IF YOU HAVE BEEN in the shop recently you will have seen our new fruit and vegetable chiller display. Reaction has been uniformly positive, particularly during this recent hot spell. Our salads, in particular, are now so much fresher. Many thanks to David Bowditch for organising the installation.

The new chiller and the new rapid oven have been paid for from the generous legacy left through BAFCA by Gillian Truslove. The installation of the chiller marks the completion of the improvements that we started over a year ago. Over this period we have extended the building, re-landscaped the exterior and remodelled the interior.

We are slowly learning how to do more with the rapid oven, so do take a look at the cafe menu when you are next in.

Our annual Members’ Meeting, where you can hear more about our plans, is on Thursday 10th July at 5.30 pm. There will also be an opportunity to try some of our wines.

The soft fruit season has arrived and there are some really attractive varieties available. As usual, prices are initially high but will soon drop as the harvest develops.

Our locally-sourced ice cream provides the perfect complement. Many thanks to everyone who has helped out recently. Lisa has been able to return to work part time and we wish her well in her continuing recovery.  

JUNE IS THE START OF SUMMER and what a wonderful May we have had. With warm days and no rain, there is speculation about whether we will have a glorious summer.

With Summer just around the corner I am sure we are all dusting off the BBQ’s. We have a fantastic selection of sausages, burgers and steaks. Why not include your salad ingredients and dressings.

June is such an exciting time for food. A lot of the delicious soft fruits are coming into season. We have already said hello to strawberries and there is such a wide array of lovely British vegetables coming. Fresh peas and broad beans will be available soon.

I would like to wish good luck to all our amazing young volunteers past and present who are in the middle of taking their GCSE’s and A-level exams. Your hard work, kind- ness and service to our customers has really made a difference. Now it’s time to shine in your exams too! Believe in yourself, stay focused and give it your best. You’ve got this.

If you know a young person over the age of 14 who would like to volunteer and help in the shop please do pop in and have a chat. Contact me on 01608 659977 or manager@bledingtonshop.com.

The Café entertained a very special customer at the beginning of the month, shown here with Graeme, Sarah and Camilla. The new High Sheriff of Gloucestershire joined us for a sausage roll, homemade cake and a cappuccino. Julie Kent MBE is High Sheriff, a role that will see her supporting lots of local charities, businesses and the young people of Gloucestershire. Julie’s wish is to visit every northerly, southerly, easterly and westerly point of Gloucestershire. You can’t get any more easterly than Bledington  

THE MONTH OF MAY marks the approach of summer, and recent weather conditions suggest that summer is on its way.

We have enjoyed a very busy month in both the shop and café with lots of visitors to the village during the Easter period. Marks Cotswold Bakery, our award-winning bread supplier, provided us with tasty hot cross buns and chocolate treats.

The shop has some new and exciting products. We have a new supplier of jersey homemade ice creams. Gorsehill Abbey Farm based just outside Broadway make their own luxurious ice creams which has won several Great Taste awards. It is available in 125ml and 500ml tubs, and in three yummy flavours, chocolate, strawberry and vanilla. Which one will you enjoy first?

We also have a new Mango Ketchup, made by the Fruity Kitchen. Try it as a dip, or drizzled onto yoghurt when serving a curry, or as an accompaniment to ham.

When visiting the café recently you may have noticed we have installed a sparkling new oven. In the coming weeks new dishes will be available in our café, so keep an eye out for our up- dated menu.

Don’t forget, we also stock a range of sandwiches, filled rolls and savoury snacks.

A BIG thank you to all our amazing volunteers that help keep the shop running. They cover so many tasks. You could get involved in as much or as little as you like. From serving behind the till, making coffees or changing lightbulbs there is a role for everyone. To learn more, visit the shop for a chat.  

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.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates and new products.  

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.

The warm sunny days are now behind us and all we can think of is the cooler weather. Let’s hope we have seen the last of the rain. The trees are slowly losing their autumnal leaves and the Autumn fruit and vegetables are now in the shop. I don’t know about you, but I get very excited for warming stews and all the delicious comfort foods around at the moment.

Why not bring Autumnal flavours into your kitchen with pumpkins which can be made into soups, roasted with honey or even used in a pasta bake. Kale and purple sprouting broccoli have made a seasonal return and can be used in lots of recipes. Did you know that purple-sprouting broccoli has been found to contain higher levels of antioxidants. A super food!

Don’t wish to slave over a hot stove? Why not pop into the shop and see our range of yummy soups from the Real Soup Company. We have a wide selection, from Indonesian chickpea to carrot and coriander. These can be found in the deli fridge. We now sell a fantastic selection of filled rolls and sandwiches. These are freshly baked and prepared for us and are so perfect for lunch. We have a great selection available, including the traditional cheese and pickle or ham salad.

