http://www.thefoodhut.co.uk en-gb thefoodhut.co.uk 2012-5-4T00:00:00Z thefoodhut.co.uk http://www.thefoodhut.co.uk/page4.htm#117678 Just recently I was listening to the Radio 2 if you must know and Jeremy Vine was talking about people who love where they live. The idea was that listeners would write a two hundred word postcard or love letter to their home town and some would get to read theirs out on the air. Having once worked for BBC radio I know how many responses to this particular topic the production team would have received and so I didnt really give it much thought. But then I gave it a bit more and decided that.as Im always going on about how much I love North Somerset why not share itSo here it is two hundred words ok more like seven on why I love living where I do. Whats that got to do with The Food Hut Absolutely nothing.I live with my wife and two sons in North Somerset or Avon between Bristol and Weston super Mare in a village called Yatton. Its where the Korgis came from. Apparently.After many years living in London I came to Bristol and moved out here about twelve years ago. I have never regretted ... 2012-5-4 14:32:07 http://www.thefoodhut.co.uk/page4.htm#95688 I wonder if anyone reading this remembers when Lord Wraxhall of Tyntesfield died ten years ago Leaving an enormous delapidated estate it was wondered what would become of the magnificent house and its grounds. Suddenly bizarrely Kylie Minogue was named in a national newspaper as being in the running to take on the onerous responsibilty of ownership. And then it almost became fact. Except it didnt. The whole rumour had been started by a friend of mine who was working in a local pub at the time he made up the story for a laugh The slightly scary part about this story is how quickly a whimsical idea injudiciously or maliciously uttered within earshot of an interested party can become common knowledge in a short space of time. And this is what we find at The Food Hut after five years we are even now being asked if we are the new owners Whats worse is that we are asked this by regulars who obviously havent visited for five years and who have heard a rumour that the place has changed hands... 2011-6-7 11:13:13 http://www.thefoodhut.co.uk/page4.htm#83795 VAT The Curse of the Small BusinessThe following is written on behalf of small business owners throughout the country. I had never intended the Food Hut Blog to be political in any way but some things just need to be said.On the fourth of January our Government is raising the VAT rate to 20. Thats only two and a half percent right Wrong in terms of a percentage of the current rate of 17.5 the increase is more like 15. and in terms of the extra cost in the supply chain the price rises will be passed on many times. Labour leader Ed Miliband has called the planned rise the wrong tax at the wrong time and has said it will cost the average family 1637.50 a week.Mr Millibands concerns for lower income families and small businesses are well founded and while his own partys record in helping vulnerable groups like families and small businesses are hardly laudable he has hit the nail on the head. One of the problems with vat is that it is nonselective and unavoidable. Lower incomes pay the sa... 2011-1-3 20:14:57 http://www.thefoodhut.co.uk/page4.htm#80759 Monday 15th November.First day of guinea pig week.Yesterday we loaded the car with food from TFH a microwave oven drinks tools buckets and stools. Crockery cutlery curtains and cloths alliteration unintended. This morning after the school run Kate and I made our separate ways over to Dorothy. So very cold. So cold in fact that I swear there was condensation on the outside of her windows.We then had to find homes for all the stuff one small fridge and an even smaller freezer dont provide a great deal of space and that done we await the hoards. Ok while we are waiting I decide that its about time Kate learns to use the coffee machine. And pat they come. It always happens as soon as I try to show someone how to do something a customer shows up this time it was only Penn one of our bakers but she did insist on talking to Kate about cakes thus diluting the lesson. So at least Kate got to practise on a friend while I did important things like trying to level the freezer.Well that was last M... 2010-11-19 21:38:12 http://www.thefoodhut.co.uk/page4.htm#80408 I had wanted to write so many more blogs about the progress of Dorothy but the distractions of actually doing the job has meant that Ive had little time for such frivolities so heres a brief update on how we got to today Dorothy late leaving workshop. Last minute panic trying to get a driver to get her to LXF involving an eighty mile round trip to get some trade plates to allow a driver to legally drive her. We leave Tudor trailers with me following a little after. I catch up with D parked up in a layby the drivers cabin steamed up and rusty water gushing out of a valve at floor level creating a delicious pool of water for the driver to soak his feet in and a nice little polluted stream leading the way to the doors. We had nothing to mop up the mess with so Steve the driver paddled around a bit and got on the road again. This time I was close behind watching carefully for any sign of steam billowing from the drivers window. The rest of the journey passed without incident and we eventua... 