I’ve always been a strong proponent of supporting our local shops and businesses. I know it’s difficult because I often need to visit my local supermarket to do my big weekly shop and I also enjoy a good nose around the Bentalls Centre too. However, if we think about it, we are all pretty lucky to live in an area renowned for its great shopping experience, as well as having quality independent stores which often have that something special you can’t find anywhere else.

This week our family took a walk down the road to pay a visit to our local stores. This will nearly always involve the children jumping on their scooters whilst we try to keep up. I love doing this, not only because it’s nice to buy fresh fish at the fishmongers or a nice bit of meat from the butchers as a treat, but it’s also great to have a good old catch up with the wonderful people who work there. I love that sense of community and being able to walk past and give folk a wave or pop my head in to say hello! So on our travels, we picked up some lamb chops, some vegetables and then ended up in the cheese shop. At first the strong smell didn’t go down well with my little ones, but after a few minutes, they were soon behind the desk, helping to hand out cheese to customers and began to build up the confidence to try some out themselves. After a few ‘yucks’ and splutters, my eldest found his favourite and of course it was a cheese made with truffles! I mean, I didn’t know what a truffle tasted like until I paid for it myself in a restaurant.

Needless to say we had a lovely meal that night and it tasted even better knowing that it was from down the road. However, I need to get my little ones back to loving good old cheddar. I can’t be walking around the supermarket with my son asking if they have truffle Gouda.