The market is being organised by Native2Norfolk, which is focused on showcasing Norfolk’s extensive food and drinks industry.

The Foulsham-based events management company was created by Fin Robertson, who has more than 10 years’ experience working in the industry.

“I know how exceptional it is and how much it needs showing off, so I’m doing just that,” he said.

“Some people may know me from various ventures, such as helping out Norfolk businesses at events or through my main jobs for Crush Foods and Candi’s Cupboard.

“For more than 10 years – half of my life – I’ve been involved within Norfolk’s food and drink scene, watching our industry grow. It’s this involvement that was part of forming Native2Norfolk.”

This year will be the company’s first full year of trading and the first regular market will take place at the Station Café, Station Road, Reepham, from 9.30 am – 2.30 pm on Sunday 12 March – just in time to stock up on presents for Mother’s Day the following Sunday.

With possible further additions on the day, the producers attending this first market include:

• The Oil Tree
• Norfolk Raider Cider
• The Little Flapjack Company
• Heathers Kettle Corn and Lemonade
• Love My Fudge and Shakes
• Grumpy Panda
• BON Bakery
• Norfolk Hampers
• Sweet Smiles
• Candi’s Cupboard
• Bakeshack
• Wickhams Candle Company
• Mindful Mixology
• Panther Brewery

Contact: Native2Norfolk
Tel: 07990 069801
Email: native2norfolk@gmail.com
www.native2norfolk.co.uk

The post Farmers’ market to launch in Reepham appeared first on REEPHAM LIFE.

Bread Source, which has a stall at the currently closed Wednesday market in Reepham, can provide Tuesday-Saturday deliveries.

“If customers are unsure or need special help to access food, if they ring we will do our best to help them,” said owner Steven Winter.

Shop online or place an order (no delivery charge, £20 minimum) by calling 01603 666207.

Photo: Bread Source

The post Artisan bakery now delivering to Reepham appeared first on REEPHAM LIFE.

Reepham Market’s cheesemonger has an exclusive Christmas offer for Reepham Life readers.

Aaron Christie (pictured), who runs Son of Christie Cheesemonger, has been attending Reepham market for more than 18 months.

Although the business was established in 1985 by his father, Robert Christie, Aaron only started attending Reepham after he took over in 2017.

He said although it is a relatively small market, he enjoys spending time in Reepham with its active local community and seeing regular faces every week.

However, he is unsure whether locals are aware of what he has to offer for Christmas.

“Our home-cooked ham-on-the-bone joints are very popular at Christmas,” Aaron explained. “Many of our customers tell us it’s the best ham they’ve ever tasted – it can sit in the fridge over the Christmas period when people want to avoid the shops.”

Locally cured at Broadland Hams using only Norfolk and Suffolk pigs, Aaron then slow cooks the joints before grilling them in a homemade sweet mustard glaze. Hams start at around £30.

Aaron can also source baby Stiltons and Cheddar truckles, and will do his best to find what customers are after if they have special requests.

He regularly stocks more than 50 fine cheeses at the market stall in Reepham, including 15 from Norfolk.

Offer details

• Readers spending more than £30 will receive a £7.50 voucher to be spent at Son of Christie Cheesemonger at a future date.
• Quote “Reepham Life” when placing your order.
• Christmas orders can either be made in person at the market stall on Wednesday 4 December or Wednesday 11 December between 7.30 am and 1 pm, or online by Monday 16 December at www.sonofchristie.co.uk
• All orders can be collected from any market.

Son of Christie Cheesemonger. Tel: 07765 734734. Email

See our earlier story:

• Fine cheese from Norfolk and beyond now at Reepham market

The post Reader offer for Christmas orders at Reepham market cheesemonger appeared first on REEPHAM LIFE.

Aaron Christie. Photos: ‘© Reepham Community Press

Based at Colkirk near Fakenham, Christie & Son has been in the cheese business for more than 30 years.

Proprietor Aaron Christie, who took over from his father a year ago, also has a market stall in Fakenham on Thursday, Dereham on Friday and Swaffham on Saturday.

Christie & Son specialises in fine cheese from Norfolk, the rest of the UK and the Continent.

It also sells home-cooked ham on the bone and a range of accompaniments, such as biscuits, homemade pickles and chutneys and other deli products, as well as pork pies and local honey.

