we have just had a great time in the glen.
esme,
elsie and i flew into
kerry airport for a week of getting stuck into real work at the factory! a lot of what i do at home in
kent involves computers, emails and thinking and it is no substitute for actually being there in the factory surrounded by chocolate and the heady aroma of spices .
as soon as i stepped out of the car in
cahirsiveen and smelt the turf, i felt like i had come home. i always feel like this, despite being born in the northern steel town of
scunthorpe. if i could persuade
emily,
colm and the
chocolate buying public to accept a smoked turf chocolate, i would go into mass production tomorrow!
emily had cooked a wonderful
sunday roast with vegetables fresh from a friends garden. my girls were so excited to see
lola that we didn't get them to sleep until nearly midnight.
the next day we
dropped all three girls into the creche in the glen where they met up with
colm's daughter,
ella and immediately settled into a few days of
irish dancing, t-shirt printing and eating
martina's wonderful
home cooked food looking over the stunning views of the bay.
the weather was changeable. at times it was wild and as i walked between office and factory, i was continually struck by the magnificence of our surroundings: wild ocean and misty mountains.
i miss the factory with its bustle of creativity, the bright packaging and the adrenalin rush when big orders come in or go out. it feels like a seam of rich chocolate is threaded through everything. we did a lot of chatting, planning for
christmas, designing brochures and sampling some new ideas dreamed up by
colm and
orla. and then i did some more sampling. and some more...
on our last evening we drove over the hills to
valentia in hot sunshine to have tea at the lighthouse cafe. as we came back on the ferry, we watched children diving into the clear waters of
valentia harbour and it was almost possible to believe that
irish summers are always this warm and calm. it reminded me of our honeymoon in
liscannor five years ago - a blissful week of swimming, drinking ice cold
bulmers and eating great local food.
i can't wait to bring
hehir girl number 3 to the glen in the new year to introduce her to chocolate, and the strangely heady smell of turf!
i suspect that the romantic rose and pistachio bar will run away with the cocoa bean bar valentine sales award this year though i wouldn't be too quick to write off the aphrodisiac qualities of the chilli and pink peppercorn. those living in the glen, who are in the know, will put the smart money on glamorous g and t - the runaway winner every year. come on rose and pistachio - you're my favourite!!!!
