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Hello to all 1000 of you…͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
A milestone for Kingfisher online!Hello to all 1000 of you…yes that’s right…1000! Thank you to all of our readers, whether you’re local or from a far, we are so glad to deliver our news to such a lovely bunch! Our 18th issue celebrates the winner of our Kingfisher Kids Competition, the advent countdown and our staff (past and present). Speaking of which, one of our much loved Flower Girls Martha is taking the opportunity to seek new adventures. We are all thrilled for her, however equally as sad to see her go. We really do wish her all the best and look forward to hearing her news. Reminder: Orders for Christmas close on Wednesday 8th December, so get ordering over the weekend to make it in time! Read on for more festive reminders. If you’d prefer coming in to the shop over Christmas, find our opening times here. As always we will continue to make the shop as safe as possible and ask that all customers wear masks inside both the Farm & Flower Shop. Please enjoy this festive Monthly Post and a VERY Happy Christmas to you all.
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Tis’ the season…for fresh produce!Seasonal must haves in the Farm Shop! And in the Flower Shop… Amaryllis Scilly Isles Narcissi English Tulips in time for Christmas Winter Berry Holly, Bay Leaf & Ivy (for your Christmas décor) and Christmas Trees of course!
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Don’t Forget!Wednesday 8th December - Our deadline for all Christmas week orders (Delivery or Collection 22-14th December) Saturday 18th December - The last day you can make additions to your Christmas week orders. 6pm on Saturday 18th December - 4th January (inclusive) - The Online Shop will be closed. Tuesday 4th January - Normal hours resume at the Farm & Flower Shop
Please see our Christmas Opening Times here….
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We also have a small but beautiful selection of modern, rustic tree decorations & beautiful gifts inside the Flower Shop! Take a look at our Christmas Wreaths online or order one direct from the Flower Shop. We also have DIY Wreath Making Kits available from our online shop. Order now to avoid disappointment.
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We have a WINNER!We are thrilled to announce that our winner for the Kingfisher Kids Christmas Card Competition is the fabulous drawing pictured above by… Amelia, age 11 Amelia had the following to say about Kingfisher… “I love the Farm Shop because all the staff are so friendly. I love to see to see Tilly walking around the grounds. I have to say my favourite part is their… ICE CREAM!!! Happy Holidays! x”
Chief judge Jo said the following… “It was the detail that I love… the drawing really captured all the different aspects of Kingfisher in lockdown. Everytime I looked at it I noticed something else… the sun, snow, swans, the Flower Shop & pheasants… it made me smile, but of course it was hard to judge as all entries were worthy winners.”
WELL DONE Amelia and thank you for designing our Christmas card for 2021! We also wanted to say a huge thank you to all our other talented entrants. We were genuinely wowed by your creativity and couldn’t bear the idea of them not being seen, so have included them all below! We hope you all have a fun filled and creative Christmas. Merry Christmas Little Kingfishers!
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Laurie, Age 9 “I love Kingfisher Farm Shop because the food is delicious”
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Zara, Age 5 “I like the Farm Shop because everyone there is kind and smiles!”
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Gabriel, Age 11 “My favourite thing about the Farm Shop is that the veg and pasties are AMAZING!”
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Charlotte, Age 7 “I like the Flower Shop because I like all the flowers”
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Finn, Age 8 “I love the Farm Shop pastries so much” |
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Alba, Age 8 “I love Kingfisher because the staff are very kind and helpful!” |
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Twiggy, Age 3 “I like the Farm Shop because of the people, broccoli and ice cream”
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Tessa, Age 4 “I like the Farm Shop because it makes Mummy happy” |
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Our Kingfisher Advent CalendarThis year we’ve decided that we’d like to shout about some of the fabulous products in our shop that we think would make wonderful presents, whatever size your budget! We’ve handpicked 24 items that we love, from affordable to lavish! Enjoy the gift of giving this year and indulge someone you love.
