The black pudding team

Cooking on blood – PR for black pudding

by with 0 Comments

PR is sometimes seen as a glamorous job – think awards ceremonies, schmoozing, freebies. In fact, for most of us it’s far more belt and braces, and occasionally in my case, gory.

PR for black pudding

It can be quite a challenge, as someone who is pretty much a vegetarian, to work with a business that’s basically all about meat. However, knowing as I do that the meat is sourced from animals raised only with the highest welfare standards, no factory farming here, I am 100% behind my client, chef Robin Rea of Rusty Pig.

So when Robin told me he was working with Dr Jan Davison to try out eight traditional black pudding recipes, some from the 18th century, I dropped by with my camera and notepad.

PR for black puddingBlack pudding, you may know, is basically made from blood. I watched as jugs of blood were poured into bowls with various other ingredients, mixed by hand and put to simmer on the stove. Delightful.

What was really interesting was the basis for the tests. Jan is delivering a paper to the Oxford Food & Cookery Symposium looking at how offal was once used for dishes for the wealthiest people in the land, including the Royal Family. I learned how ingredients such as ambergris, rosewater and penny royal were used in black pudding. And how one recipe called for a porpoise (which I’m pleased to say was a recipe not used).

This fascinating story was picked up in the local press, allowing for the promotion of Rusty Pig’s ‘Bourbon & Black’ event, where diners will be able to try out the black puddings. I’m going along, but Robin has promised to make me a veggie black pudding for the occasion.

This is the one and only occasion that I might be justified in writing the words, ‘bloody PR’!

PR for inspiring businesses

by with 0 Comments

Working in PR and copywriting brings me into contact with an amazing array of organisations. Some of these are large, established firms and others are small businesses, or start up. There are charities and community initiatives, all needing some help, whether that’s a boost, some advice about social media, or an ongoing PR service.

The last two months have been particularly interesting in terms of the businesses I have been talking to.

  • In Exeter I met Iain Smith, the owner of independent wine shop, Smith’s Wines in Magdalen Road, and ended up writing a feature for Exeter Life.
  • Down in Beer I was introduced to Swimboat for a feature for Devon Life – a little yellow boat that has been designed to accompany open water swimmers. I learned that there are thousands of intrepid swimmers who love to brave the waves for the sheer thrill of open water swimming.
  • I’ve been working with a lovely German nutritionist, Carola Becker, who, after learning to manage her own arthritis naturally, started up ‘Life is Good’ to help others to improve energy, lose weight and generally have a better life through better nutrition and exercise. I’m hoping some of this will rub off on me!
  • A call from Exeter Philharmonic Choir – I wasn’t previously aware Exeter had one – has brought me into contact with the world of composition and classical music, and I look forward to helping them gain more coverage for their concerts in Exeter Cathedral.
  • I also had a long chat with an inspirational lady in North Devon who turned to making chocolates from goats’ milk after her husband was made redundant (Caprine Capers). Having two children myself who were raised on goats rather than cows’ milk, I have a real interest in what she’s doing – hope there’s some taste tests involved….

I’ve blogged about telemarketing, parsnips and buying chocolate by post, I’ve written press releases about electrical testing software and I’ve helped out a friend of a friend who is Asian and needs to find a match donor.

It’s been an extraordinary few months, but such a privilege to learn about so many amazing things that are going on in Devon. I’m wondering what the next few months will bring!

A chance encounter with history

by with 0 Comments

I am lucky enough to have as one of my PR clients Chilcotts, an auctioneer in Honiton. Please put David Dickinson and ‘cheap as chips’ out of your mind, the world of auctions is actually a fascinating sector to work in. There are so many human interest stories to delve into, and abundance of interesting objects and artefacts to admire.

I recently visited Chilcotts to discuss a collection that has been given to them for their September Fine Arts and Collectors Items sale. Poignantly, due to the VJ Day anniversary celebrations, this includes diaries written by Devon man Lewis Burfitt, who was interned in the Weishien camp in China by the Japanese between 1943 and 1945.

The handwritten diaries give an intriguing insight into life as an internee, recording living conditions, sickness, deaths and births. They tell how the Chinese tried to help by smuggling supplies into the camp, eggs, chickens and even piglets – even though this put them in danger of punishment by the Japanese.

Eric LiddellThere were many who didn’t make it out of the camp, including Eric Liddell, the Scottish athlete who on principle wouldn’t run on Sunday. He was made famous in ‘Chariots of Fire’ but I’d never registered that he died a prisoner of war in China.

I spoke to BBC Radio Devon about the diaries, and they interviewed the nephew of Lewis Burfitt along with auctioneer Duncan Chilcott and Jenny Bell, who has been diligently researching the diaries.

As I was writing the press release, the story became even more moving when I realised that the writer of the diaries had lived and worked in Tiensin where the terrible explosions have just happened.

Getting involved in a story like this at this particular time was a real privilege, as was the opportunity to look through the diaries. It’s easy to feel very removed from the reality of a war that took place so many years ago, but this made me stop, think and remember.

The power of a good story

by with 0 Comments

A couple of weeks ago I was chatting away on social media when a company called Barrel Top Wagons (great name) came up in my Twitter feed. They were very excited to have won a Theo Paphitis #SBS (Small Business Saturday) Award and wanted to make some noise about it. Last year, Lyme Bay Cabins had the same success and I’d helped them out with a press release and distribution which resulted in some local coverage and a piece in Devon Life. Lyme Bay Cabins’ owner Gary started tweeting at Barrel Top Wagons to talk to me.

I am always willing to help out a small business ‒ after all I am one – so I talked with Jo Henderson, who co-owns Barrel Top Wagons. She put together some information for me, which was a great starting point, and I tweaked this into a press release.

Barrel Top Wagons Theo Paphitis smlWhen the picture of Jo with Theo Paphitis at a winners’ event came through a few days’ later, we were set fair. I sent the story to my contacts in the regional press and I’m delighted to say the response was brilliant. Western Morning News popped it straight up online and featured the story in the Sunday edition, while Tom at the Okehampton Times took the trouble to email me to say it would be in the next issue. I spotted it in the Express & Echo Monday edition, too, and Jo at Barrel Tops said it was included in the North Devon Journal. (So that’s a ‘yay’ as I’m not yet immune to the thrill of achieving such extensive coverage!).

In truth, this news item was a gift for any PR; the story behind the company is genuinely interesting (read it here) and Jo had given me enough background to make it easy to write a press release that could grab attention. Match the story up with a photo of Jo and the former Dragons’ Den entrepreneur Theo and – well it’s not rocket science is it?

Good luck to the inspirational and ethical Barrel Top Wagons!