Tuesday 21 May 2013

Why Mitchells Dairy Help our Heroes

Last month, we threw our weight behind the Help for Heroes Colossal Cake Sale and we are delighted to say that, thanks to the generosity of our customers, we raised £153.07 for the charity.

Following that terrific effort, we were once again delighted to support Help for Heroes at last weekend's Cocktails, Clothes and Cakes event at Meldrum House Country Hotel and Golf Course.

Set amidst beautiful countryside just a few short miles from Aberdeen, The 4 Gold Star Meldrum is one of Scotland's finest luxury hotels - and fortunately for everyone in attendance, the sun shone throughout.

It was a lovely afternoon with fashion shows by local businesses, a fantastic cocktail reception and afternoon tea, and the event raised well in excess of £3300 for Help for Heroes, which is a magnificent effort by everyone involved.


Help for Heroes do some amazing work for our wounded soldiers and their families, and we wanted to let you know why Mitchells Dairy support this thoroughly deserving charity.

As well as other friend and family connections with the forces, Judy's step-aunt, Louise Bennet, has three sons who are currently serving, or have previously been in the Royal Marines, and she sends thousands of buns to British troops in Afghanistan.

Louise has dispatched around 68,000 buns, and currently sends out 450 per week to 12 addresses; 11 in Afghanistan and one to Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Five of the current dispatches go to 2 SCOTS, who are in various areas of Afghanistan. 

You can read more about 'Louby Lou’s Buns of Mass Production', the nickname given to them by Terry Wogan after she sent him a batch when he did the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show, in this article in The Daily Mail.

You can also watch Louise talking about her 'Buns of Mass Production' on STV's The Hour, with Darius Campbell and Michelle McManus below.


It is through Louise that we got to hear of Help for Heroes, and since then, Judy's dad and step mum have held two garden parties in recent years to fundraise, which has raised over £15,000 for the charity.

So, to cut a long story short, this is why we jumped at the chance to be part of Meldrum House’s event and take part in the Help for Heroes Colossal Cake Sale!

We would love to hear your stories about why you support Help for Heroes, or indeed, why you support any particular charity. As usual, you can let us know on this blog post, or on Facebook or Twitter.

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Thursday 16 May 2013

Fantastic Fun at the Foodie Fundraiser

We would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who came along to our inaugural #foodiefundraiser tasting evening last week - for helping us raise over £1000 for The RNLI!

The evening was a tremendous success, and as we still have some donations coming in, it looks like the final amount raised will be nearer £1,100.

The food and wine suppliers were delighted with the interest and feedback they were getting for the produce they sampled, and from our perspective, the evening really did open people's eyes to the range of produce we stock in the shop.

There were lots of comments like 'I didn’t know you stocked that' and 'gosh, your malt whisky prices are really competitive' and that’s exactly what we hoped for – people coming in and browsing round the shop with fresh eyes.

For those who want to donate further to the RNLI, you will be happy to know that our goodwill didn't stop at our #foodiefundraiser. Over the next few weeks, customers can continue to show their support by purchasing wines from a specially labelled range, with 50p for each bottle sold going to the RNLI.

Once again, thank you so much to everyone who came along on Thursday evening, it is hugely appreciated.

We would also like to thank those who were not able to attend but made a donation, the Inverurie fundraising branch of the RNLI and of course our fabulous suppliers; Claire Rennie from Berry Scrumptious, Alan, Alan and Fiona from Downies Fish, Gordon and Shona Presly from Presly Butchers, Nicky Groat from Devenick Dairy, Dianne Smith from JG Ross and Pulsetta, and John Chalmers from Enotria Wines.

If you didn't manage to make it along, here's some photos from the event. You can find more on our Facebook page by clicking HERE.

PS. We are already thinking of our next tasting evening – what do you think about a beer or whisky night? Let us know by posting on this blog post or on Facebook or Twitter

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Friday 3 May 2013

Why We're Supporting The RNLI

Following on from our latest blog post about our #foodiefundraiser in aid of RNLI, we thought we would take the time to tell you a little bit more about why exactly we decided to organise this particular event in aid of the RNLI - an independent charity, funded by voluntary donations.

The Inverurie RNLI fundraising branch is one of the smaller in Scotland, but, for its size, is very successful. In the last five years, it has raised over £40,000 to support the lifeboat search and rescue service. Though this seems like a lot of money, it is a very small contribution to the cost of the service.

Keeping a modern fleet of lifeboats ever-ready to go to the rescue from 236 stations is an expensive business. Add to that crew training, running a lifeguard service on more than 180 popular beaches and campaigning for water safety, and the pounds start to add up.

It costs around £385,000 a day to run the RNLI, all of which is generously donated by the public. This might sound like a lot, but we think the 22 people rescued a day (on average) are absolutely worth it.

The RNLI volunteer crew are the backbone of the lifeboat service, physically saving lives at sea. There are more than 4,600 volunteer lifeboat crew members at stations around the UK, and another 3,000 volunteer shore crew members who support them. They are available 24/7, whatever the weather, to rescue those who need help.

Aberdeenshire has very strong connections to the sea through the local fishing industry, North Sea oil industry and the fantastic beaches we have on our doorstep.  It is very reassuring for everyone who goes to the sea, coast and inland water for work or leisure that the RNLI is close at hand with their volunteer crews to deal with any eventuality.

So, it’s easy to see why we believe this is a worthy and worthwhile cause for Mitchells Dairy, and the people of Inverurie, to support. You can’t put a price on the service the RNLI provides on a daily basis, but we feel we can try and repay some of that worth with our #foodiefundraiser.

If you want to come and support our local RNLI service, while having fun and learning a little about food and wine, then come along on Thursday 9 May between 7pm and 9pm.

Tickets for the fundraiser (in return for a suggested donation to the RNLI of just £10 per person) are available from the checkout in our shop, by phoning on 01467 621389 or emailing Judy at judy@mitchells-scotland.com.

For more information on the RNLI, why not visit their website - they have a great section on it called “Shorething” with games, activities and information for ages 7-14 years.

To keep up-to-date with what’s going on at Mitchells Dairy or the #foodiefundraiser, you can do so via our website, or through Facebook and Twitter.

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Wednesday 1 May 2013

#foodiefundraiser for RNLI

As we're sure you all know by now, Mitchells Dairy is always happy to be a part of events which raise money for worthy and deserving causes.

And on Thursday 9 May, we are doing our bit once again - by hosting the #foodiefundraiser in aid of RNLI, the charity that saves lives at sea.

As well as Mitchells Dairy, there will be a wealth of other local suppliers who will have some of their products for those attending to sample.

Amongst those who will be taking part in the #foodiefundraiser are Downies, Gordon Presly Butcher, JG Ross Bakers, Pulsetta, Berry Scrumptious, and Devenick Dairy.

In addition, Enotria Wines will be promoting a range of wines including Urlar - a wine produced in New Zealand by friends of ours who moved there from Scotland 10 years ago!


Guests will be given an opportunity to speak to the food producers, sample their produce, taste wines chosen to compliment each product and enjoy some fun and fundraising; the local fundraising committee for the RNLI will be there to run a raffle and RNLI merchandise stall.

In hosting this event, we hope we can not only raise funds for RNLI, but also raise awareness of what they do and how they put their lives’ on the line to save the lives of others.

Tickets (in return for a suggested donation to the RNLI of just £10 per person) are available from the checkout in our shop, by phoning on 01467 621389 or emailing Judy at judy@mitchells-scotland.com

To keep up-to-date with what’s going on at Mitchells Dairy or the #foodiefundraiser, you can do so via our website, or through Facebook and Twitter.

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