Polly's Baby Sleeps In A Bag?

This is for anyone who is still looking for ways to keep out of yesterday's doghouse this Christmas! To be honest it is a video of TV3's Ireland AM show featuring a number of great gift idea's; however, the real reason I am posting it here is so that you can have a look at one of Amanda Webb's all organic Feelgood Hamper's which are one of the featured items. There's nothing quite like seeing something in the flesh, but seeing them on TV is definitely the next best thing...

I met Amanda a couple of years ago now, at a networking event held by the Offaly, Laois & Nth Tipperary County Enterprise Boards. Margaret Farrell; who is currently co-ordinating the Network group for Offaly CEB tipped me off the very first time I met her; advising me to take loads of business cards with me.

From that one meeting came away with a variety of contacts, some of whom seem to have leapt from stage to stage and appear to be promoting very successful business ventures indeed. I got my very first order from that event; which gave me the confidence to continue the journey I'd just begun.

Amanda from Feelgood Hamper's was one of the contacts I made there. In promoting her range of totally organic hamper's this lady really caught my imagination; especially considering that she was the only one specialising in organic gift hampers in Ireland. To be honest, I suspect that she still is!

Unfortunately I didn't have the confidence; or the wherewithal, to assure her that many of the material used in my cards is either recycled or reused. It's not unusual to find the occasional piece of newsprint hidden amongst the flowers on them! I have since managed to find a supplier of reycled cardstock, with whom I intend to hook up in the near future...

Regardless, I've been watching Feelgood Hamper's; all the time wishing I had a good enough excuse to purchase some of their lovely goodies. Sadly I don't have too many friends whose over-riding passion is the environment and therefore had no reason to indulge my purse; that is until recently!

I purchased one of the most practical gifts available to new mum's through Feelgood Hamper's; an Organic Baby Sleeping Bag. At this time of the year these little gems are an essential part of the nursery; not only are they an attractive accessory it has a very practical purpose which is keeping babies snug after all they do have a nasty tendency to kick their blankets off don't they?

All I can say about Feelgood Hamper's is that the range of goods they offer is great; but the service is even better! What's more, my friend received her gift within two days of despatch and was absolutely delighted...

Offalian's Triumph

This morning I checked into Microsoft Outlook to see what delights had landed in my inbox and was not disappointed to spot the Offaly CEB December Ezine. My attendance of events organised by this group is unfortunately infrequent; due to previous commitments clashing. I keep an eye on things though; just in case...

In the wake of a whole swathe of award ceremonies it was a natural progression to publish some of the Offaly success stories; many of which had to do with food. Some; admittedly, in a somewhat round about way, but nevertheless come under that category!

Strangely enough this accolade must be awarded to Agetek who are based in Tullamore. Their stange name belies the fact that this company won the 2008 OCEB Enterprise Of The Year Award; but how is this connected with the subject at hand, ie Food? Well, simply put these guys manufacture doors for kitchen units and I'm sure we're all agreed that they are an integral part of the food preparation area...

On a much larger scale the Silver Award for cheese making was presented to Ralph Haslam of Mossfield Organic Cheese for his cow’s milk cheese with garlic and basil at the 2008 WORLD Cheese Awards which were held in Ireland for the first time this year; featuring over 2,400 entries from around the globe.

This award winning farm is situated at the foot of the Slieve Bloom Mountains some six miles from Birr, County Offaly. Having undergone organic conversion in 1999, Mossfield began production of award winning organic cheeses in 2005 and are hoping to expand into the field of yoghurt and ice-cream production in the future.

On a National Scale; the overall winner of any success story has to be Glenisk the overall Winner of National Organic Award 2008 for their Glenisk Irish Organic Butter. Glenisk Irish Organic Butter was judged the best of more than 100 entries in the 2008 National Organic Awards, organized by Bord Bia in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture.

The Cleary family business has been based in Killeigh, Co Offaly producing a range of organic yoghurt and milks for over twenty-five years. Sourcing quality organic milks from fifty farms across the island of Ireland; harvesting 90% of all organic milk produced, this company has gone from a dream to Award winning reality.

Another notable winner; the 2008 OCEB Enterprise Of The Year - Artisan Award was presented to Ballyshiel Artisan Foods who lovingly create a deliciously tempting range of speciality confectionery and chocolates; hand made using authentic family recipes. Their range includes Toffee Dulce de Leche (used in making Banoffee pie), exquisite Chocolate Sauce, Karina Handmade Chocolate's which include old time favourite; Macaroon Bars.

Ballyshiel Artisan Foods promise is that all their quality products are gluten, preservative, artificial flavouring, hydrogenated oil and fat free making them suitable for coeliac's and vegetarian's.

Also included in the list of Offaly CEB finalist's was Yvonne Carty of Hey Pesto! Who specialises in making entertaining a stress free adventure of the culinary variety. Catering for corporate and domestic customer's Yvonne has her craft down to a fine art and having sampled some of her wares I can heartily agree!

I'm sure we can all agree that the above list makes interesting reading for us Offalian's! It's nice to hear of anyone in the region succeeding in business but to be honest it's even better when this applies to food. At a time when there's less money available to splash out on expensive treats it's good to know that we have some award winning products right here on our door step. What's even nicer is that the quality of these products is assured...

I hope you enjoy checking out the links as there are some terrific products and companies to be found. Be thankful that Polly didn't launch into one of her famous rants about the dangers of eating 'normal' foodstuffs...

Polly Pierce

Fine Hand-Crafted Wedding Stationary & Greeting Cards For All Occasions: Affording You The Gift of Time