Fake 191

Part of this day of blood and birthday has already been noticed at reference 1. This to notice some other bits and pieces, in particular the fake grass which has sprung up outside the cafe, recently established not far from Enterprise cars, in what was probably the Old Guild Bakery when we first came to Epsom more than thirty years ago.

Investigation more or less confirms my memory with reference 3 telling me that 'No. 7 having not long since been well known locally as Ye Olde Guild Cottage bread and cake shop' and gmaps telling me that the fake grass is indeed attached to No.7, to the left of the (newish) bow window in the snap above.

As I recall, their bread was not up to much - we had had quite a good baker in Norwich - despite my suspecting this last of adding cake flour to the mix - and the place did more business selling sandwiches, cakes and snacks than bread. Long gone.

While the baker in Norwich, which both BH and I remember as being in Unthank Road, not far from where we lived on the other side of the A11, is not to be traced at all. The nearest being a place called Sewell's Bakery, at the corner of Unthank Road and Olney Street, also long gone, but it does not look right at all, despite the cycle stands outside.

I didn't snap the fake bricks of reference 2 properly, so did not score them as a fake, but I do score this fake grass.

It was a warm morning and I was rather early for my blood test - with the hospital blood people priding themselves on seeing you at the right time - so I looked for somewhere to sit in the sun. The various benches that I found were either in the shade or facing the wrong way, but I soon found a suitable bit of wall to sit on, complete with back rest.

Despite appearances, the sun was above the building top right and I was very warm and comfortable. I was even joined by another couple on hospital business, looking for somewhere to take their sandwiches.

I wondered, quite seriously, about offering to buy the hospital some more benches to be placed where they would catch the late morning sun, but eventually decided that this was likely to prove terribly complicated and that next time I would just take my folding Stockholm. But perhaps I will look out for some patient liaison or volunteer office where I could make inquiries.

Next stop the Post Office in the High Street to send a small parcel to Canada, as footnoted at reference 4. We had known that there was a postal strike in Canada - in the throes of moves to divert mail from letter boxes in or near houses - to neighbourhood banks of boxes - but assumed that someone would sort something out and that the parcel would eventually be delivered. Lunchtime today - ten days later - the parcel has been returned to sender. I suppose it had all been held by our Post Office for a while, in case the Canadian service went back into receive mode, and then returned to sender. Leading me to wonder how much mail goes to Canada from the UK every day. A container full? A few sacks?

Gemini tells me that this is a very interesting question but that neither he nor I am likely to get much of an answer from publicly available data. Which given the background he supplies, seems entirely probable. And I don't suppose emailing the Post Office would produce anything at all: file in bin job.

Thoughts then turned to lunch, and after mulling over various Epsom options, I took a chance and went for a Gail's ham and cheese roll - complete with some fancier title. As it turned out, for around £6 I got rather a good roll in a natty cardboard box. Taken on the market square before repairing to Wetherspoon's. I dare say I could have got something cheaper - quite possibly in Wetherspoon's - but I rather liked the chewy bread provided by Gail's. Including complete absence of goo, apart from a few slices of gherkin which didn't really count. Indeed, they added rather than detracted from value. Much better than chips or something fatty from Greggs.

Later in the day, rather knocked out by some 24 hour bug or something. Nothing to do with Gail's I don't suppose, and my money is on my having stirred up all kinds of unpleasant stuff when raking the dried up back lawn the day before. Spores of fungi and suchlike. Deployed the fake fire in our front room by way of defence.

PS 1: I might add that the goat's cheese mentioned at the end of reference 2 is now going down well. Described as Ravens Oak goat's cheese from Butler's farmhouse dairy in Lancashire. Soon run down to the factory snapped above: 'Wilson Fields Farm, Inglewhite, Preston, PR3 2LH'. Not too much of a stretch to call it a farmhouse dairy as there is an older building road-side and the land could have once been a farm yard.

But no cows to be seen, so where do they get their milk from now? Shipped in from all over the county?

The road-side building from the road. A bit of holiday cottage or barn conversion on the side? 

Website at reference 5, which includes the very cheese, served on the finest Lancashire 'speckled' slate and flying under their own colours, rather than those of M&S. Like other cheesemakers I have come across, they seem to think that describing the flavour as 'nutty' adds value. Don't see it myself, and I certainly don't taste anything remotely nutty.

From where I associate to hearing a story about it being a bit of a risk for a middle sized factory to take a big order from a supermarket like M&S. You build up production capacity to meet the order and then after a while the supermarket squeezes you on price, or worse still pulls out altogether. Either way you are in a bit of a pickle. That said, I don't suppose dairies are in a different position from any other supplier. You have to speculate to accumulate as someone else was fond to telling me, à propos of his adventures on the fruit machine. 

PS 2: not sure that M&S have got their apostrophes in the right places, but I have left them as they are on their packaging.

PS 3: the hollyhock in East Street which I have snapped quite a bit during the course of the summer. Winding down now, but I am pleased that it made it more or less in one piece. No-one found it necessary to take it down, just for the fun of it or for any other reason. 

A circuit which also saw the addition of three washers to the collection - the environs of the dump in Blenheim Road being a happy hunting ground. To be logged in due course.

References

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2025/05/fake-190.html.

Reference 2: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2025/10/defection.html.

Reference 3: https://eehe.org.uk/33265/epsomheritage3/.

Reference 4: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2025/09/postage.html.

Reference 5: https://butlerscheeses.co.uk/.

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