Here at Belvoir Fruit Farms we love nothing more than reading through the mail you send us; whether it’s telling us how much your son loves our organic ginger cordial, a delicious recipe featuring one of our cordials, or perhaps something slightly more obscure.

And this week it was the latter that caused a stir in the office. We could barely believe our eyes when we saw a full (yes, full) pack of playing cards had been placed inside a Belvoir bottle.

We wanted – no, make that needed – to know more! So we asked the sender of this fascinating photo, Phil, for an explanation.

Here’s the response we received.

Thanks, Phil!

This got us thinking. We wondered whether anyone else had a penchant for Belvoir packaging? Maybe you collect our labels or our limited edition glasses are part of your collection? Or perhaps you just love using our bottles as vases?

If this is the case, we’d love to hear from you. If you have photographs, then even better. And maybe you’ll be featuring in our next blog!

Monday is Burns Night. And with this annual event approaching rapidly, here on the farm we’re celebrating all that’s Scottish with a fabulous new competition.

Burns Night may have been held on a completely different date if merchants born in Ayrshire didn’t realise their mistake. The first Burns Supper was held in 1801 on what they thought was Burns’ birthday. It was two years later that they realised they’d got the wrong date and to this day the celebrations take place on the 25th of January.

And to make this Burns Night go off with a bang we’re offering top-notch prizes to five lucky winners. But like Burns’ poetry we’ll tease you and move on.

We’ve got our haggis, cock-a-leekie soup, tatties and neeps ready for the main supper and also a fine bottle of Scotch whisky to accompany proceedings. Perhaps, like us, you need a little something to take the edge off the whisky, so we suggest mixing our organic ginger cordial with a bit of water and whisky to provide a less overpowering version.

Each supper starts with a reading of Burns’ poem The Selkirk Grace:

Some hae meat and canna eat,
And some wad eat that want it;
But we hae meat, and we can eat,
Sae let the Lord be thankit.

Burns’ poetry uses the Scottish language and dialect to comment on the wonderful Scottish landscape and people that inhabited it. Which neatly brings us on to this month’s competition. Because we’d like you to do the same.

The Competition

In true Burns style, we’d like you to compose a poem about your hometown or homeland – and if you can put it in your own dialect, even better!

Submit your poem in the comment box below.

Five lucky winners will each receive a gift pack of three bottles of our ginger cordial. We’ll announce the winners on the 22nd February along with some exciting news about new drinks for this summer.

So find your muse and grab a pen, and we look forward to reading your entries! (Terms and conditions are here.)

Oh the magic of snowfall!

Well, magical if you’re a kid and, instead of going to school, you’re hurtling down hills on a makeshift sled. Not so great if you’re stood on a station platform rueing the cancellation of your train home. Yes, we know that this white blanket over Britain can make many people jaded.

So here are five things you can do to make light of the coldest spell in 100 years.

1. Snow creates an opportunity to settle some scores with a good old fashioned snowball fight! If you’re stuck at work, you could call the competition and tell them you’ll meet them on the corner in twenty minutes – two rival advertising agencies in Manchester did.

2. Get creative in the snow. Many people are branching out from the traditional snowman to animals, sculptures and famous figures. What can you build? Send us your snaps!

3. Snow creates a wonderful magical wonderland that makes the world look altogether more vibrant. Here at Belvoir we’re looking at all the glorious images of this country in the snow.

4. The slushy aftermath of snow gives every form of news broadcast the chance to overuse the word ‘treacherous’. Create your own tally chart for the times it’s mentioned. Then compare and share with friends.

5. Check out the #UKSnow map and, if you use Twitter, tweet the snowfall in your area to contribute.

And after playing in the snow, we think there’s nothing better than defrosting in front of a roaring fire with a warm mug of Belvoir’s delicious Winter Berries Cordial, and dreaming of picnics in summer.

Right. As it’s now officially The Twelfth Day of Christmas, we must dash off and tuck the angel back in her box, pack away the decorations and finish off the last of the Christmas treats.

And on that note, Happy New Year everyone. Enjoy the snow as much as you can!