May 14, 2020 - pullins-admin - History

The world has been turned upside-down since our last blog post and we’re all slowly adjusting to a new kind of normal.  Towards the end of March, in just a matter of hours, all our customers in the travel industry grounded their planes and stopped trains.  Coffee shops and garden centres pulled down their shutters, tourist destinations closed their gates.  With everything locked-down, regular orders dried up.

Shutting down for us wasn’t an option.  Even during the War we continued to bake bread, sometimes by candlelight so we couldn’t be seen during the night raids.  There have been a lot of comparisons made between the current epidemic and the war years, especially the spirit with which communities pull together during a crisis.  We have seen this first hand.  With food shortages and supply issues already an issue at the start of Lockdown, we decided to keep our two shops open (with new social distancing and hygiene measures in place).  People shopped for their families, for their vulnerable neighbours, for Grandparents, even their whole street.  We supported the community and they supported each other and us, a local business.

We opened up our online shop for local delivery, adding sliced bread, sourdough, olive sticks and more, all made on a new shift to be as fresh as possible.  Alongside regular orders of fresh bread and veg boxes for households, people also started buying cakes to be shipped around the UK as presents for Lockdown birthdays, or treats for those finding isolation difficult.  Businesses began buying traybakes to send as gifts to staff working from home as a little ‘thank you’.  Small acts of kindness go a long way, especially in a crisis.  Spending money locally rather than in a supermarket also really supports the immediate community.  It means a lot.

We are hopeful that things will return to normal in the not-too-distant future.  We will be able to move about freely again, without face masks or anxiety.  When that day comes we are confident that people will continue to support their local bakeries, green grocers, butchers and other independent food outlets that responded, adapted and stayed open.  The kindness and community spirit that we’ve witnessed will also be a lasting legacy, and will hopefully become part of the new normal.  We’ll get through this together and come out stronger.  Until then, stay safe.

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