Selfsufficientish.com

On the off chance that there are swarms of people in Berkshire UK reading this, I'd like to commend the True Food Co-Op.

It's fairly small scale at the moment, and not a shop as such, but sets up store in church halls, community centres, village halls and such like, in a different venue each evening, on a regular cycle.

Large range of dried fruit, pulses, beans, cerials, nuts and seeds etc. sold loose (paper bags - remember them?), plus fruit and veg., and lots of other groceries, all of an organic, fair trade nature.

No muzak, no "colleague announcements" and no screaming kids (or screaming parents). But you can have a cup of tea and a chat. And there are no checkout queues, either - they use a refreshing sort of 'honesty' policy; you select what you want, weigh your own stuff, note the price on a slip of paper, and then someone with a calculator adds it all up - no checking through your goods. What a civilised way to shop.

Sounds wonderful!

Sounds wonderful... but afraid that if I went to shop there I might just take my screaming kids with me

No no... screaming kids are a phenomenon of supermarket culture. Elsewhere they are darling children.

oooh stew... don't bank on it mate!!!

Jonathan has been doing a good line in screaming lately - it all started when he started at nursery one day a week. As I'm thinking of home schooling (if we can afford it) I'm thinking that I'll take him out of nursery and just take him to other groups and activities instead.

I might well find myself popping in next time i'm in town - but have forwarded to some selfsufficentish friends in the locality!

I was a member of a co-op in Germany that worked a bit like that... In the late 80s it was the biggest co-op of Germany, with over 800 members! (You had to be a member to shop there, and do some unpaid duties, too.) It grew bigger and bigger, and now it is almost like an ordinary organic shop. One problem, for example, were those parents who sent their children with a shopping list and expected somebody else to weigh out and pack up all their stuff for them... That's fine if it's not busy - but!

I do like the system, though. At the Newton Dee shop (Camphill site in Aberdeen) you are asked to weigh out your veg and herbs yourself, too - and are expected to be honest about it.

I love this:

Local people that have excess produce from growing foods naturally in gardens or on allotments, bring their produce to markets for selling or bartering or as a donation.

If only there was something like that around here! I could have got rid of those excess courgettes.............