From Sunday 27th October 2024 not only will we have to change the clocks we will also be closing earlier. Every Sunday during winter the shop and café 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. Welcome to Christopher Higham, Avril Collis and Mary Gopsill who has just recently moved into the village. Without your support and time that you all very generously give this shop would not be such a success that it is so THANK YOU.

Wow, we have done it! We have opened our BIGGER and BETTER Community Shop and Café (see centre spread). A big thank you to everyone involved in making this building project such a success and to everyone who attended our opening event on Saturday 7 September. I am sure you will agree it was a fantastic occasion, and a big thank you to Adam Henson who did the honours and cut the ribbon for us.

With the new, bigger and better café we will be serving some new and delicious homemade, very local cakes made by our super volunteers, Louise and Valerie. These cakes will be seasonal to reflect the flavours and seasons of our year. So why not pop into the café and try some of our yummy cakes!

With blackberries still in the hedges, and apples, pears & figs falling from the trees, these delicious fruits make us aware that autumn is fast approaching. Why not savour the moment and make some jams, jellies, cakes and crumbles, with all jam and baking ingredients you’ll need from our shop.

Coming in the next few days will be winter squashes, curly kale, and purple sprouting broccoli. These are a perfect accompaniment to making a hot and delicious tasty homemade soup or even a hearty stew to put in the oven to aid the colder days upon us.

If you are new to Bledington you may not know that we have a daily delivery of fresh bread, milk, fruit, and vegetables. These deliveries all come from local suppliers. Four days a week we also receive a delivery of freshmeats, including sausages, chicken fillets and mince beef. If you need anything extra, then please do contact the shop.

I am so proud to announce we’ve been nominated for a Best Community Organisation Award in the North Cotswolds Awards. Voting is easy. Just go to northcotswoldsawards.co.uk and in the voting section select the Community Organisation award category. Voting closes at the end of October so please support us and vote now!

As we move forward to darker evenings and cosy nights by the fire, we will be changing our opening hours. From the last Sunday in October our opening hours will remain 9.00am-5.00pm Monday-Saturday, but on Sundays we will close at 2.00pm. Shop early on Sunday to avoid disappointment.

As always, I am incredibly grateful to all my amazing volunteers who very generously give up their time to help and support me in the shop. Whether it be stacking shelves, serving customers, or washing aprons,every little bit of help is always gratefully appreciated!

If you would like to get involved, please do contact me. You can pop into the shop, email me on manager@bledingtonshop.com or telephone me 01608 659977. I look forward to you joining our team.

We have made a good start to the shop extension. You will have noticed the walls are up, the outside terrace is finished and the windows and doors are ready to be installed. Mike Logue and his team are making great progress and I will update you very soon with a date for our grand opening.

Of course we are open for business and still offering our wide variety of fresh foods, hot drinks and home made delicious cakes. Plus all your grocery needs.

Isn’t it wonderful to finally see some sun and to feel some warmth on our faces. With the warmer weather it means new fruits and vegetables have arrived in the shop. Have you tried our amazing nectarines and peaches, plus broad beans and don’t forget the sweetest strawberries. I must confess I have eaten far too many this year!

Although we made it to the shortlist for the South West region for the Countryside Alliance Awards we were not selected for the final but were main proud to be “up there” with the best and will enter again next year.

Have you seen the many new products we have started stocking this summer? Sparking Ginger Kombucha is a delicious healthy drink made from green tea, infused with lively zest of Kombucha cultures and the essence of ginger. You will find this in our cold drinks fridge. For our breakfast cereal lovers we have a new blend of “Dorset” cereals. A classic fruit, nuts and seeds museli.

We also launched, at the Bledington Fête, our brand new beer “Tail Feathers”. This new beer has been especially brewed for us by Virtue Brewing based in Milton-under-Wychwood. An English Pale Ale, golden/blonde with a crisp fruity floral aroma. A Duckling good beer. Many thanks to the super talented Amy Jackson for her amazing, designed label.

We are still collecting donations for the North Cotswold Food Bank. The box is located by the entrance door when you come into the shop.We are always overwhelmed by the generosity of our customers. Each week we fill up a huge box of groceries these are then distributed to those in our community who need a little extra help. On behalf of North Cotswold Food Bank thank you again.

If you are new to Bledington and Foscot and would like to give back to your community then, maybe, you might consider volunteering in the shop? If you would like to get involved then please do contact me for a chat. It’s fun, easy and a great way to meet your neighbours.

