a visit to Romney Marsh Wools, Kent

The pic above shows the family shepherd's crook which inspired the logo design.

The M25 in torrential rain and few wrong directions from satnav could not hold me back from taking up Romney Marsh Wools' invitation to visit them yesterday at Rushfield farm (I recently blogged about Romney Marsh Wools here).
I was welcomed with a cup of tea and a visit to the Romney Marsh sheep, and also the Merino sheep, their fleece vaguely reminiscent of a poodle perm, but they were unsportingly hiding behind a trough so I couldn't take a picture.

a handsome Romney ewe

newest of new baby lambs

The family at Rushfield have farmed this land for 6 generations - their farm is mainly arable, but they have a sizeable number of sheep too who graze the land in the system of crop rotation. Aside from the 60 Merinos, the rest of the 1000 sheep at the farm are Romneys, a hardy breed which is well suited to this part of the Kent marshes. Romneys produce good meat (salt marsh lamb, anyone?), and have a soft fleece due to the fine wool fibres - the width of the wool fibres is 32 microns, which compares to human hair which is 100 microns. Merinos are even softer, their wool fibres have a width of 18 microns. Due to their softness, the fleece from Romneys and Merinos can be used to make lovely cosy blankets and clothes.

The sheep at Rushfield produce about 5 to 6 tonnes of wool per year, the majority of which is bought by the Wool Marketing Board to be used in the carpet industry. The rest of the wool is now used in the farm's Romney Marsh Wool business - the fleeces are taken to Wales where they are washed, carded, spun and woven into blankets and rugs and fabric for cushions.

  A massive cube of wool

 wool - before (left) and after (right) the process of carding. I am assuming this is rather like brushing hair, only somewhat harder work, given that a fleece weighs between 3 and 4 kilos.

Some Romney Marsh Wool blankets - the darker wool is from a different sheep, which from one year to the next can vary in depth of colour

 different shades of brown and white striped blankets

Part of the skincare range which is made from lanolin, extracted from the wool

 slippers - with these Spring storms we have been having, there is nothing I would like more than a pair of these after getting drenched.

And finally here is the lovely (and, may I add, glamorous) Kristina - the driving force behind Romney Marsh Wool, her enthusiasm and energy for this new part of the family farm business is inspiring.

Thank you Kristina and family for a great afternoon.

Lotions and potions

It is mid Winter, the smell of snow is in the air, there is little hope of sunshine for at least 2 months. I have gone an unattractive pallid grey colour; I aspire to being a whiter shade of pale. It's time for what my dad called 'lotions and potions'.

(When I was about 11 or 12, this referred to peach talcum powder from M&S - don't judge me on this: I didn't know any better, and anyway I blame the marketing men who hadn't invented tweenies yet, so I couldn't buy nose-aching products from Lush instead.)

Thanks to Amelia's Magazine, I have discovered Willow organic (which is currently having a sale of up to 50% off)  - there is a shop on the Kings Road, London and you can order on-line.  I think I may be beyond help, but these lotions and potions are a heck of a lot nicer than peach talc.

I can't wait to use my Chamomile and Lavender Baby Balm (£10.50 for 50ml) which is gentle enough to use on babyskin, but is also good for those of us who are blessed with dry skin and a winter-grey complexion. If its healing properties are anything like my Badger Balm (available here, a US made product) then I'm happy.