Having ended the last article with our best wishes for a happy Easter, it is good to reflect on the beautiful weather and chance to spend time with family and friends that the festival brought. Our local shop did great business, selling out of both Hot Cross Buns and Easter Eggs – we hope you enjoyed yours! The ice cream freezer looked very depleted on Easter Monday but fortunately Angus and Helen had everything under control and new deliveries were in place by the end of the week.
If you were one of those unable to get out and enjoy the spring sunshine or even a visit to the shop(s), please always remember that we have a team of extremely willing volunteers who are very happy to deliver to your door, just as they did during those dreadful lockdowns. All you need to do is phone or email your order in and, just like magic, there will be a ring on your bell and there it will be, at no extra charge to you. We will even attempt to source special orders for you if the item you want is not in stock. Everyone who uses this service speaks very highly of it, so please don’t hesitate to give it a try, whether it’s a “one-off” or on a more regular basis.
Talking of volunteers, it has been a delight to welcome three new volunteers to the team over the past two months. Ann, Andrew and Jean have all taken to the role like proverbial ducks to water! Since holidays and ill health, including COVID, have left a number of shifts vacant recently, they have been an absolute Godsend and learned the ropes incredibly quickly. Well done and thank you to them all.
We have recently produced a flyer promoting our fantastic shop which we are currently circulating to hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs in our local area. We are keen to ensure that all such businesses have a supply, so if you are aware of anyone who lets a room (or rooms/cottage/house/flat) privately, via Air BnB or any other organisation please let us know; we would love to include them in our records. You may also have heard that we have a few shares available if you would like to invest in our community shop. We have already done some great work for local good causes and will be reaching out to more in the very near future.
Also as previously mentioned, we say goodbye and thank you to our Chairman, Steve Smith, within the next month or two. Handovers are progressing well and we are looking forward to sharing news of the new Management Committee line-up in the next issue. Rest assured that the new Chairman and team will bring just as much enthusiasm, commitment and talent to our community venture as Steve has done. Everyone involved is excited by the new opportunities that the change will bring about and will be delighted to hear from customers and shareholders whenever they wish to communicate ideas. Meanwhile, if you wish to leave an appreciative message/card/token for Steve in the shop, that would be lovely; he has given so much of his time and expertise to the business and I am sure you will agree, he leaves it in excellent shape for the future.
Annie Whitchurch
Shop email: findonvillageshop@gmail.com
Orders: findonvillagestoreorders@gmail.com
Shop phone: 01903 877110