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.