Some of the best-selling local cheeses include Binham Blue, Wensum White and Baron Bigod, as well as traditional English cheddars, said Mr Christie.

He added that although Reepham did not have a large market at present, he is prepared to give it a “lengthy go. I was quite happy with the first morning’s business this week,” he said.

The post Fine cheese from Norfolk and beyond now at Reepham market appeared first on REEPHAM LIFE.

The Wensum Valley branch of Broadland Labour Party had asked the council, which sets the rules for the weekly market, for permission to set up a stall to provide “information and publicity materials”.

Councillors narrowly approved the request in a 4–3 vote.

Several councillors said the Labour Party activists might upset market traders, put off customers or open the door to unwanted activities in the future.

“Councillors accepted that this would entitle any and every political or social pressure group to be given the same opportunity, subject to making a request to the Town Clerk,” said Cllr Michael Pender-Cudlip, who voted against the proposal.

Councillors agreed to draft a new policy covering who may run a market stall, and to discuss this at their next meeting on 9 October. The decision in favour of the Labour Party request makes it unlikely that the new policy will ban political groups.

The current market rules refer only to buying and selling.

In general, anyone can canvass door-to-door, set up a stall or hand out leaflets as long as they do not obstruct the pavement or behave in an anti-social way, the council meeting was told.

Charles Butcher

The post Labour Party stall sets market precedent appeared first on REEPHAM LIFE.

Vale Farm Eggs is run by Karen McGuire-Garland and husband Matt, who moved to the idyllic Hackford estate farm off Dereham Road in February 2015.

Having established Belle Bantams UK, which sells rare, true and ornamental bantams (a small variety of poultry), the partners decided to expand and are now approved to sell bantam, duck and quail eggs to the public and wholesale to businesses.

Karen, a former carer, started breeding bantams in 2007 purely as a hobby with just four hybrid hens – Pepper, Sugar, Honey and Ginger – providing fresh eggs for family, friends and neighbours.

Having moved to Reepham from a small property with a tiny garden in Manea, Cambridgeshire, the couple were awarded a £500 enterprise grant from Broadland District Council last year to convert some of the barns of the former pig farm.

The hens are kept in large purpose-built pens with access to soil, straw and natural light, and are fully protected from local predators and other birds that can spread disease.

More than 300 hens from around 30 different breeds are now housed at Vale Farm, including Belgian, Japanese, Pekin, Sebright, Sabelpoot and Silkie bantams, larger breeds, such as Goldlines, Marans, Light Sussex and the rare Norfolk Grey, as well as hybrid hens, ducks and quail.

Belle Bantams UK can also supply a variety of hybrid and auto-sexed chicks from a day old up to point of lay, as well as fertile hatching eggs from all of its breeds. The business has a wide client base, including customers from across the UK as far away as Scotland, and in Ireland too.

Besides poultry, the McGuire-Garlands have a menagerie of animals on their seven-acre smallholding, including horses, dogs, cats, ferrets and parrots – as well as three teenage children, the youngest at Reepham High School.

Following a flood in one of the barns last winter, the business has bounced back and is currently looking for more funding to convert another shed, which will enable a reorganisation of the hen-rearing and laying pens to accommodate more livestock.

Since November, Vale Farm Eggs/Belle Bantams UK has been selling eggs and livestock at Creake Abbey Farmers’ Market on the first Saturday of the month and is also looking at other markets besides Reepham.

Vale Farm Eggs has already supplied eggs to the Dial House and V’s Café in Reepham, and can supply other local pubs, cafés, restaurants and shops, having been approved as a certified registered packing station by the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency as all the eggs are boxed and labelled on a daily basis, then refrigerated.

Karen will focus on the marketing and day-to-day work at Vale Farm, while former London-based fitness instructor Matt will manage the markets side of the business, which remind him of his childhood spending time on his grandfather’s market stall selling pet food.

Karen, who proudly admits to having OCD (obsessive chicken disorder), said she absolutely loves the outdoor lifestyle amongst all the animals and fresh, country air. “It certainly keeps me busy, although it sometimes doesn’t feel like work at all,” she confessed. “We have already achieved so much in just a year.”

The post Egg market takes off for new Vale Farm business appeared first on REEPHAM LIFE.

