My name is Sandra and I’m a coffee addict. Only one a day admittedly. But I love to relish a really good coffee, using my long-serving stove-top from Briscoes in Gisborne.

When we came to the UK to live ‘indefinitely’ in 2013, I searched the supermarkets unsuccessfully to find a ground coffee I liked. Then, someone, I can’t recall who shared a discount code for PACT. I thought I’d give them a try. Nothing to lose. I was giving up hope. New Zealand is well known for being a coffee-drinking nation and there was never a problem there; England, on the other hand, is awash with tea-drinkers. I was hooked from the first order received from PACT and haven’t looked back.

Sourced Direct Even During COVID-19

One of the things that I love about PACT coffee is it’s sourced directly from the growers without the middle man. It may be a little more expensive, but it feels hopeful to know I’m helping small businesses – as well as drinking excellent coffee.

“Founded in 2012, Pact Coffee was created to change people’s minds about coffee. We think about it like wine, not flour – it’s a cupboard staple, but one that’s infinitely better if it’s been lovingly grown and expertly processed. We want the UK to realise that. Because everyone deserves a truly quality cup of coffee.”

https://www.pactcoffee.com/about

Even in these turbulent and transformative times, it’s heartening to hear PACT are finding ways to continue to support growers in Honduras, Columbia, Guatamala, Kenya and Rwanda.

“… many governments in coffee-sourcing countries are enforcing lockdown procedures already – because due to their infrastructure and rurality, the impact of coronavirus would be catastrophic.

Thankfully for farmers (and us), coffee exporting is one industry governments are keeping going – as it’s such a key part of their economy. The industry is being protected to support farmers, and we want to keep supporting them, too.”

COVID-19 and Coffee: thank you for helping us support farming communities 16th April 2020 PACT Blog

It’s a little more challenging for me to get my ‘drug’ supply, as we don’t have mail coming to the boat (obviously!). But I shall endeavour to find a way.

DIY Barry

Like most liveaboard narrowboaters, Barry’s enjoying the stillness to do lots of DIY. He invents something new each day I think! The bathroom (shower-room really!) is almost done. Three coats of paint on the far wall and the shower frame has brightened it up immensely. Now he’s working on something else for there – and needs to re-hang the towel rail, my mosaic and paua shell.

Peter, Peter Cabin-Fever

I think Kim may be suffering from a touch of cabin fever. This morning she challenged me to a daily task of finding ‘Peter Rabbit’ somewhere on board. He’s the rather adorable soft toy that came with the easter egg I gave her. Today’s task was easy-peasy, but it did make me giggle:

Experimenting With Foraging

I found a recipe for nettle and dandelion chips yesterday, that I thought I’d try. Here’s the recipe – https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/mar/21/free-veg-the-many-uses-of-nettles-and-dandelion-leaves

We don’t really do ‘bored’, on board, even staying still. There’s always plenty of fun to be had in the simplest of ways …

COVID-19 Symptom Tracker Update

The COVID-19 Symptom Tracker App definitely allows you to add someone else as from today, with a few more questions added around how much you’ve isolated in the previous week. They update the information as required, in the light of new data, which is reassuring. They’ve logged 2,497,922 people this morning – almost at 2.5 million!

Please let friends and family know about the App and its importance if you live in the UK or USA, as well as reporting daily yourselves. Barry and I have both recorded no symptoms again today – hoorah 🙂

Point of note on foraging people: When picking anything from the wild, always pick responsibly. I only took what I needed for the recipe above, and not all from the same plant or area.