WITH THE NEW MONTH of April, Spring is now well on its way. It’s time to celebrate and its nature’s way of saying ”let’s party!”

What a joy it is to see all the gorgeous bulbs and tree blossoms come to life. It means lots of new fruits and vegetables coming into season.

We have had our first delivery of English asparagus which is grown in the Wye valley and, of course, Yorkshire rhubarb. How will you enjoy yours?

A big thank you to all of you who entered the Marmalade competition. We sold lots of Seville oranges and bags of sugar. The winner for 2025 was Angela Lear.

We also held a children’s colouring competition, well done to all who entered. The winner was Lily, aged 7 who won a Paddington lunchbox.

Easter is coming and we have a great selection of cards, gifts, and chocolates. Come in and grab a sweet treat.

And don’t forget we will have some delicious Hot Cross Buns for you to enjoy from Mark’s Bakery. These will be available from Monday 7th April. If you would like to guarantee a packet of buns then please send me an email and I can reserve, you some. Of course we will have a daily delivery of them.

The clocks will once more go forward for the start of British Summer Time on Sunday 30th March 2025. Additionally, the closing hours of the shop will be extended to 4pm, with the café closing an hour before.

The shop and café only succeed be- cause of many people in the village sup- port us. If you are not yet involved, please pop in and find out more. There is something for all. Everyone welcome.

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HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all. It has certainly been a very cold start to 2025, we have had many days not reaching above freezing. Don’t forget our community shop is a warm and perfect place to enjoy a hot warming drink and something to eat.

Daffodils are now available in the shop a sure sign Spring is on its way.

The new year for some might mean starting a new healthy diet. Did you know we sell lots of healthy options in the shop. Not only do we sell a lot of seasonal and healthy fruit and vegetables which are delivered to us daily from Ebrington, we can take orders for specific items.

We sell Tims Kefir Greek style yoghurt, a bio live yoghurt which contains loads of gut friendly active bacteria. Have you seen our selection of Kombucha drinks, and “Soul Kitchen” instant hot soup drinks that provide you with one of your five-a-day.

Sunny Seville Oranges have arrived now ready for marmalade making, which means once again we are searching for Bledington’s Marmalade Cham- pion! So wash down your pans, dig out your recipe books and get bubbling! Please bring us your jar of homemade unlabelled marmalade to be crowned Bledington Marmalade King or Queen. All entries will be judged blind. Entries need to be at the shop by Saturday 22nd February 2025.

We are also holding a competition for our younger customers. We all know Paddington Bear was a great fan of marmalade sandwiches so we would like our younger customers to either draw/paint a picture of Paddington Bear with a marmalade sandwich. We also have some lovely pictures of Paddington Bear that can be coloured in. There will be a special prize for the winner. Entries in please by Saturday 22nd.

Yes, its that time again love is in the air… we’ll have Valentines cards sourced by our helper Dee, beautifully decorated biscuits, special chocolates from the Cotswold Chocolate shop and some lovely tied bunches from Stow Flowers. If you would like to pre-order a flower bouquet please do pop into the shop and place your order.

A big thank you to all our customers who very generously donated to the North Cotswold food bank that we hold at the shop. Each week we fill up a huge tray with groceries that are taken to the food bank depot. It makes a huge difference to people’s lives in the wider area. If you are new to the village and have some spare time we are always needing additional helpers. It’s the perfect place to meet new people and feel part of a community.

We look forward to seeing you soon. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US! It is hard to believe that our popular shop has now been open for five years. This is an amazing milestone. It has only been achieved by the fantastic support from you, our loyal customers, so thank you very much. In November we welcomed and served our 200,000th customer. I have to confess I wasn’t counting!

Move over plums and blackberries, the new soft fruits on show are our easy peeler, sweet Satsumas. We also have delicious Medjool dates which can be eaten on their own or used in a sticky toffee pudding with lots of fresh cream. Brussels sprouts are now in season which only means one thing, Christmas is only four weeks away.

As we approach the festive season, we are thrilled to unveil our new Christmas mug, designed exclusively again for our shop by the super-talented Amy Jackson. The design features a charming illustration of festive ducks. The mug is perfect for sipping your favourite hot drinks on those chilly winter days. Whether you want to treat yourself, or perhaps give it as a perfect Christmas gift, they are available to buy in the shop now.

As in previous years, we are offering a Christmas order form for customers to pre-order your Christmas essentials. We will have everything you need from turkeys to twiglets, Brussels sprouts to bubbles. If you haven’t started already, why not stock up on your favourite festive treats. Our order form is available now.

The Café now has a seasonal menu, including festive hot drinks, mince pies and Christmas filled sandwiches. Why not try a warmed mince pie with a big dollop of clotted cream? My favourite.

Thank you as always to our volunteers and customers. We would like to take this opportunity to express thanks to our wonderful team of volunteers, whose hard work and dedication make the shop and café such a welcoming hub for the community. Additionally, thanks to all our loyal customers for your continued support throughout the year.