Most of us hate change, especially if we believe that it is not for the better…
Curiously, my latest unhappy communication to all our dear customers ‘across the pond’ immediately brought to mind happy childhood experiences of a ‘pond’ in Grasmere.
Please indulge me while I trip down memory lane...
When I was a little girl, I regularly visited my grandad at Town End in Grasmere (a cluster of houses including Wordsworth’s former home Dove Cottage).
Grandad’s home – a ‘tied’ cottage belonging to the Wordsworth Trust
I dawdled up the lane heading south towards what is known as the ‘Coffin Route’ – an ancient track for coffin or ‘casket’ bearers from different Lake District valleys before passing a piggery where hogs snorted on feed including Grasmere Gingerbread® Crumbs (which we now sell to raise money for local conservation projects).
The old piggery now a private dwelling
Continuing up the hill, a trickle of water ran down specially constructed cobble rivulets on the left-hand side of the road. At the top of the hill sat a huge coffin stone and immediately afterwards as the land levelled out was a lovely duck pond.
I fed the squawking ducks (mainly mallards but other species too) with old bread from my grandad and it was such fun watching them waddle across the road to Howe Top farm owned by the Thompson family – relations of our lovely Mike who works in the Grasmere Gingerbread® bakery.
Howe Top farm as it was in the day… © Lakeland Arts. Image credit: Lakeland Arts
Today, the farm - with all its familiar smells and the hustle and bustle of contented animals - is now a luxury residence and the pond is a sorry sight; overgrown with moss and weeds and not a duck in sight. It’s as if that pond full of life never existed. Oh, how time changes everything which brings me to the sorry subject of this journal.
Howe Top today – no longer a working farm
Sadly - and it is with much personal regret - we are no longer able to send our American customers packets of Grasmere Gingerbread® due to the impact of President Trump’s tariffs. Not only is the cost now prohibitive but parcels are being held in ‘customs’ for an unreasonable and unacceptable amount of time. Therefore, our wonderful Grasmere Gingerbread® cannot reach you in the condition that we demand for a unique Victorian product lovingly hand-baked without modern preservatives and other chemicals to boost its shelf life.
Best when fresh...
As we want all our customers to enjoy Grasmere Gingerbread® at its best, we have had to cease all mail orders to the USA. This change is not for the better; not for our lovely, loyal followers in America or our customers in the UK who regularly mail Grasmere Gingerbread® to family and friends ‘across the pond’.
The old pond is now overgrown
I just hope that all the wonderful Ginnys, Bettys and Barbaras who write to me personally from America will continue to do so and sustain our friendships. Maybe one day, a Grasmere Gingerbread® bakery will ‘cross the pond’ and put down roots to keep all our American customers satisfied.
Now, that would be one change for the better.
Assuring you of ‘the best gingerbread in the world’ and our best intention at all times.
