Appeal for anchovies and Weetabix

"That's the lady who's doing the year without supermarkets!"

I power-walked over to Jack Rabbits in Derby yesterday on my lunch break to grab some bread and suddenly found myself an object of curiosity with the staff.

If you like food and you're anywhere near Derby then Jack Rabbits really is worth a visit. Although it only opened a couple of years ago it's already really well-known and popular, and for good reason. It's got a lovely cafe area, a deli counter with some 60 different cheeses and other delicacies, a small store offering vegetables, local jams and pickles, oils and eggs, and a sandwich shop where busy workers can grab something to take away.

Jack Rabbits prides itself in stocking local produce, so it's meat, bread, milks and cream, chocolates and honey are all sourced from small local farmers and producers. And last time I went in I spotted that it even seems to have launched it's own cook book with some of the most popular recipes from the cafe.

The staff are all really friendly and keen for visitors to try before they buy. I've had several chats with co-owner Julie and told her about my challenge, so I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised as she nudged her co-workers as I poked about with the breads yesterday and told them who I was.

Several of the girls behind the deli counter were really interested in what I'm doing and started asking loads of questions, which was fantastic. In fact I had to very politely explain that I was on a bit of a rushed lunch break and had a meeting at 1pm - otherwise I could have been there all afternoon!

But one of the girls has thrown down the gauntlet for me in terms of a little challenge, and it goes without saying that I like a challenge, otherwise I wouldn't be doing this blog!

She told me that she'd been trying to avoid the supermarkets herself but was struggling to find anchovies. Apparently this lady has a real taste for anchovies and likes to pop them on pretty much everything. Now being a vegetarian I've never really considered where to find something like this and Neil doesn't eat fish so there isn't much call for anchovies in our house. But never-the-less, a challenge is a challenge so I have promised to try to find some.

Then when I got back to the office my colleague Helen decided to add to this list. She informed me that although she was impressed with my supermarket-free living she couldn't possibly do it herself because her son eats a huge amount of Weetabix and she wouldn't know where to find it outside of her local superstore.

So I need to track down Weetabix for Helen's son and anchovies for the friendly brunette in Jack Rabbits.

Does anybody have any ideas on where I could find them?