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.