Representing “Reepham Small Shops”, Sarah Chapman of Diane’s Pantry said recent headlines in Reepham Life (December/January) encouraged shoppers to use the Wednesday market or lose it, but added that the same can also be said of the small shops in Reepham, many of which are struggling to earn a decent living wage from their businesses.

“If the current shopping climate does not soon improve, many of these excellent small shops will face closure,” she said in a letter to Reepham Life. “While many may not be as cheap as supermarkets appear to be, they do add value with service, advice and the personal touch, often delivering to those who are not able to get out.”

Ms Chapman noted that Reepham has a range of varied and interesting shops together with places to visit, adding that the town attracts many visitors that bring much-needed revenue to shops and businesses.

“Lately, however, many shops have been faced with a drop-off in trade, especially on a Wednesday, when the market square is filled with stalls and the only other car park [in Station Road] is full by 8.30 am.

“We have once-regular customers who now rarely shop in Reepham as they tell us they know they will struggle to park. As shop owners we are concerned that they do not even bother to try and, of course, word of mouth soon has a serious knock-on effect.”

The traders’ group has asked for just one side of the Market Place to be reserved for market stalls on a Wednesday, which would allow more visible parking spaces to be available. They also suggest the Market Place has parking spaces marked out so that people do not park inconsiderably, which would free up more space.

“The traffic warden could help in this respect by encouraging those who park all day to be more considerate and park further away from the Market Place and town centre,” said Ms Chapman. “This would free up more space for those who just call in for an hour in order to do their shopping.”

She argued that until the parking and market situation in Reepham town centre improves, “small businesses will struggle and it is a matter for both the market and small shops of ‘use it or lose it’. As soon as shops start to close, the town centre will start to wither. Action is needed now.”

• What do you think? Should Reepham's weekly market be restricted to half the market square only? Email us HERE

The post Shop owners want restrictions on market appeared first on REEPHAM LIFE.

Addressing the Council’s December meeting, chairman Les Paterson said an informal survey of the parking situation carried out mid-morning on weekdays had revealed that the Market Place, where parking is restricted to 90 minutes in the main square, generally had “plenty of spaces available”.

However, the Station Road car park, which is currently unrestricted, is largely full most days of the week, with most space taken up by workers from the town’s shops and businesses, as well as long-term parking of vehicles by some residents.

Councillors admitted that parking on Wednesday mornings, when the weekly market is held, is the main issue. However, they noted that any changes in the current arrangements would push the problem somewhere else, such as side-roads, adding that alterations to parking restrictions would cost a minimum of £5,000.

Despite concerns by some residents and shopkeepers that a lack of parking is driving customers away, the Town Council voted to take no further action on this issue, but said the situation will be reviewed in nine months’ time.

This recent shopping survey carried out by the Reepham Chamber of Commerce indicated that more than 70% of respondents felt that parking can sometimes be a problem and, of those, 10% found it “difficult to park”.

Parking was also the factor most frequently selected as the one thing that discouraged respondents from shopping in the town. However, a significant percentage – more than 20% – said parking in Reepham is easy.

It is understood that Broadland District Council had offered to pay for a report from a parking and traffic consultant, but stressed that the Town Council would have to accept any recommendations from such a survey.

Other suggestions have included enforcing a two-hour limit on parking in the Station Road car park and encouraging town-centre workers and residents without garages to use the main car park at Stimpson’s Piece – a five-minute walk away from the Market Place. This could free up existing space for shoppers, who generally spend up to an hour shopping, the recent shopping survey revealed.

Creating a new car park next to the doctors’ surgery in Smuggler’s Lane has also been suggested as part of the solution.

What do you think? Is parking a major problem in Reepham? Contact us or email: letters@reephamlife.co.uk

The post Parking in Reepham not a problem, says Town Council appeared first on REEPHAM LIFE.

Established around four years ago, the Norwich-based business trades at a number of weekly markets and farmers’ markets across East Anglia, including Bury St Edmunds, Sheringham, Acle and Docking.

The stall offers a wide selection of English and continental cheeses, including many unusual smoked varieties, as well as a range of pies and pasties.

The friendly proprietor Rosa, who gladly offers slivers of cheese to taste, says she plans to come back every Wednesday morning if Reepham supports her.

La Sabrosa Continental

Tel: 07914 756697

Email: a.fernandez59@btinternet.com

The post ‘Tasty’ cheese stall for Reepham Market appeared first on REEPHAM LIFE.