Ticklemore: the Blue Cheese Kings
 A few newsletters ago I was talking about my visit to Sharpham's dairy on the banks of the Dart, just south of Totnes. The latest trip saw me barely a mile away at Devon's shrine to all that is blue, Ticklemore Cheese.
In the artisan cheese universe there are a few makers that deserve special praise, not only for the excellence of what they produce, but for the fact that they swum against the tide: they started when hand-made cheese could easily have seemed like an anachronism in an era of supermarkets and big creameries. Rachel Stephens (of Curworthy) is one. So was the late Caryl Minson of Menallack. And Ticklemore's Robin Congdon is definitely another.
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 Back in the 70s Robin was farming sheep on the land around what is now the dairy. No-one else was milking sheep ... but Robin decided to start. Making yoghurts led on to cheese, and a determination to make something inspired by Roquefort, the French ewes' milk blue matured in caves.
30 years on, the famous Beenleigh Blue which resulted from these experiments is matured in what Ben Harris - who these days is in charge - does actually call 'the cave' (pictured). With it's running water and constant fresh air flow, it's an attempt to mimic the conditions you'd find underground. And it must be working, because Beenleigh and its siblings Harbourne Blue (goat) and Devon Blue (cow) are blue cheeses that bear comparison with the best of the best, and indeed Ticklemore is a place of pilgrimage for aspiring makers from across the world.
Robin has now stepped back from the day-to-day work in the dairy though his partner Sarie Cooper still helps out most weeks. Ben, who showed me round, definitely seems to have the 'right stuff' to keep the Ticklemore blues on the right track.
Incidentally, a few years ago we sent a box of about 10 wonderful cheeses to UKTV's Local Hero show, hosted by Gary Rhodes and Michael Caines (we were in the regional final). Which two cheeses did they pick out for praise? Ogleshield and ... Beenleigh Blue.
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Smeaton's Tower and other cheese cakes
 Our black-and-white cheese wedding cake received a lot of attention when we introduced it in January - The Independent, Alan Titchmarsh Show and all that. I would guess it's our best seller now.
Here's a related design featuring white and red (waxed) cheeses. I'd already decided to call it Smeaton's Tower, after the famous lighthouse on Plymouth Hoe, when I learned that said tower is celebrating it's 250th birthday in October (I think I feel a publicity opportunity coming on).
Like the Eighty-Eight, this is a stunning thing and would make a great feature on any table. The cheeses have been carefully selected not just for colour, but in order to give a range of flavours and a carefully graduated shape.
Incidentally, I'm in the process of putting together packs of decorations which would enable you to painlessly recreate Annie's stunning design in the comfort of your own home.
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 And we have four more newcomers, three of which you can see here. In the centre is Gold Hill. For some time I've wanted to theme a cake around gold/orange coloured cheeses, and this is the drop-dead-gorgeous result, featuring some stunners such as Tornegus, Quicke's Oak Smoked Cheddar and Keltic Gold.
Size isn't everything - as we in the small-but-perfectly-formed Cheese Shed insist - and I'm often asked for modest cakes that might suit gatherings of, say, 35-40. Tyneham (left) and Tintagel (right) are worth a look if that's what you need, along with Topsham.
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Cheese Shed: Now with Wine and Juice
 A quick word on the latest additions to our website. Life isn't all cheese, cheese, cheese, so we're now stocking a bunch of organic juices from Luscombe, along with a small range of wines from Sharpham and Pebblebed. No red yet - our Devon vienyards were badly hit by last years rotten summer weather - but watch this space.
Sorry: did I just say 'life isn't all cheese, cheese, cheese'? What nonsense.
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