Happy New Year

Can you believe it's 2011 already? Last year seemed to unravel in the blink of an eye. I'm looking forward to getting stuck into reading the books I got for Christmas. "Chocolate Wars: From Cadbury to Kraft: 200 years of Sweet Success and Bitter Rivalry" is first on my list. Written by a descendant of the Cadbury chocolate dynasty, Deborah Cadbury tells the engaging story of the Cadbury's chocolate factory from its inception to its recent takeover by Kraft. All the major English Chocolate brands such as Fry's and Rowntree's were started by Quaker families and the devout religious values that infiltrated their factories have long since given way to modern commerce. The world's chocolate industry is now dominated by just four multi-nationals; Kraft, Nestlé, Mars and Ferrero. Deborah, an acclaimed historian and documentary maker, details this fascinating journey in her book.




Incidently, Urney Chocolates founder Harry Gallagher also had Quaker roots. His mother, Harriet Thomas, came from a County Cork Quaker family. Harry certainly empathized with the Quaker ideal of caring for workers and he devoted much of his time creating a pleasant and safe environment for his employees. The Urney factory became known locally as the factory in a garden- just as the Cadbury factory had many years before in Victorian England.

E. Gallaghers shop Strabane

A highlight of our trip to Strabane was a visit to Harleys shop on the main street. The shop once housed a drapery store, built by Edward Gallagher in 1869. Edward had made a small fortune selling bibles in America and came home to start a business. The shop was on the ground floor with menswear to the front and ladies wear at the back. Later a shirt factory was built to the rear of the building. Harry (Urney Chocolates founder) worked in his father Edward's business for a short time before being sent off to study law. Harry later returned to the area when he got the post of Crown Solicitor to Donegal and his brother Andrew took over the family business. The shop then came into Joseph Harley's father's hands and Joseph now runs a furniture shop from the same premises. Today's shop retains many of the old features including the wooden floor and exterior design. There was a lovely nostalgic feel to the building; you could almost hear the ghosts of customers milling in the out of the busy drapery store of over 100 years ago when Edward traded his wares.