WHERE do you get the best tomatoes in Britain? The best oysters, the best turbot? The best spuds? Where can you buy some of the freshest roast coffee beans in the UK?
My answer to all these questions is - Blackburn.
No, I've not gone soft. I love my grub. I travel around the UK a great deal, and I enjoy shopping for food, whether in supermarkets, local shops, or markets.
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And I can compare the vast range of food now available in London with that on offer in the rest of the country.
My impressions are not scientific. They are personal. But they are not sentimental.
The best tomatoes I've tasted in a long while came the other week from John Woods' stall on the three-day market in Blackburn.
I bought a kilo of them one Saturday, and realised when I got home I'd gobbled nearly half of them in the car.
John grows them at his nursery and market garden in Much Hoole, between Preston and Southport.
He tells me that he doesn't use the new fancy methods for his crops - he sticks them in the ground instead, which is no doubt the reason why they taste so good (so do his potatoes, and beans, and the rest).
They are cheaper than the "speciality" tomatoes you can buy in supermarkets, all wrapped in cellophane.
Oysters are a treat. The ones I bought a couple of weeks ago - again on Blackburn's market - were terrific.
So are the kippers and the white fish. You'd pay twice as much in London for it - like the turbot I bought last weekend - and it wouldn't be nearly as fresh.
I haven't bought from all the stalls on the market but friends tell me of the quality of Whitakers the butchers, Greens for chicken and cut meat and Margerisons whose turkey trade at Christmas is staggering.
As for coffee, I've stopped buying it in London. I go to the Exchange Coffee Company In Fleming Square. The aroma is so strong that you can find your way to the shop by just following your nose.
These are just a few of the excellent stall-holders and shopkeepers still in the centre of Blackburn, run by people who are really committed to providing quality and service for their customers.
And we've also got in Blackburn some excellent high street stores, like M&S, Debenhams, BHS, Boots and WH Smith.
Why am I saying all this?
The reason is that we ought better to value what we've got in Blackburn. Compared with many similar centres, we have choice, variety and, most importantly, a number of quality traders. who have worked out how to "differentiate" themselves from the bigger retailers.
And it's going to get better.
At long last demolition men have begun knocking down the execrable "Lord Square". Improvements to the shopping centre car park are about to start; and I guess that in 18 months to two years we'll then see the fruits of all the investment in the centre - including Margo Grimshaw's pioneering up-scale homes development by Fleming Square, and a similar project adjacent to the Cathedral too.
It's an exciting time. A mix of the old and the new promises much for Blackburn, so let's all value it and support it.
Posted by: Dave, Blackburn on 2:52pm Thu 22 Nov 07
Jack needs to get out more if he thinks Blackburn is good for shopping. Is there an election due? The place is a dump with sub-standard high street multiples and virtually no distinctive shops.
Jack needs to get out more if he thinks Blackburn is good for shopping. Is there an election due? The place is a dump with sub-standard high street multiples and virtually no distinctive shops.
Posted by: Robinson Crusoe, Blackburn on 8:46pm Thu 22 Nov 07
how the heck would he know what type of stores Blackburn has, he doesnt shop himself.. He just sends his 'man friday' to do his chores. So please Mr. Straw saves all the pretentious bull !!
how the heck would he know what type of stores Blackburn has, he doesnt shop himself.. He just sends his 'man friday' to do his chores. So please Mr. Straw saves all the pretentious bull !!
He does do his shopping himself, or at least has on one occasion!
when I worked at Tesco I saw Jack scoruing the shelves for steak... but of course, shopping at big bad corporate Tesco is not shopping in the local market is it?
He does do his shopping himself, or at least has on one occasion!
when I worked at Tesco I saw Jack scoruing the shelves for steak... but of course, shopping at big bad corporate Tesco is not shopping in the local market is it?
Posted by: onlyonesimongarner on 5:06pm Fri 23 Nov 07
Electioneering Yes, But then when do politicians do anything else
S ut there is some truth in Mr Straw`s words. Yes the centre is a dump. but that is at least being sorted.
But have any of you tried shopping in Accy or Dingle Dell. You would begin to understand where Jack is coming from.
Also we should be supporting local traders more and not line the pockets of the Multi-Nationals just because it is a few pence cheaper. Give the local produce a try. You might even get to like it.
Electioneering Yes, But then when do politicians do anything else
S ut there is some truth in Mr Straw`s words. Yes the centre is a dump. but that is at least being sorted.
But have any of you tried shopping in Accy or Dingle Dell. You would begin to understand where Jack is coming from.
Also we should be supporting local traders more and not line the pockets of the Multi-Nationals just because it is a few pence cheaper. Give the local produce a try. You might even get to like it.
Posted by: Nostradamous, blackburn on 3:51pm Sun 25 Nov 07
Supporting local traders and not multi-nationals,my god it isnt the sixties you know,have you seen our local traders?or do you mean the odd long standing market green grocer or butcher/fishmonger,J
ack deff wants to get around more and see with open eyes,and i have no partic persuasion on politics and i do consider myself very fortunate on that point as i do see things as they are,try looking yourself sometime i am sure things will look a lot clearer.
Supporting local traders and not multi-nationals,my god it isnt the sixties you know,have you seen our local traders?or do you mean the odd long standing market green grocer or butcher/fishmonger,J
ack deff wants to get around more and see with open eyes,and i have no partic persuasion on politics and i do consider myself very fortunate on that point as i do see things as they are,try looking yourself sometime i am sure things will look a lot clearer.
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