I need to start this month by grovelling and apologising most profusely.  I always try to warn you when the price of stamps is about to increase, but, this time, it completely missed me.  I woke up on the morning of 7th April to discover that the price of both First-...

What with one thing and another, I have had to send a number of important documents through the post this last month, and I’ve learnt to appreciate again how very lucky we are to have a post office no more than a stone’s throw away for most of us, right here in the...

“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...

Let me tell you my Christmas list – all, of course, found in Findon Store!  Number One has to be the delicious looking amaretti almond biscuits from Tuscany – an absolute melt-in-the-mouth delight!  They’re closely followed by the flavoured panettones that are so...

Keys! We all need them, now more than ever.  House keys, car keys, garage keys, padlock keys, bicycle keys – the list goes on.  We are a very security minded society.  And so losing keys sends us into an absolute spin of panic – we can’t think straight, we search...

The Great British weather! There’s always something to talk about!  It’s our ‘National Conversation’, and if that term doesn’t exist, it should do!  Anyway, the weather hasn’t let us down this year as a talking point, as you will know if you went to the Sheep Fair...

The Great British weather! There’s always something to talk about!  It’s our ‘National Conversation’, and if that term doesn’t exist, it should do!  Anyway, the weather hasn’t let us down this year as a talking point, as you will know if you went to the Sheep Fair...

Please bear with me as I follow a theme.  Last month I told you about the striking similarities between our village shop and the (fictional) Ambridge shop featured in the Archers.  Well, disaster struck in Ambridge this month, when dry rot was discovered and the shop...

Well, I’ve got a treat in store for you this month.  Especially if you’re an Archers fan.  I might be exaggerating a little bit – this treat is actually about two months out of date; I’ve only just become aware of it, but it was actually released in June, so you might...

Well, I’m pleased to be able to report that the volunteers’ party went ahead without any hitches, and was a great success.  As far as I’m aware, everyone was there who should have been there – I was about to say “All present and correct”, but, going on memory, there...

 With the warmer, drier weather upon us, our thoughts turn towards outdoor revelries.  We, at the shop, are determined not to miss out, and will have our Volunteers’ Summer Party on June 1st.  “Occasions like this always foster a sense of camaraderie.”  Well, so I’m...

  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 oneperson reads the article), but I mean known, liked, visited,...

  I’m sure that many of you will be aware that Peter Goldsworthy, after a long fight with cancer, has sadly passed away. We owe him a deep debt of gratitude. If it were not for Peter’s vision, Findon may well be very different today from the bustling, thriving,...

I learnt an important lesson last week – to pay heed to what I say to all of you. I was in town, and remembered I needed to send a birthday card to a certain VIP (my son). On impulse, (first mistake), I found a card, but noticed that the accompanying loose envelope...

  Well, I’m very tempted to start this month’s chat with, “I told you so!”  You probably don’t recall that a few months ago I told you that a friend of mine had asked me to tell you all how delicious Hutchings’s chicken and ham pies are.  I did warn her of the...

  The shop always looks at its best around Christmas-time.  Well, that’s not to say that it doesn’t always look attractive, but it’s even more sparkly and magical at this time of year!  Actually, I think I’m getting myself into hot water here, so I’d better move...

I must start by apologising and correcting something I put in last month’s article.  I go on about the wonderful opening hours of our shop and post office, but, apparently, not enough! They are even better than I had thought; closing time is actually 12.30pm on a...

It’s taken a long time coming, but it’s lovely to be able to enjoy the sunny weather we’re having now.  And the shop sees plenty of evidence of that, in our sales of soft drinks and ice creams, and the consumption of our complimentary water outside the shop, suitable...

Well, if you have visited the shop recently you will have seen our new fridges.  And very smart they are too (as well as easier to keep clean!).  More efficient, they boast sliding doors to keep the food cold, and comply with the latest energy regulations.  They are,...