A seasons greetings from our chairman

​Every year when writing this message, I think to myself that nothing in future years will top the present year for drama, pathos and human folly.  Yet again, this year has, like every year, proved me wrong.
 
Brexit, followed by calls to ignore the democratic will of the people and seek a second referendum because some did not like the result of the first!  Donald Trump elected president of the USA!
 
Disconcerting to say the least, however, a little scrutiny may just present the faintest glimmer of hope that all is not lost.

Brexit DID happen and whether this turns out eventually to be economically beneficial for Britain,  or not, at least the people of this country showed that they were not to be bowed by threats of biblical plagues and fire and brimstone.  Having said this, the resultant deterioration in the value of sterling unfortunately conspired with rising raw coffee prices over the second half of the year and led to double digit increases industry wide.  World coffee stocks and pessimistic crop outlooks for 2017 remain a concern.
 
Trump-Clinton?  Clinton-Trump?  As the Kerry man said (apologies to all Kerry men, hopefully this will not be construed as a hate crime) "if I were going on this journey I wouldn’t start from here".  However, the people of the United States did start from an unsatisfactory place with a pair of candidates whom I guess most people would not have at the top of their guest list for Thanks Giving Dinner.  But, given the situation as it stands, after long and wavering consideration, I now wonder whether such an idiosyncratic individual as Donald Trump might just shake up the establishment enough for the political elite to think twice about taking the man or woman in the street for granted ever again. Perhaps some good may emerge after all.
 
In this brave new world of uncharted waters, what are the chances that two world leaders, Trump and Putin, both largely unfettered by political opposition at home, might form an alliance to combat extremism and terrorism in all their forms?  Strategies, possibly not too popular with the “liberal left” may, however, be pursued that eventually curtail the barbarity of the terrorist and

​alleviate the subsequent suffering of millions of the world’s subjects.  Not exactly a vision of Elysian Fields or what we might have, in once gentler times, hoped for, but there again, if I were going on this journey, I wouldn’t have started from here.....

Not only has Brexit shaken the world, we now have Drexit to rock the UK coffee industry!  Yes, Derek Burgess, Masteroast’s Sales Director, has decided that it is time to move on and seek further adventure in the world of commerce. Derek has played a very significant role in Masteroast’s success during the past decade and a half and for which the company owes him considerable thanks.  However, we are fortunate not to be losing touch with Derek as he will be taking a senior role within the industry and we look forward to maintaining our commercial connections.  All of his colleagues, customers and industry friends will, I know, want to join me and his fellow directors in wishing Derek every success and fulfillment in his new life and career.
 
We are delighted to have appointed a highly experienced, respected and worthy successor to join us in the role of Commercial Director, we shall be making an official and detailed announcement early in the new year.
 
This year, our charity of choice is, once again, Sightsavers, an organisation that has been engaged for many years in saving the sight of many tens of thousands of children and adults in the developing world. As a charity which spends the majority of its funds on those most at need, rather than administration, Sightsavers will use our donation to pay for cataract operations for twenty third-world children.  The gift of sight will change their lives immeasurably in a most positive way.
 
On behalf of all at Masteroast, I should like to wish all our friends in the industry every good wish and happiness at Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year.

L. G. Mills

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Any orders placed after Friday 9th December will be scheduled for delivery Tuesday 3rd January 2017 onwards.  Please note that orders received after Wednesday 21st December will not be processed until our return in 2017.
 
The roastery will close at 12.30pm on Friday 23rd December 2016 and will re-open on Tuesday 3rd January 2017 at 9.00am.