NOVEMBER IS A MONTH of transitions between the vibrant hues of autumn and the frosty mornings of early winter. The trees are slowly losing their autumnal leaves and the nights are drawing in.

Remember the shop will be closing early on Sundays once the clocks change: from Sunday 26th October the shop will close at 2pm (café at 1pm). Make sure to pop in in time for your Sunday essentials!

With the colder weather approaching, what can be better than a bowl of hot soup? We have a great selection of soups from the The Real Soup Company who recently won a great taste award. They come in handy grab-and-go pots which can be heated up and taken on your travels.

In the age of rising costs and the hassle of trying to get to Stow or Chipping Norton, you might be surprised to learn that many everyday items we sell in the shop are actually cheaper. We check our prices regularly against supermarkets and we focus on buying locally whenever possible. When you add in the cost of fuel and time the case becomes even stronger: shopping locally saves you more than just money! If you haven’t shopped with us, why not challenge us and compare what you’d pay here with your usual supermarket spend.

Looking for a cosy bite to eat without leaving the village? We are now serving up freshly-made toasties, perfect for a quick lunch or a leisurely catch-up over coffee. Eat in or take away.

Every year we ask for feedback from our customers and others in the village by means of a survey. The core questions remain the same year on year, and this helps us measure our performance. We would like feedback from those who don’t use the shop as well as regulars. Please fill in the questionnaire on the facing page, or better still scan the QR code and fill it in online.

We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all our fantastic volunteers who give their time, energy and smiles to keep the shop and café running smoothly. Your dedication helps make our village shop more than just a place to buy essentials—you make it a place of warmth, connection and kindness.

We couldn’t do it without you – THANK YOU

AS THE LAZY DAYS OF AUGUST dwindle away, the golden hues of autumn are be- ginning to creep in. While it’s always a little sad to say goodbye to the joys of summer, September offers its own magic-crisp mornings, vibrant leaves, and hedgerows bursting with fruit just waiting to be picked.

We’ve had a truly wonderful August at the shop, welcoming not only our cherished local customers but also visitors from far and wide. From New Zealand to the USA, and many European neighbours in between, our guests have been full of praise for the shop and the charm of our beautiful village.  

As we transition into the new season, fresh produce is arriving daily. Look out for juicy, ripe figs—delicious on their own or served with blue cheese and walnuts in a fresh green salad.

Blackberries are still plentiful in the hedgerows and apples are beginning to fall, making it the perfect time to get baking! Whether it’s jams, jellies, cakes or crumbles, we’ve got all the ingredients you’ll need right here in the shop. In the coming days we’ll be welcoming winter squashes, curly kale, and purple sprouting broccoli— ideal for homemade soups, hearty stews, or roasting for a warming autumn supper.

If you’ve wandered past the village shop recently and noticed couple of brown paper bags hanging mysteriously by the entrance, you’re not alone. It’s not lost lunch or an unusual bit of décor: it’s actually part of a clever eco-friendly wasp deterrent! So next- time you walk in and notice the brown bags swaying in the breeze, remember their doing a good job keeping our shop a little less buzzy.   We are proud to celebrate the achievements of our incredible young volunteers following their A-Level and GCSE results.

Congratulations to Emily Rich, who is heading to Belfast to study politics, Katy Ottoway, off to King’s College London, and Angus Sherringham, going to Worcester to studying counselling psychology. And a big well-done to our GCSE students Flavia Abbate, Henry Rich and Jemima Hall. Everyone at Bledington Shop thanks you for your hard work and dedication. We wish you all the best in your exciting next chapters.  

If you know a young person who would like to volunteer in the shop, we’d love to hear from you. It’s a great way to gain experience and be part of our lovely community. Here’s to a fruitful and flavourful September! 

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.