We're closed today (Mondays), but looking forward to seeing you tomorrow :-)
- Well done to our very own veg team that have partnered with us from the start. A true farming family, our lifeblood through Covid and beyond. They work around the clock to keep us well fed! 👏
- As the sun shone today, the farmer welcomed school children from our local primary school to stomp around the farm and soak up real farm life watching the tractor drill seeds, dig for worms and see pears in their infancy after the blossom. 🌸
🍐 Enormous thanks as always go to Jacky from @countrytrust - a genius organisation that hooks us schools to their local farms. Thank you for taking the opportunity to make us all slow down, to listen for yellowhammers, buzzards and even spot the tumbling skylark. We all need that time to ourselves and mother nature.
🎒 Rather uniquely, today's children could walk to their school day out @whfnorwich meaning they could really soak up the essence of community, of a working farm and what's behind their daily grub!
🦊 Thank you to @whitehousefarmprimary for bringing their fox cubs class to the farm. It's a real joy to share farming with the younger generations and see (and hear) the excitement as they saw a tractor, found beetle larvae in the soil or ground their corn to flour. We had some fantastic questions but my favourite bit was when we discussed mammals and how foxes have belly buttons!
Thankfully they have promised to come back to sing carols and Christmas and walk through the barley in August, by then at waist height and enjoy seasons of the farm. It is the ultimate privilege to play an integral part in these young minds and build memories to cherish. 🌾
#community #makememories #familyfarming #farmshop #butchery #cafe #lovelocal - Serving Full English Breakfast all day today! #butchery #cafe #fullenglish #lovelocal #familyfarming #independentbusinesses #tribe #community
- Easter weekend! 🐰 We are open all day tomorrow with cream egg rocky road at the ready! #farmshop #cafe #butchery #happyeaster
- Hip hop hooray 🎉 for Stevie Wonder today! Norfolk's finest butcher, the creator of our Award Winning Sausages turns 60 today. We couldn't be luckier to have this hard working hero sharing his birthday with us today.
The ultimate task master, who led us to victory in the Battle of the Bangers all those years ago.
Happy birthday to Stevie Wonder. ✨
From us all at White House Farm and your very many customers. Happy birthday 🎈 Hopefully they'll spot these enormous balloons and help raise a glass. 🥂
#butchery #norfolkfarmshop #hero #workethic - Raspberry, white chocolate and mascarpone CAKE! Getting set for Mother's Day this weekend and championing ALL the ladies at work at @whfnorwich there's quite a few of them and together they are a force! 💪
♥️ International Women's Day! ♥️ - This Friday is International Women's Day so I thought I'd just highlight that nearly all our 15+ businesses at White House Farm are run and nurtured by women. They have all built their businesses with us, have their skin in the game and really feel the pulse of the local economy. 💪
@knowles_studios for example have been with us many years, they are run by four sisters and a mega Mum. They capture the hearts of little girls, dancing their way to the stage every Saturday morning. 🩰
To clarify, when you spend with us, you are not only supporting independent businesses, women entrepreneurs but also empowering change.
Did you know that almost 1 in 5 UK companies are led by women? That's over 880,000 businesses. Thank you @hollytucker for highlighting the potential of women-led enterprises.
And as I read last week on my little trip to London. Margaret Thatcher once said,
"If you want something said ask a man, but you want something done, ask a woman" 👠
Thank you 🙏 @rebecca_strickson_illustration - Thank you Chris Hill and his team at @edp24 for covering this milestone for White House Farm, Norwich - a huge community effort.
- Today was a slightly surreal day as I attended a Community Food and Farming Champions Reception at 10 Downing Street by the kind invitation of @chloe_smith_mp
Both the Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Rt Hon Mark Spencer MP, Minister for Food, Farming and Fisheries welcomed a whole host of guests from around the country within farming related professions. They pledged their support for all those in the farming community, the custodians of farmland, recognising the many adversities facing the rural economy. Farming is at the heart of what we do, it's our roots, our history and integral to our story. Without farmers, we have no food and as we all found out during the pandemic, food is a big deal!
The farm shop has forged strong bonds with a huge number of producers across Norfolk and it is a joy to welcome their produce each week to our shelves. As ever, we champion the community, the site's 150+ employees on the site and 15 businesses. It's testament to the fact that small acorns can become oaks. It all started from selling a few strawberries ten years ago. 🍓
Energy in a nation is like sap in a tree; it rises from the bottom up; it does not come from the top down.” (Woodrow Wilson 1912).
#familyfarming #independentbusinesses #community
As always, I thank all the faces of White House Farm, the farmer, our employees, customers, business owners and suppliers. It's a rich tapestry that makes a community, the community I represented today. Thank you all. 🙏
🐈 (In all honesty, the highlight for me was meeting the famous Downing Street cat, Larry. He took one look at the party and disappeared into a side room. If only I could have followed and heard his secrets!) - Calling all butchers to @whfnorwich
We need someone 3 days a week to help Stevie Wonder. Can anyone help? DM [email protected]
#lovelocal #familyfarming #butchery #independentbusinesses #fullenglish - Red Velvet ❤️ cake taking centre stage today. Thank you to our wonderful baking team, it's quite a job keeping up with demand. We love your innovation and creativity that gives us something new each week. 🙏
We are also loving all the new customers this half term, especially the ones that heard us on the 'wireless' @bbcsounds talking stolen cups last Wednesday! 📻
Thank you for coming to see what all the fuss was about.
@kayleighpoacher - If you missed it live, listen again here as we talk stolen coffee cups! 11.30am after the Beach Boys! 🤣
- We really do know our pottery is lovely, we've had it since we started out on this cafe quest in 2013 (because the farmer's wife is a jolly kinda person.) We even sell it in the farmshop, but we have noticed it slowly disappears from our café which is a touch disheartening. 👀
Where I ask myself; why would anyone want a dirty coffee cup in their hand bag?! Plus our team really loves washing up and when we are busy and we are out of cups....it can get a tad stressful! So even if you're tempted, please pretty please leave our pottery for someone else to enjoy! It's quite a challenge running a cafe without crockery. And we really don't want to be like everyone else and have boring white mugs with no personality! 🎨
✨ On the plus side, thank you so much to all the ardent Grammers out there who photograph and post gorgeous photos of your coffee/cake/food in the café. We never tire of these images and I'm sure they convince other people to come and try out coffee on the farm!
Please, keep them coming.
🎨 Remember if you're the arty tarty type, you can pop nextdoor to @dotty_pottery and paint your own cups, saucers and all sorts. It's wonderful.
#independentbusiness
#challenges
#farmshop
#cafe
#awardwinning
#sensationalbakes - Last chance to see our brilliant video on the BIG screen Cinema City Norwich
Showing in every film until Thursday! #community #tribe #familyfarming #cafelife #visitnorwich #lovelocal - It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to the legendary Derek Spanton, a wonderful man who transcended Norfolk farming with his incredible knowledge of heavy horses and farming history.
Known for his breeding and love of Shire horses which he learnt from his uncle. He devoted hours to showing his horses all over the country, notably every year for 70 years at the @aylshamshow in Blickling. He recalled showing the horses on the Monday on show day and back farming them in Worstead on the Tuesday.
This year he took part in a pageant that showcased 70 years of farming from the horse and plough to towering present day machinery. It seemed a fitting finale for Derek. He leaves behind his beloved Herbie, aged 27 photographed here. RIP to a true farming hero. 🌱🐴🚜