Selfsufficientish.com

What a huge surprise we had today. Jo had kindly picked me and Jonathan up and we'd been to buy animal feed.... feeling somewhat peckish ourselves we decided to visit the local CostCutter in Insch... I was somewhat surprised at the range to be honest.. there were quite a few organic items AND they even sold a big 5L container of white vinegar (YAY.... £1.99!!)

The best bit came as we were waiting to pay... and we spotted a lovely selection of HOME MADE CLOTH BAGS!!!!! Some plain, some floral/patterned... and at a reasonable price too. Then to make this even better we noticed signs saying please bring a bag or be sure to reuse the one you are given... or words to that effect.

How fantastic to see a shop being so proactive on the carrier bag front. They even held a special day there last year and the council came out and gave away a large number of hemp bags (woohooo) to customers. She did say that she wasn't particularly popular because of it... but hey, she gets the thumbs up from me!!

I (well I just HAD to) gave the lady the link to this website and told her about the Selfsufficientish Carry-a-Bag campaign... so hopefully we'll see her here too!!!!

Really made my day - and I'll definitely go back again.

You know I am thinking about getting the ish' logo emblazoned on the side of the car?

I think we should 'convert' David next (Pantry)

Great ideas

We use the Insch Costcutter as much as possible - they're very good on staples like flour, vingear, oatmeal, etc . They're also very green, especially for a local shop.

Another good place to shop in Insch is Stephens DIY in Commerce Street. A treasure trove of tools, nuts, bolts, nails, paint, garden stuff, knick-knacks and more. And also very nice people to boot.

If you want something made or repaired in metal, try Piper at the smiddy. He does aluminium as well as steel, and if he can't fix it or build it then I suspect nobody can.

Johhny Johnstone over on the Kennethmont Road as you're leaving Insch is another nice bloke. He's an agricultural and motor mechanic - doesn't charge the earth and does a very good job. He's also got a very funny sense of humour.

Then there's Ernie the butcher - he sources his meat, veg, honey etc locally and can tell you where everything comes from. Ernie's haggis and bacon are excellent. He's also happy to butcher lambs and pigs (althugh the latter depends on his workload).

The chemist come newsagent come toyshop is... interesting. The post office people are mostly nice (and I suspect the grumpy one is nice deep down!), while both pubs are pretty good too.

And I live just two miles out of town. I am spoilt!

Thanks for that info Stoney!!

I love little shops like the DIY shop - not been in yet, but will make a point of doing so.

As we are on the subject... what is that big place on the main road like... can't remember name but some sort of country emporium near the turn for colpy? We passed by it the other day but were on our way to Rothienorman to pick up some poultry dusting stuff and more hatching eggs.

Shirlz2005 wrote:As we are on the subject... what is that big place on the main road like... can't remember name but some sort of country emporium near the turn for colpy? We passed by it the other day but were on our way to Rothienorman to pick up some poultry dusting stuff and more hatching eggs.

On the plus side, it does do some Golspie Mill products. On the down side, everything is in small packets and priced for tourists...

Stonehead wrote:On the down side, everything is in small packets and priced for tourists...

Ahhh... that's pretty much what I expected... ho hum... will have to buy in bulk and share :D