Nicola Wilson In her regular column, Nicola Milne-Malone of Giddens and Thompson Greengrocers in Bungay extols the virtues of autumn and the wonderful fruit and vegetables to be enjoyed int his colourful season.
“Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree.” – Emily Brontë
I can’t believe in October it will be a year since Ben and I became the proud owners of Giddens and Thompson, and what a year it has been!
It really has been a joy to be here, and I have loved every moment of being a greengrocer, especially somewhere as amazing as Earsham Street.
We have met some amazing suppliers along the way with McCarthy’s in Norwich making sure we have all the essential lovely fresh fruit and vegetables every single day. Tacons Farm and Clinks Farm for gorgeous local seasonal produce, plus High house Farm and Moat Farm for apples, apple juice, plums, and soon pears. All these suppliers help our shop burst at the seams with colourful, delicious, and amazing fruit and vegetables.
Our brilliant, unflappable team has been there every step of the way and supported us while we found our feet, to which Ben and I are so very grateful.
The wonderful people of Bungay and all the surrounding areas have made Ben and I so welcome. They have supported us from the very first day and we really can’t thank them enough. I have personally really enjoyed meeting so many wonderful characters who just make every day so rewarding.
Although it is sad to bid farewell to summer – and what a beautiful summer it was. We had the most amazing local produce, from bright red plump strawberries, raspberries, cherries, and blueberries, all bursting with flavour and colour, to sweet juicy tomatoes and fresh crisp, delicious salads.
I am just a little bit excited to welcome in the autumn with a warm embrace. Autumn is hands down my favourite season of all. Bright blue skies, crisp days, red, yellow, and gold in colour, a warm snuggly jumper and boots and, of course, a gorgeous heart-warming soup; just imagine the smell of spiced lentil and butternut squash soup on the stove, or the mouth-watering aroma of a slow cooked stew with generously filled, hot, buttery jacket potatoes all soft and fluffy and ready to eat after a long walk.
We will have lots of beautiful seasonal autumnal produce to tickle your taste buds such as local apples, including cox and russets, conference and comice pears, blackberries, plums, bilberries, elderberries, celeriac, butternut squash, acorn squash, turban squash, artichoke, pumpkins, parsnips, sorrel, shallots, leeks, mushrooms, swede, plus lots of dark green leafy and vegetables such as kale, cavolo nero, and so much more.
We will continue juicing our fabulous oranges throughout autumn and winter as this is a really important time to increase vitamin C levels, a powerful antioxidant that is immune boosting and helps to ward off colds. Another fabulous juice to try is apple, carrot and ginger, full of vitamins and minerals. Best served warm, this is the perfect hug in a mug, so bring on those autumn days!
