Happy New Year to you all. We hope you had a wonderful Christmas and an excellent start to 2024. January has arrived with a soggy start and then a few days of cold crisp mornings, with beautiful blue skies. I know which I prefer.

January is filled with lots of root vegetables and citrus fruits for all to enjoy. Eating seasonally is best for us, the environment and supports local suppliers. We have leeks, parsnips and various types of kale. Plus, not forgetting our sunny “Seville” oranges now ready for marmalade making.

Once again, we are in search of Bledington’s Marmalade Champion! So, wash down your pans, dig out your recipe books and get bubbling!

Please do bring us your jar of homemade unlabelled marmalade, to be crowned Bledington Marmalade King or Queen. All entries will be judged blind. The deadline is noon Friday 16 February 2024. The winner will be announced on Monday 19 February 2024.

Have you seen our fantastic range of soups from the Real Soup Company? When it comes to a tasty soup, we know that everyone’s choice is different. From lentil to butternut squash, tomato and basil to leek and potato. They are available in ready to heat containers. All their soups are allergen free, vegetarian and vegan varieties available. They all go extremely well with a warmed up slice of Mark’s Sourdough.

In the coming weeks Spring will be here so lots of new fresh fruit and vegetables will be arriving, plus local seasonal flowers. Love will be in the air for Valentines Day, on Wednesday 14 February. Don’t forget to spoil your special valentine with a gift. We will have Dee’s cards, Stow flowers, Cotswold Carress lotions and potions and Cotswold Chocolate Co. chocolates.

Our community shop is the hub of the village. We are here for everyone who lives in Bledington, Foscot and surrounding villages. The fantastic volunteers and I are not only here to sell you groceries and serve you yummy food and drinks, we are here to help you. Our café is a warm and welcoming place, so if you fancy a chat and a cuppa, please do pop in. If you are new to the village and could spare some time, we are always needing additional volunteers. It’s the perfect place to meet new people and feel part of a community. We look forward to seeing you soon.

Happy 4th Birthday to us. Can you believe it has been four glorious years since we opened the doors to our amazing community shop and café. We celebrated in style and held a raffle thanks to the donations of our brilliant suppliers. The raffle was in aid of the North Cotswold Foodbank and thanks to the generous support of you our customers we raised over £450.

Congratulations to the Alison Blears, Alan Jarvis, Arthur Morley and many other villagers who won one of our many prizes.

Move over plums and blackberries the new fruits on show are our easy peeler, sweet Satsumas plus we have delicious and yummy Medjool dates which can be eaten on their own or used in a traybake or maybe a sticky toffee pudding. Kale, kalettes (sprout flowers) and cavolo nero. All are incredibly versatile and can be boiled, stir-fried and steamed.

With Christmas only four weeks away the shop will be transforming into Santa’s grotto. We will have everything you need from turkeys to twiglets, brussel sprouts to bubbles. If you haven’t started already why not stock up on your favourite festive treats. Our Christmas food order form is available in the shop. You will be able to order everything you need, turkeys, vegetables, smoked salmon and pork pies to name but a few items. The shop has something for everyone, so let the festive preparations begin.

A Diary date for your diary: we will holding a tasting event in the shop on Saturday 16th December 2023. This will be an opportunity for you to try some of our amazing tasty delights that we sell in the shop. So please come along and try a nibble from local cheeses, pork pies and chocolates. Plus we will be promoting our new Old Orchard Whisky. So why not pop in and try a small dram!!

The warm sunny days are now behind us and all we can think of is the
cooler weather. The trees are slowing losing their autumnal leaves and
we’ve got an array of Autumn fruits and vegetables in the shop.

Our shop shelves are flooded with beautiful colours, orange, purple and
dark reds – squashes, sweet potatoes, and purple sprouting broccoli to
name but a few. With the demand for tasty homemade soups and stews
ever increasing we have all the local ingredients you will need. Not wanting
to slave over a hot stove then come and see our amazing selection of fresh
soups found in the deli fridge from Lentil, Thai chicken and butternut
squash.

We have added to our Bledington Shop gifts line with these beautiful fine bone china
mugs. Designed by the super talented Louise and Amy Jackson and produced by The Crock Shop based in Stow. Why not treat yourself to your very own Bledington Mug or start shopping early for Christmas!

Can you believe it has been nearly four years since Bledington
Community Shop and Café opened its doors with Dame Prue Leith cutting
the ribbon and being our first ever customer. As you know we love a
birthday party at Bledington Shop so once again we will be celebrating with
lots of fun and games. Look forward to celebrating with you all on Saturday
11 November 2023. We will be holding a raffle in aid of the North Cotswold Foodbank based in
Moreton.

As we move forward to darker evenings from Sunday 29 October 2023
not only will we have changed the clocks we will also be closing earlier.
Every Sunday during winter the shop will be closing at 2.00pm. So
please shop early to avoid disappointment.

Finally a big thank you to all the amazing volunteers who live in
Bledington and surrounding villages. Without your support and time that
you very generously give this shop would not be such a success that it is; so
thank you.