other date for that matter?
(If you’re interested in some more thoughts on this idea, Dave Navarro writes a compelling article about resolutions – New Year or otherwise – here)
So we’ve decided to simply continue doing some of the things we started this year:
- Let us know if there’s something you want that we don’t have in stock, and we’ll source it and add it to our regular stock list
- We’ll continue to get fresh fruit and veg to order, including some of the unusual and exotic if you fancy trying something new
- Our blog will still carry simple recipes for great tasting food. If you have any to share, please drop me a line. I’d also love to hear what you think if you’ve tried any of them.
- We’ll let you know about special offers and what’s new in stock in our weekly newsletters – sign up on our website if you’re not getting that news yet.
- Our Jimmy’s collection will continue online so we can donate fruit and veg from time to time during the year rather than just at Christmas
- And overall, we’ll make every effort to provide a truly local, personal service for our customers.
Let me know if I’ve missed anything off the list.
I was going to post a recipe for turkey rice bake for all those leftovers, but I thought you’ve probably finished them by now. But just in case, here’s a link to Rick Stein’s Christmas Odyssey on BBC iPlayer which covers the subject of leftovers far better than I could.
Have a great New Year celebration.
Photo credit: Ahisgett
Posted under Shop news
This post was written by Vandy on December 29, 2009
Yes, Christmas has caught up with us again and the major supermarkets have been filling their aisles with chocolates, biscuits and seasonal treats for months. At Masseys we resist the jangle of Jingle Bells until November 1st – we reckon you can have too much of a good thing.
So, November is upon us now and the shop’s Christmas fare has been put out on the shelves. Carol and Marc have used their usual skill and insight to select items that you won’t find anywhere else around here. Hot property on the shelves at Masseys are the Panettone from Italy, and those thrilling Advent calendars that keep our young on the edge of complete excitement melt-down from the first day of December!