Lay of the Land

Is Frosty overseas already?

Check out the comment from “a concerned reader on “Possible Frosty sightings”. I really can’t believe our Frosty would cause that sort of fuss on an airplane, so I really hope it’s a case of mistaken identity. Has anyone else seen him anywhere?

November 27, 2012 — Andrew Lay

Christmas Trees now on sale!

Even without Frosty to help us, our Christmas Trees are now available. From 3ft to 12 ft, all first class Nordmann non drop, roughly £6 per foot, all individually displayed and priced. Don’t forget we also have a great range of Christmas decorations and gifts, we deliver free locally, and home made mince pies and mulled wine will be served all day on Saturday 1st December.

P.S No further news of Frosty yet. Anyone seen anything at all please?

November 27, 2012 — Andrew Lay

Possible Frosty Sightings!

So far Frosty hasn’t been in touch, but we remain hopeful. I’ve had a couple of possible sightings reported to me, but no confirmation as of yet. “The Beast Tamer”, a lorry driver apparently, reckoned he saw a snowman trying to hitch a lift on the M1, but by the time we got there all we could find was a large puddle. We also heard of an attempted break in at an Iceland store in Keighley. The intruder was disturbed and fled, but was described as ” white male of above average height and weight, with ridiculously short legs, a prominent orange nose, and a long trailing scarf”, but to be frank that description could be almost anyone. Still if anyone else hears anything at all please just let us know. We’re nearly frantic with worry. We’re concerned about Frosty too.

The first Christmas Preview evening at the garden centre couldn’t have been better timed last night. Howling winds and torrential rain conspired to keep all but the hardiest souls away, so thanks to the couple of dozen who braved the elements, it was really good to see you. Home made mince pies and mulled wine will again be available, this time all day, on Saturday 1st December, and we’re all keeping our fingers crossed for more hospitable weather.

November 22, 2012 — Andrew Lay

Has Frosty run away?

So, just for amusement we bought one of those snowman boards with a space to write on how many days to go to Christmas and put it in the planter at the gate to the garden centre. And it did amuse! We heard many people walk past and comment upon it, even if we were in danger of over exciting some of the children!! Then, only 3 days after Frosty first moved in, he mysteriously vanished again. What has become of Frosty? Is he hitch hiking his way to Lapland? Was Settle not exciting enough? Has he gone off to find a global snowball fight to get involved in? Has he gone off to find colder climes? Did he not like his new family, perhaps? Or is there a more sinister reason. Has Frosty been kidnapped – or worse still murdered? I do hope not, not in such a respectable and law abiding community as ours!

Anyway, hope you are well Frosty, if you happen to be reading this, and please come home. We’ll be starting to sell our Christmas Trees very shortly, and we’ll be needing a hand please!

November 22, 2012 — Andrew Lay

Who fancies an Internet shopping fest then?

Here we all are, still waiting for summer to arrive, and then guess what? You wake up one morning and there it is – nearly Christmas. Well, ok, not quite nearly, but getting close. When planning your Christmas remember to consider your local retailers for those gifts for your nearest and dearest. Every year we hear that high street sales have dropped a little more, and that internet sales have risen a little more. Good thing? Maybe, maybe not. Every year we also hear about people who’s presents didn’t arrive on time, or arrived damaged, or got left in the rain on the doorstep. Convenient in some ways, but in all. Anyone ever bought clothes off the internet which looked great on the page but fitted like a bag? Or bought shoes which pinched in all the wrong places? Or bought tools which turned out not to be the size, quality, value they first appeared to be? Or bought something assuming it would be cheap, but then found they could have bought it cheaper locally by the time the postage charge was added on? And then there is the hassle about returning it…..!

November 08, 2012 — Andrew Lay

Support your local retailers

Top 10 Reasons to support local Settle retailers:-

It helps the local economy, and can lead to new jobs being created, which must be good for the people who live here.
You can probably buy anything you need in Settle.
We have a diverse range of interesting establishments, well established as well as relative newcomers, offering individually chosen goods.
Stock is built up based on experience of what is needed, not what a few big stores buyers find fashionable.
Prices are often just as competitive as the big stores, as long as you look past the high profile loss leaders they suck you in with.
Profits are modest and often spent again locally.
We make shopping a pleasure. Friendly faces and time for a chat!
Feedback is always taken on board, with very short lines of communication to the business owner. Would Comet be going bust and losing 6,000 jobs if the management were closer to the shop floor (and if there weren’t as many potentially non productive mouths to feed!)?
We don’t put the manufacturers and suppliers of goods under the sort of price pressure which causes businesses to fail and jobs to be lost that many supermarkets do.
If you don’t support your local businesses they may disappear. Who benefits from that ultimately?

Settle is a great place to do your shopping, and it’s improving all the time. Keep supporting us, and we’ll keep improving, and multiplying.

November 06, 2012 — Andrew Lay

Top 3 Autumn Jobs

Don’t take my word for it though – visit the RHS website if you don’t believe me!

Treat your lawn to an autumn feed. Don’t just use what you had left from spring though. It’s different stuff. This time of the year you want to encourage root growth not top growth. Too much top growth can harbour disease and pests, whereas strong root growth will help your lawn prepare to burst forth with new vigour in the spring.
Protect tender plants before the first sustained frosts (RHS say first frosts, but we’ve already had those here!) by moving indoors or wrapping in fleece. Remember though to remove the wrapping if we do happen to get a long mid winter mild spell to prevent plants sweating and moulding.
Cut back your berry canes. Remove any canes which have fruited this year all the way to the ground, leaving this year’s growth to produce luscious berries again next year.

November 06, 2012 — Andrew Lay

Not Dutch Elm Disease all over again?

I was saddened tonight to read the bleak news that it may already be too late to stop a killer tree disease decimating millions of our native ash trees. Only days after the government announced a ban on all imports of foreign ash trees, and strict movement controls within this country, it has emerged that the disease has already made the transition from recently planted nursery stock into mature native stock. Over a hundred thousand trees have already been felled and burned, and there will be more to come. It is a disaster, not only for the ash tree and the landscape of our fair country, but also ecologically as the ash is home to many insects, birds and other wildlife. In a reaction to the ban on imports the RSPB has already called for much tighter controls on the import of all non native species, as they are clearly very worried about the potential impact on our bird populations, many of which are already in serious decline. Our own trade association, the HTA, called for a ban on imports almost 3 years ago, but no-one was listening. Let’s just all hope that this isn’t really as serious as the devastating Dutch Elm epidemic of the latter part of the last century. I fear it may be though.

October 30, 2012 — Andrew Lay

Feed the birds!

It kind of seems like it should have been an alright year for our feathered friends, eh? Lots of rain, meaning lots of growth, meaning lots of insects for the birds to feed on? Well, in fact, many of our birds have had a really tough time this year. It’s been too cold and too wet too often at the wrong times, and the truth is that they need our help as much as they ever have. Many of the berries, fruit and seeds they depend on have actually not formed or rotted away. Nests have been washed away, and young birds drowned, so do your bit and get a couple of bird feeders up, filled with nice treats. They’ll reward you with a fascinating show in the months ahead when everything else in the garden is just a little lacking in colour.

October 21, 2012 — Andrew Lay

Autumn is a great time for planting

Everyone thinks that spring is the best time to plant things. Not necessarily so! It’s a good time, and one of the traditional times, but so is autumn too.

September 24, 2012 — Andrew Lay