British Summertime has finally arrived, how lovely to see the sunshine and enjoy a few days of warmth. Thankfully in the shop we have air conditioning, which is being generated by our solar panels, making the shop even more green.

Don’t forget our fruit and vegetables are delivered to us daily from Drinkwaters. Our amazing selection are not packaged in lots of plastic, you can buy exactly what you need, plus it helps to reduce food waste which is very important to us all.

Mike Logue and his team of builders are making great progress, helping us extend our community shop and café. They have installed the outside patio area and the floor for the extension is now being laid.

With the better weather you may consider throwing open your windows and do some Spring cleaning. We have everything you need plus a great selection of eco-friendly cleaning products.

Have you seen our fantastic selection of ready-made frozen foods. Lodge Farm, a small family-run business in Herefordshire creates lovingly homemade gourmet frozen ready meals. They carefully source all their ingredients from reputable suppliers who share the same ethos about food and the environment. From casseroles, to pies, they also have a great selection of vegan and vegetarian ready meals. Easy, convenient and totally delicious. Which one will you try first?

A big thank you to those of you who volunteer in the shop. I know that helping in the shop is a great way of giving something back to the village and the local community. We are always looking for new volunteers please do pop into the shop and have a chat. Its lots of fun.

April has brought us countless showers, but as the proverb says, let’s hope it brings us lots of May flowers. Talking of flowers did you know that we have a delivery every Friday morning of the most beautiful, tied bunches from Stow Flowers. They are perfect as a gift or a treat. We can also
arrange bouquets especially for you to pick up.

I am sure you will have all seen that the work on the extension has started. The marquee has been moved to the car park and the fruit and vegetables have moved inside. The double door entrance has been boarded up, entry and exit are by the same door. We intend to keep trading as usual while we grow the shop and café by 30%.

We have lots of new products in store. British Asparagus is back. Enjoy this whilst it is in season. Always best served simply with cracked black pepper and lashings of melted butter or with dollops of hollandaise sauce and a poached egg. New Potatoes have also arrived, characterised by their fluffy texture which are extremely versatile and can be enjoyed in salads, roasted whole or added to stews. All our fresh produce is delivered daily by Drinkwaters based in Ebrington and we can order items specially for you with a few days advanced notice.

Our award-winning bread supplier “Mark’s Bread” are now supplying us Crumpets which are simply huge, plus at the weekend we are selling their delicious Focaccia bread. Why not pop in and see our huge selection of different breads available.

Another new supplier we have is Fir Farm based in Lower Swell. Fir Farm is a mixed farm producing organic and pasture fed meat. They are supplying us with various frozen meats, braising steak, mince and steaks. Come on in and have a look.

Our wonderful volunteers keep the shop running and our success is down to the volunteers and their relentless hard work. They cover so many tasks from stacking shelves to washing aprons, serving coffees and baking cakes. If you have a spare hour or two and would like to become a volunteer, we
will welcome you with open arms.

We look forward to seeing you soon.

Sarah

As the days start to brighten and become longer Spring is finally on its way. 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, unusually, our first delivery of asparagus which is grown in the Wye Valley and, of course, rhubarb from the famous Yorkshire region. How will you enjoy yours, with custard, ice-cream or both?!

Easter will be here in the coming days. The Easter bunny has visited the shop and has delivered an excellent selection of egg-citing chocolates, cards and treats. We have a daily delivery of the award
winning and delicious “Mark’s Bread” Hot Cross buns. These will be available until Good Friday. Customers have suggested to me they enjoy them toasted with lashings of butter, strawberry jam and even Marmite!!!

If you are hosting a delicious Easter lunch with your friends and family, we have a vast
selection of tasty treats and seasonal trimmings. We can also order in advance, for you, different cuts/joints of lamb for roasting, so please order early.

There is still time to vote for us in the Countryside Alliance Rural Oscar awards. We have been nominated for Best Village Shop/Post Office in the South West Region. Voting closes at midnight 1 April 2024. Thank you to those of you who have already voted.

The shop will be closing early at 4.00pm on Good Friday and Easter Monday and we will be closed all day on Easter Sunday. With the clocks changing too, so will our shop opening times. From Sunday 14 April 2024 the shop and café Sunday opening times will be changing; each Sunday our café will close at 3.00pm and the shop will close at 4.00pm.

If you have visited the shop recently you may have seen some new young faces volunteering. I am thrilled that Henry, Jemima and Katy have all signed up to volunteer as part of their Duke of Edinburgh award scheme. If you know of any young person who would like to complete their work
experience, it’s a fantastic opportunity to gain invaluable experience, develop new skills and make a positive difference to people’s lives. Please do pop into the shop and find out more.

We look forward to seeing you soon

Sarah