He brought out his mobile and pointed at the map. ‘Look at the number of farms around here. There’s a mix of dairy and vegetable farms. How about we source some fresh stuff from them for today and worry about the home-made stuff later on.’
‘I can ask any customers that come in if they know of anyone local as well,’ she told him.
‘Excellent!’ Josh could feel the excitement surge through him. ‘This is it. I can feel it!’
She laughed. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘Saving the shop!’ he said. ‘I think we can do it.’
Amber bit her lip. ‘You mean, despite the tractor in the middle of the floor?’
‘I love the tractor!’ he told her, picking her up and twirling around. ‘The tractor stays! Are you with me?’
He put her back down and she was looking up at him amazed, but her brown eyes were shining bright. ‘I think so,’ she said.
‘Excellent! Right. You restock where you can and I’ll get out and see what I can find.’ He stopped suddenly and smiled at her. ‘I knew the tractor was a good idea!’
He ducked out the back of the shop just in time as a bale of kitchen rolls whizzed past his head.
37
Despite living in the area on and off for the past twenty years, it was the first time that Josh had actually driven to any of the local farms. But he was quite enjoying himself, he found, as he hummed along to the radio. He had a good feeling about what he planned to do next, even though there were a number of trees down, including one on the road to Tully’s farm, the first one he had on his list to visit.
But he didn’t even need to get as far as the farmhouse as he came across Joe Tully using his tractor to move a giant tree trunk which had fallen across the lane.
‘Afternoon,’ said Josh, getting out of his van.
‘Hi,’ said Joe.
They had a met a couple of times in the pub and chatted about football and the weather. But they had never talked too much about work.
‘Need a hand?’ asked Josh.
‘All done thanks,’ said Joe. ‘How’s the village looking?’
‘It survived,’ Josh told him. ‘Some homes were flooded. The pub cellar was under water. Thankfully, it didn’t get as high as the shop.’
‘At least that’s something,’ said Joe. ‘What can I do for you?’
‘Well, the road to Aldwych is still blocked,’ said Josh. ‘Going to take a couple of days for the water to go back down, they reckon.’
‘Aye,’ nodded Joe. ‘It normally does. Haven’t seen floods like this for a long time.’ He looked out to the fields beyond. ‘It’s a mess out there. We’ve had to bring the cattle in because there’s no grass for them to feed on, only mud.’
Josh nodded and looked around them. All the grass in the fields was under a layer of mud.
‘It’s such a tough time for everyone,’ he said. ‘And we’re running low on everything. It’s pretty bad in the village, as you can imagine. Trouble is, the locals need supplies. Milk especially. They cleared us out this morning. So I was wondering whether you had any we could take off your hands.’
Joe looked surprised but pleased. ‘As it happens, one of our deliveries couldn’t get out, so I’ve got some milk going spare.’
‘Anything you want to give us would be great,’ said Josh, smiling.
So they headed up to one of the converted barns, where Joe showed him the refrigerated bottles of milk.
‘Look, if these go well, I was wondering whether you’d like to make it a permanent arrangement,’ said Josh. ‘I want to use more local produce and we can’t get more local than your farm.’
Joe beamed. ‘Sounds like a good plan,’ he said and glanced to a nearby fridge. ‘Tell you what, I’ve been dabbling with making cheese. Only Cheddar, nothing fancy, but we’re trying to diversify, make a few extra quid on the side. You know how tight things are these days.’
‘Any cheese would be great as well,’ said Josh.
‘You can taste some, if you’d like.’
Seeing how keen Joe was, Josh took the sliver of cheese that he was offered and tasted it.
‘That’s beautiful,’ he said. ‘Strong but smooth.’ He had been prepared to lie a little bit in case it was bland, but it tasted amazing.
‘We’ve started to sell it online, but it’s early days yet,’ said Joe.
‘I’ll take a box full, if you can spare it,’ Josh offered.
Joe’s face lit up into a smile. ‘Of course.’
So he waited whilst Joe cut and wrapped up differing sizes of the Cheddar.
‘You know,’ said Joe, as he helped pack Josh’s van up with the goods. ‘If you’re thinking about using more local farms, Mark Tonks over on Cedar Lane has also been looking at selling online. His beef is the best that I’ve had. Might be worth a visit.’
‘That sounds great,’ said Josh, shaking his hand. ‘Thanks for the tip. I’ll be in touch.’
In fact, Joe’s advice paid off. Mark the beef farmer had a number of steaks and packets of mince that he could give Josh.
‘This is great,’ said Josh, as he packed some boxes into the back of his van. ‘I’ll let you know how I get on.’
Everyone was going to get paid after the products were sold. Josh was amazed, but the trust between the local people was astounding. And there was a feeling of everyone in it together as Mark then tipped off Josh about the pig farmer in the next village who not only had bacon but also handmade sausages.
Consequently, Josh’s van was loaded once he finally arrived back at the shop late afternoon.
‘What’s all this?’ asked Amber, as he carried in various crates.
‘Fresh, local milk, cheese, bacon, sausages and beef,’ he said, putting a box down on the counter between them.
‘Wow,’ said Amber, peering through the packets.
And she wasn’t the only one showing interest. A couple of customers who had been merely browsing immediately bought some milk and meat. By early evening, Josh had to bring out more supplies of the local food, such was the level of demand.
The rush continued all evening until nightfall, when finally the shop became quiet once more.
‘What a day,’ he declared, sinking down onto a box next to the fire.
‘You won’t believe how much we’ve taken,’ Amber told him, smiling down at him as she stood nearby.
He couldn’t remember seeing the till that full for a long time, if ever. Thank goodness he’d started the contactless payment system only a few days previously. Now more than before, they needed customers to have a choice on how to pay.
‘Everyone loves the local produce,’ carried on Amber. ‘We’ve had great feedback. All positive. Oh and a couple of people were asking about potatoes and fruit. Nobody can make it out of the village and I think they’re running a bit low.’
‘I had an idea to source some fruit and vegetable farmers tomorrow,’ he told her.
‘Good,’ she said, sounding pleased. ‘And I had a little idea as well.’
‘Oh yes?’ He raised his eyebrows at her in question.