The Garlic Festival

We had a busy couple of days at this year's Garlic Festival, here on the Isle of Wight. This show is always popular and despite the forecast, we escaped the rain and plenty of people came along. We were trying our new blend of coffee, which we are really pleased with - and judging by the comments, so were our customers. 

We would also like to say that a shot of espresso goes extremely well on a serving of the delicious award- winning Minghella vanilla ice cream - a great combination!

Bag IOW0260

Dr Bean has been on holiday to Cornwall. St Ives is the perfect mix of surf (for those who surf), shops (for those who shop), restaurants (for those who do lunch) and galleries (well, you get the idea. . ). We also sampled plenty of coffee (obviously).

All in all, there is something for everyone in the Dr Bean's Family, although there wasn't quite as much sun as usual.

Top purchases of the week were a functioning typewriter (brother deluxe 800) from a charity shop and a cup and saucer by ceramic artist Karen Shapley from Porthminster Gallery. 

Cowes Week

It's been an interesting week weather-wise here in Cowes - a few drizzly mornings but turning hot in the afternoon. The wind has been variable too. Beth and Larry have done a great job running the Dr Bean's van at egypt point (between Cowes and Gurnard), serving very good coffee.

Plight of the Bumblebee

I've  become a bit obsessed with bees. 

I have noticed a few articles recently highlighting the drastic decline of the bee population in this country and I guess I was inspired to produce a new design to go on one of our buckets. For those of you who may pick up on detail, these are definitely bumblebees rather than honey bees, but hey, they were easier to cut out. 

I'm quite pleased with it, so may produce some bee-bags too.

Bag IOW0064

Now, this is what we mean when we ask "Where has your Dr Bean's Bag Been?" This photo has been sent in by Will and Janno whilst they were in Bequia, Friendship Bay. This is one of the first batch of bags that we produced, with the number on the outside - I think this style has now become a classic!

Coffee at Newtown Old Town Hall

We were pleased to be asked to provide coffee at an event for the Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust at Newtown Old Town Hall. This property is owned by the National Trust and has an intriguing history. The area of Newtown Creek is also a renowned bird watching area and offers great scenic walks.

New Bag Numbers

The identification numbers that go on our bags have been through a few designs since we started, but this is the latest version. We have decided that the buckets should be given a number too, as shown in the last post.

The new labels are bigger and also have the website address on. Of course, this is all so that you can send in photos of your bags on holiday and we can publish them here on the Speakeasy 

(Ok, there's no prizes. . . it's just for fun). Also, it doesn't have to be on an exotic holiday. It doesn't have to be on holiday even. If you want to send a photo of your bag on it's way to work, then that's fine.