“Is it too late to wish all our volunteers and customers a Happy New Year?”, Angus (our manager) questioned, when I asked whether he had anything for this month’s article. Well, maybe it isn’t such a New ‘Year’ anymore, but we are coming up to Spring, and that always holds the promise of new things. And it’s always good to spread cheer; so, I’ll start by wishing you all a ‘Happy New Year’ anyway!
Talking of new, there’s all sorts of new things to tell you about. All you wonderful volunteers, this bit is especially for you, so read on. You may remember, back in 2022, we were awarded the ‘Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service’. The award came as a crystal, which stands on the shelf behind the counter, but hasn’t been very visible. Well, all that has changed. It is now backlit, with a purple backdrop (thank you Dorothy Barber and Simon Whitchurch). It looks very resplendent, and so it should! We should all be very proud of our achievement.
If, however, you can’t get to the shop to see it, all is not lost. Our website (www.findonvillagestore.org) has recently had an update (so it’s almost new!), including photos of the crystal. Do take a look.
A member of our Post Office staff, Sue Martin, has a new role. Having worked since we opened in 2017 behind the PO counter, she has decided to step back, but, guess what, she is now working as a volunteer. Fantastic news for us of course, but I’m not sure how much difference she’ll notice. Thank you so much, Sue, for continuing to support us.
Before Christmas, we stocked some cyclamen and hyacinths from Ferring Nursery. Everyone was very impressed with their quality, and they sold well. Please keep an eye out; we will be stocking more plants from them. So, to continue my theme, we have a new local stockist. Perfect!
Now this next item happens every year, so isn’t exactly new as such, but you might be celebrating it with a new person! I’m referring, of course, to Valentine’s Day. As you’d expect, we’ll be stocking cards and chocolates, so come and take a look.
Now, I’m going to finish this month’s article with a story guaranteed to warm the cockles of your heart on a cold February day. A customer, in some degree of distress, came into the shop to say they’d lost their car – they’d obviously read my article about us being the guardians of lost objects. But no, their car hadn’t been brought to us for safekeeping. However, the duty volunteer thought they might know where the car was, from the sparse details that lost-car-person could remember. Like intrepid explorers, volunteer and lost-car-person walked off together (I’d like to say ‘into the sunset, the start of a beautiful romance’, but I think that might be stretching the Valentine theme too far!). Anyway, their mission was successful, and the car was found. A happy ending!
Jean Burden