2010-11-15 21:06:08 http://www.thefoodhut.co.uk/page4.htm#78904 The work has been ongoing for over a week now. The subfloor that has been laid to counter Dorothys sponginess in certain areas has lengthened the job and we are finding that even small tasks like replacing floor panels can take ages. Bearing in mind that D day or Delivery day or Dorothy day is next Monday I had thought that things may have progressed a little further. But the fact that Ali at Tudor Trailers is still confident that Monday is not unrealistic makes me think that we are the ones that will have an awful lot of work to do to make Dorothy habitable and not them. I am seeing signs that Dorothy will soon look the part the floor and trims are looking good. The tables are done and they look fab. Ive only covered one seat so far but I can tell that the upholstery will look great with everything else.Today I took Louis my youngest along to see how the job was progressing. Most parents of small children will recognise that there is a very limited period of grace as far as a childs t... 2010-10-27 15:15:32 http://www.thefoodhut.co.uk/page4.htm#77944 I spent the day with Dorothy today. I knew that I needed to be with her well be spending a lot of time together soon and we needed to start our relationship somewhere.So I was gentle with her and started by trying out a little external makeover with some nice green Hammerite. Just a strip. Just to see how it behaved. It looked bloody awful runny dribbly and patchy. So thats one thing for the mental shopping list. A roller.Indoors what a mess. Has this bus ever been loved I wondered. Almost certainly not but are buses ever loved really I suppose theres not too much thats lovable about a bus.Mental shopping list then rubber gloves detergent cleaning sponges packet of crisps and a sandwich. Oh and some masking tape and a paint roller for the next coat of Hammerite.Bucket of water and spray on cleaner. Some of the wall panels look a little better now but they need scouring to really look their best. The windows need cleaning the window frames and seals need cleaning. The radiator grills n... 2010-10-14 22:45:36 http://www.thefoodhut.co.uk/page4.htm#77163 Tip imagine Phil MitchellSo how will I spot you asked Bernard the driver. I tapped the side of my nose Dont worry Ill be waiting for you you cant miss me. When you leave the motorway at the end of the slip road look out for a small Peugot. Its got a bunny on the back. Er right you are said Bernard see you there. Right. And Bernard. Keep it quiet I dont want to be seen. And dont forget your spare plates. Click the phone went dead.So there I was a Tuesday lunchtime in a layby on a roundabout just off the M5 waiting for a blue and white Leyland Bluebird to roll up the slip road on its way to becoming Dorothy the Food Hut Bus.And then at exactly the agreed time there she was ready for me to lead her and Bernard to the yard where the conversion is to take place.Ten minutes later we pulled into Tudor Trailers for a few photos and for me to learn to drive a bus backwards and forwards well someones going to have to do it. Great fun I went forwards really slowly. And then I went backwards real... 2010-10-5 22:27:22 http://www.thefoodhut.co.uk/page4.htm#76826 A couple of Sundays ago my wife two sons and I were in Ikea in Bristol just in time for Sunday lunch have you ever tried their hotdogs Terrific. Normally I would have fish and chips because I LOVE fish and chips but on this occasion I thought maybe Id try something different. I noticed a chicken breast and pasta dish on the menu and decidied to give it a go despite my reluctance to eat pasta anywhere that isnt an Italian restaurant or my own dining room its always overcooked unseasoned and foul. Well it was OK smallish piece of chicken breast quite tasty. Pasta just about passable with some vegetables thrown in to keep the five a day mob quiet.I wonder if I could do better than this I thought. The next few days had ideas crawling around in my head pasta yes penne. Sauce How about a loose roux flavoured with Vermouth and some herbs But what herbs Tarragon Brilliant How to appease the five a days Roasted fennel would go quite well with the tarragon I thought. Maybe a little seared cour... 2010-10-1 15:21:35