CHESHIRE CHEESE

We've been enjoying Michael Portillo's train journeys on BBC2 and when he stopped off at a traditional cheese-making farm in Cheshire I sat up and took note. I love cheese - the more traditional and tasty the better - and this farm looked fantastic. It belongs to the Bourne family and is situated in Malpas. After the programme I looked the place up on the internet and discovered that it was possible to order online ( http://www.hsbourne.co.uk/ ). I filled in an old-fashioned looking form and ordered Mrs Bourne's cheese selection. There was no method of paying so I didn't hold out much hope and the website didn't seem to have been updated since 2002. But this morning the beautiful cheeses, bearing hand-written labels, arrived along with the sort of invoice we used to be given before the days of plastic.
    I rang the farm to thank them and to give my card details. John Bourne himself answered and told me to pop a cheque in the post when I got chance. "I hope you enjoy them because they're pretty bloody good," he said. I'm absolutely certain we will.