In this moment I am grateful for making new connections, in person, with some lovely folk running shops selling nourishing food in Reading. I’m also grateful to my Dad for gifting me the diesel money to get me over there.
Today I went on a mission to Reading and the surrounding area (to the west) to pick up a couple of supplies and make connections with some people.
First stop was to pick up a part for my van that my mum is kindly paying for, along with the fitting, as a birthday present. It should sort out the intermittent fault with my headlights that means I’m not able to drive at night. It’ll make a massive difference to me so thanks Mum!
After a long stint in traffic I landed at True Food Coop where I treated myself to a lovely rye sourdough bread, baked by Astons Bakehouse. The part I got actually cost me a little less than I’d been quoted over the phone so I decided to treat myself and support these businesses. As I write this I’m realising that my loaf of bread is a beautiful example of people (the bakers) and fungi (the wild yeasts) working together to provide nourishment for me. Thanks everyone 🙂 I also got a celeriac, one of my favourite vegetables, and a couple of onions from a local organic farm – Tolhurst Organic. I’m very grateful for a bit of vegetable diversity in my diet having mostly been living off a stash of organic carrots I picked up cheap last week.
I then popped into the heart of Reading and found another nourishing food seller – Global Refill based at Reading International Solidarity Centre. They’re based on the ‘Zero Waste’ model and also sell some fresh organic veg and other supplies. I wish I’d had some more money to support them with a sale.
On my way back to my van I stopped and admired an amazing little old truck that’s been converted into a street food outlet. I forgot the name of the business but had a lovely chat with the person working in there and I will go back to check out the other vans they have around Reading. I got excited about my visions for converting vehicles into food outlets and event support spaces. That’s something to focus on later in the year 🙂
My last stop was Vicars Game to pick up some deer bones to make a nourishing bone broth/stock with. I’ve never done it before so we’ll see how it turns out and what my body thinks of it. I was vegetarian for 16 years and broke my fast almost 2 years ago as I could no longer ignore my body asking for some meat nourishment. I eat very little meat now and strive to source it well.
I’m feeling very tired after a busy day, very poor sleep for the last couple of months and the constant stress and anxiety that comes from living hand to mouth. I also feel nourished by the food and connections I gathered today. We’ll see what tomorrow brings as I work towards my current goal of getting to Hartlepool for an in-person Rebel Business School course that I’ve been wanting to do for a while. I’ve written more about that on the other blog I’ve been sharing stories through. A bit confusing and unfocused perhaps? I’m working on improving my ability to focus and feel like I am making good progress 🙂
Thanks to everyone from the online Rebel Business School course for Berkshire who’s made an effort to connect with me and checked out this website. I got the motivation to sit and create this post from looking at my stats and realising people are actually reading my writing. Special shout out to Haze Riddle I connected with on the course who took the time to offer some ideas and feedback about this website and my offerings. She’s also offered practical support on taking photos of mushrooms (she’s a great photographer) and I’ve also simply enjoyed having someone chat with me over email as I’m getting very little social contact at the moment. Thanks also to anyone not on the course who’s dropped by here.
Peace and Mush Love,
Chris Forest
🍄 The Lovely Fungus Company ❤ 