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All the fun of the festive fair…A little reminder about Abinger Hammer’s very own Christmas Fair, happening on Sunday 12th December in Abinger Village Hall 10am - 4pm. Kingfisher will be there with wreaths, hampers and many more Christmas gifts! Find handmade gifts and shopping by local crafts people, tea & cakes, bauble painting and a charity raffle. Admission is completely free, so bring your entire family.
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A Kingfisher Christmas in the 1950s…
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The oldest resident of Abinger Hammer, 88 year old Pat Roberts, took the opportunity to wonder down memory lane for us. Pat has lived in the village all his life, so he has a wealth of stories to share. Going back over seventy years, to his late teenage years working for my great grandfather in the glass houses at Abinger Hammer. Market gardening was thriving in the valley back in the 1950’s and Pat spent his initiation into full time employment, learning horticultural skills under the watchful eye of the foreman, Charlie Bowman. "A very good gardener and kind, good man”, Pat fondly remembers. Days were spent pricking out bedding plants, 54 to a wooden tray, taking care of the main crops, cucumbers and tomatoes in the summer and in the winter, glass house maintenance. |
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Decembers’ main focus was making holly wreaths, the same as today!!!! When asked why Pat came to work in the glasshouses, it appears it was a happy accident. He had first tried training as an electrician, but it wasn’t for him. He asked for a job in the greenhouses. "The pay was good and it was a friendly team, so I stayed!" Back in Pat’s day, there would be trips to Holmbury St Mary, to collect huge bags of moss (from a secret location!) and holly, the non prickly variety. The bulk of the holly, berried and prickly were harvested from trees alongside the watercress beds. The very same group of trees where we cut today for our wreaths. They were planted for this very reason. Just as we do today, a moss base was made, before laying the foliage on. In Pat’s day, all the wreaths were holly, alternating the plain holly with variegated and laying the berries on top. They supplied local grocers, Sherlocks in Gomshall, Partons in Westcott and a florist in Dorking. Many locals would come to the doors of the main glasshouse to buy holly wreaths. A roaring trade would keep them busy making and selling for the run up to Christmas. Once all the holly wreaths had been made, Pat had the job of painting the greenhouses in preparation for the new growing season. |
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He spent seven years as part of the team working in the greenhouses. Charlie Bowman and his wife made the wedding flowers for Pat and his wife, Kate, before leaving for a career with the Post Office. He continued to pursue his passion in horticulture as a keen gardener, tending to a vegetable patch at home ever since. At the end of my visit, we went out to the garden to see rows of leeks ready to be harvested through the winter. It was so lovely to have the opportunity to listen to Pat’s stories and learn a little more of the history of the business and be able to share this with you.
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Meet Natasha…Natasha joined our team 4 years ago having worked as a massage therapist for over 20 years. A back injury forced her to take a break from her work and travels and found herself returning to the Surrey Hills. Having spent many years living in Southern Spain, Natasha has grown a passion for organic farming and can really appreciate the benefits of fresh, local produce which is how she found herself joining our team. Since then Natasha has become our resident plant consultant and has many ongoing projects, such as her composting and plant nursery. You might even catch her in the flower shop putting together eye catching hand-ties or wreath making for Christmas! We all love having Natasha working alongside us, her thoughtful nature is reflected in many ways; volunteering to look after Margarets’ bee’s, feeding the team with her delicious cooking and offering a pair of extra hands when needed. It’s fair to say that we have learnt a lot from her…thank you Natasha! As a self confessed ‘sucker for really good local produce’ Natasha loves to explore and experiment with our seasonal veg but we often find her snooping around the ice cream freezer too! This time of year Natasha’s favourites are Grays Gelato for a treat, along with your daily greens of Fenland Celery, Jerusalem Artichokes and wild Mushrooms.
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November’s WINNER is…. Jacqui Blake You’ve won £15 off any wreath or DIY wreath making kit! Throughout December we would love you to ask your friends and relatives to sign up to our Monthly Post with the chance of winning a fresh & healthy Greengrocers Box. |
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