• Showtime 16th Jul 2010

  It’s a year since we launched at The Royal Highland Show. Not the most auspicious location for our first stall – between a dog stand and a funeral parlour. But this didn’t prove to be a bad omen. We shifted bags and talked to loads of people who really liked where we were coming from.

  One year on and we’ve been back on the road. Back in April, we kicked off at Badminton. With our new trailer towing behind the Bongo from Keswick, it made for a long journey to get there. Going at 60mph has its downsides. Once we let go, though, tension just fell away. In fact, it felt more like holiday time than a business trip.

  We arrived around midnight to a hushed ground. Squeezing ourselves into the back of the Bongo, it was time for a few hours’ sleep before dawn.

  We were up early exploring the showground, bacon sarnies in hand. Then it was time to set up the Millican stand. This is made up almost entirely from recycled, or pre-loved, items bought from the auction or charity shops.

  
  That might sound makeshift but the mix of old apple crates, vintage suitcases and chests, old camping gear, an authentic 1930’s camp bed, nailed walking boots, and the old Brownie camera and primus make for a great look.

  
  Showtime – and the gates opened. People flocked in and, though the day turned bitterly cold, they kept coming. Bolstered by cups of tea and chocolate from neighbours, we happily chatted with Millican customers, loads of whom had bought bags last year and were back to regale us with their adventures.

  Our next gig was rather different – Holker Hall, a country house, under a blazing sun. While a 1920’s style band played, we ran the stand, meeting more great people. Like the two poor souls who walked around dressed as bushes in the baking heat, and the “grumpy old man” painted head-to-toe in metallic brown who cycled off with our 1947 bike.

  Or Simon and Hamish Patterson, who make wooden sailing boats while Simon also runs his own local cider pressing business. It turns out that he visits people’s homes anywhere in Cumbria, picks their apples, and makes personalized cider for them. What a great idea, keeping things local.

  Finally, we’re just back from The Royal Highland Show, north of the border. Great to celebrate our first anniversary back there.

  Wednesday was set-up day, though I downed tools to watch the England match. Our Scottish neighbours were predictably less bothered. And why not, given the final result? No matter, the stand was ready by 10pm and it was still light. We collapsed into our tent, earplugs installed. Nothing like camping in a field between the main road into Edinburgh and the airport runway.

  Next day, the largest agricultural fair in Europe kicked off. With sections dedicated to cattle, sheep, countryside, outdoor living, food, and craft skills, it can take two days just to get round. The section for agricultural machinery is jaw-dropping for the uninitiated and long-in-the-tooth alike. It was a tough call deciding not to splash out for the centre-stage combine harvester commanding a mere third of a million pounds.

  
  But aside from the long hours (thirteen to fourteen hours on the stand every day),and the great feedback we got on our new products, it was, as with any show, the people you meet who made it. Stand-outs for us this time were:

  · The guys from Good Nature ( who’ve just won an award for their pesticide-free fruit, veg and salad, all sold in recycled packaging. Plus strawberries to die for.

  · The two farmers from Argyll who taught us tricks they use for upping the value of their lambs, thanks to some adroit leaning on the scales.

  · One of our first customers, Mike, who returned to tell us about the journeys he’s made with Mark the field bag over the last year.

  · Plus the lad whose Dad made him stand in a transparent bucket every day to show off their new line of waterproof socks.

  Four days and 190,000 visitors later, it was time to pack up and head off back to the Lakes. The grounds cleared, the seagulls descended for rich pickings, and that was for it for another year.

  The footie had been dire but Europe’s biggest agricultural extravaganza had come up trumps again.

  By Jorrit
  
  

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