Getting ready to 'spring' into action!

You may have seen my recent Instagram and Facebook posts about the feeling of spring in the air. Yes, it’s still cold and yes, the evenings are dark but have you seen all the buds poking their heads up above the soil and announcing the end of winter? Up in my loft room, I can even hear the pigeons, nesting under the rooftop solar panels, cooing. There’s a massive group of them in there now and every morning, I’m sure another family has moved in. I just don’t have the heart to evict them. That cooing tells me they are getting flirty and starting to prepare their nests.

Back in Scone Land, we’ve had a long break since December and, while it has been nice to have the time to prepare, we’re really looking forward to getting back out there and serving goodies at markets, festivals and at some private parties. Have a look at the ‘Events’ section of our website (www.melsmarvellouscakes.com) where we have included a calendar to help you find us. Everything is opening up again and, now that there are less restrictions, everyone wants to plan and find some lovely treats. We look forward to seeing you in person at one of the venues.

A few things have happened over the last few months: At the beginning of February, our lovely silver BMW was involved in a car accident as the result of a police car chase. It was all very dramatic and fortunately, we weren’t hurt. However, the car was written off meaning that we had to go out and quickly find a new car capable of towing the caravan. This has given us another eco opportunity as we have bought a hybrid BMW. We can charge the car and, because our events are local, we will be using electricity when we tow the caravan. This cloud really did have a silver lining.

The other major setback has been the sad news that Libby’s Larder will no longer be making clotted cream and so, we are on the hunt for another supplier. In the meantime, we’ve been researching raw milk product at Home - Raw Milk Producers so that we can have a go at making our own clotted cream. Watch this space for a video of how we do. We will really miss Libby’s Larder as they have been a brilliant support in our first year. They are still running the Lyne Farm though and have a great farm shop on site.

On a more positive note, we have been learning about how food photography with Emma Dunham for just over a month. Emma ran a free 5 day Foodies Focus course early in the month. It was intense but we learnt so much. Many of the photos on the updated website were taken by Emma but one of the things we realised was that we needed to learn how to manage this ourselves. The tea boxes change so often that we needed to be able to take new photos without having to book a studio each time. Emma was brilliant and gave some excellent tips on lighting, composition, angles and using emotion to present the food. You may have seen one of my earlier blog posts outlining the challenges posed by food photography. Emma has really helped me to show my passion for afternoon tea through the photographs. We’ll be speaking more about this in the next blog.

There is so much to think about as we approach the end of our first year. From March, we are at three markets a month starting with Ripley Farmer’s Market on the 12th. Our Deluxe tea boxes will be available on the day and our Queen’s Tea Boxes packed with scones, sandwiches and cake are available to pre-order. We can also deliver your tea box to you. Just let us know where and when and, if it’s local, we’ll cycle your order over to you. Just think what a lovely treat this could be for someone special on Mother’s Day although, we think every day should be Mother’s Day!

Until we see you soon, take care and keep in touch.

Lots of love, Mel