I have to start this month’s article by letting you know that Findon is officially on the world map.
Well, of course we are geographically, before you all put me right (that’s assuming that at least one
person reads the article), but I mean known, liked, visited, enjoyed. We are a tourist attraction, no
less! With the lovely, dry weather we’ve been having, and maybe the Easter holidays, we’ve had lots
of visitors to the shop, many from this country but some from distant climes, notably Switzerland,
from where a party came and enthused about Findon in general and our shop in particular. No small
praise coming from people who live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world. And they
even bought CHOCOLATE! And not Lindt (although we do sell it).
Of course, another attraction we have in the warmer months is our wonderful ice cream machine.
Its technical name is ‘ice cream freezer’, but that’s so boring compared with ‘ice cream machine’
which has such a lovely rhythm to it. I heard Angus call it that, and it stuck! Anyway, it’s already
proving very popular this year, whatever it’s called.
I’m not sure how to say this. My monthly article is apparently not enough. Apparently, things might
get missed! I have been asked to flag Facebook up to you. Our shop has its own page, which I have
looked at and granted my approval, which will tell you all sorts of bits of gossip (like Julian’s
birthday). So, if you have a Facebook account, do please visit, ‘Like’, and ‘Follow’ our page, to help
keep as many people as possible up-to-date with our busy shop-life.
One thing I will keep you up-to-date with is our new staff member. We are very pleased to let you
know that Vivian Watts has been appointed and is starting her training as we speak, or, rather, I
write and you read. Do welcome her if you see her. We send her our very best wishes – there’s a lot
to learn – and hope that she settles in quickly and finds her niche.
The month of May, like so many things, is both good and bad, depending on how you look at it. I’ll
start with the bad and get that over with quickly. Students (and parents) see exams looming. Well,
we have some good news to help with those long evenings of revision when you’re in desperate
need of sustenance. We stock CHOCOLATE! (There’s a bit of a theme here, but it is still Easter-tide,
so you’ll have to forgive my indulgence!). We also sell index cards and stationery materials, and the
all-important Good Luck cards.
Now, quickly moving on to the good news. Two Bank Holidays top and tail May. Our shop hours
will be as follows:
Monday 5 th May: 7am-12.30pm
Monday 26 th May 7am-12.30pm
All I can say is “Lucky volunteers who work on Monday afternoons!”
Jean Burden