London Town

We are home from our road trip/mini break in London for the Real Food Festival. I'm not really sure where to start! On hearing on the way down to London that I was on the stall next to my pal and Gower celebrity Kate, provider of brownies to the rich and famous, I knew we were going to have a ball. There were too many highlights to mention. Sales weren't great but they weren't for anyone. It seemed like more of an exhibition and advertising event rather than a market. Those that tasted Bendylegs seemed to like it and plenty of people smiled and asked about the name. These events are more about the people you meet and what you can learn from other people and, as a new girl, this experience was invaluable. Any market is made by your neighbours. Kate, Rob and lovely Sophie (scouse) Elf from Gower Cottage Brownies, James from Trealy Farm and Pie Man (Robert from Tractor Pies, North Wales). We sold, we laughed, we moaned, we helped each other out. We traded our goods between us for lunch/breakfast and we had a little drink or two together once the sun was past the yard arm.... just.... Yesterday, it felt like leaving a bunch of people after a weeks holiday together!
Other highlights for me were meeting the lovely Masterchef boys of the class of 2010 Druv, Alex and Tim, meeting the hilarious Rhodri Williams and watching Kate from GCB begging Jay Rayner for his address to send him brownies. That girl is THE most amazing saleswoman! So, its all over. Back home to sell and to follow up all the exciting possibilities that could be in the pipeline for Bendylegs... I never realised how tiring standing still was until last night when I definitely had Bendylegs and then, after a day with the kids bouncing off the walls, standing still doesn't seem so exhausting after all...

The Bendylegs Story

Bendylegs was created by me, Jo Watkins, a GP, wife, mother of two, and lover of the outdoors from Mumbles on the beautiful Gower Peninsula, South Wales. After a trip to see family in Canada, I became hooked on their homemade granola and came home to find all the brands on the shelves were too sweet or oily. I set about creating a fantastic tasting, healthy granola that would enable my family to eat a good balanced breakfast, giving slow release energy to last the day. I sourced a mixture of organic and local products to give Bendylegs a strong Welsh provenance. Friends and family tried it... they loved it. I approached local cafes and delicatessens. They tried it. They stocked it. People bought it. That is how it all began... Having left my regular GP job I now work freelance as a GP to enable me to grow my business and juggle a busy family life. I sell my product in local high end delicatessens, farm shops, B+B’s and hotels. Bendylegs is also available online. 

Bendylegs has no additives, no preservatives, no added salt and is made using only natural sugars. I use Welsh apple juice and Welsh rapeseed oil with pure Canadian maple syrup to give an extra special flavour and to remind us of our cousins in Vancouver. Over the past year, Bendylegs has become a well known and loved local brand putting a healthy breakfast on people’s kitchen tables and gracing the menus of the independent cafes. Through my website www.lovebendylegs.co.uk I showcase other local businesses and producers in the area and further afield in Wales. 

Bendylegs is more than just another granola. It is a way of life.  My vision is to encourage people to eat a good, healthy, balanced breakfast before getting outside and enjoying the great outdoors, so that at the end of each day you feel you have lived every minute. 

Why Bendylegs? This is a term first used by my nephew Charlie in 2003 after a long, windy beach walk in Tresaith, West Wales on the final stretch home...‘I can’t walk up the hill, I’ve got bendylegs’

When did you last have Bendylegs?