Remember the other butchers.

Let me start by first saying I have absolutely nothing against The Welsh Food Centre at Bodnant, for the it is a first class centre for such a purpose as well is should be for the millions of pounds of public money it cost.
I do however have a slight niggle in as much as the press do seem to be giving the business which let us not forget that is what it now is, thousands of pounds worth of free publicity due no doubt to Bodnant seemingly having a permanent PR person feeding an endless stream of press releases to the press and other such interested parties.

I feel that with the press giving such prominence to this venture they are neglecting the many other fine butchers who have been pioneering good Welsh meat for many years, not least O E Metcalfe  and Edwards of Conwy who have bought locally for 25 and 30 years respectively.
Edwards  have had on display for years where each farm their meat has come from and it has been suggested more than once that Bodnant doing this is something new, which of course it is nothing like being new to other butchers in the area who have been trading for years and of course have been trading in very challenging conditions and the boast of paying premiums to local farmers is of course nothing new to these existing butchers.

The byproduct of shopping with other butchers of course is to keep the traditional High Street vibrant and as good as Bodnant is as a showcase for Welsh Produce many of the other items are very overpriced when compared to other quality products available elsewhere, if one wants to pay a silly price for some locally made Tomato sauce or Chutney then the choice as ever is with the consumer, but from what I saw the some products are over the top price wise and aimed at the lucrative artisan market.
Time will always tell and be the true litmus test of anything not least this place that at some stage will have to stand on it's on two feet.
The food centre of course is in a unique position to weather any financial storm not least to the millions of pounds poured into it in public money and the owners who have recently sold a painting for millions of via a recent auction.
All  I want to say is that what Bodnant Butchery is widely portraying as some new innovation in the meat market is nothing new to many Butchers up and down Wales and they deserve just credit for pioneering such good work for the Welsh meat market and local farmers.