July's news

Last month, Gold Hill threw wide the farm-gates for Open Farm Sunday, celebrated Queen and community at the Hey Day (in various guises...), and roared with laughter together at the Living Spit comedy show. It was a delight to meet so many of you and welcome in new faces, and it is a privilege to serve our neighbours so directly.

This month boasts a wealth of new bounty, from peas to fennel, and peppers to fresh basil. As always our produce is picked each morning, so it reaches your plates at premium freshness. You’re more than welcome to take a little wander around the growing sites to see exactly where your food comes from.

We know that a lot of you grow your own at home. Do let us know if you need any tips or advice. You’ll often find our surplus seedlings on sale by the door of the shop for bargain prices, so if you’ve got a little space left in the veg patch, you can top it up. We’ve got our eco-friendly compost on sale too - remember to keep that soil well fed.

As a city-boy, I cannot stress enough how mystified I still am by life-giving powers of our earth. To see plants spring up as if out of nowhere, to see dirt and debris metamorphose into delicious fruits, to witness the delicate relationships between flower and bee, soil and worm, human and earth - the whole experience is humbling and deeply profound. I write this if only to encourage you to remember at this time of year our codependence on this mysterious planet, and to remember how fortunate we are to have fertile land and sunny summers. It is a gift.

Lastly, I’d like to wish all our muslim neighbours a Ramadan Mubarak for these last few days, and a blessed Eid.