We heard last month that we had been awarded Highly Commended in the Countryside Alliance competition, not bad considering there were over 18,000 entrants in the whole competition and we were up against very strong opposition. Thank you to all of you who supported our nomination. And anyway, we have definitely won the best village shop in Payhembury award! As well as our fresh fruit and veg we are gradually stocking more items for vegetarians and vegans as they are popular with our customers. We have vegan alternatives for cheese, sausages, …
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In July the shop will have been open for 10 years and in that time we have had many successes and a few worrying times but throughout we have relied on our fantastic volunteers and customers to support and sustain us. Now we hope, COVID permitting, to celebrate our 10th birthday with you all. Watch this space for details next month. It’s never too late to join our band of volunteers, all you have to do is give Anne Baxter a ring on 01404 841345 and you can arrange to come in and have a look at the shop and how it works from behind the till …
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You won't have seen her behind the till over the last year but we know many of you would like to join us in wishing Pam Kearley happiness in her new home when she and Barry move house this month after 23 years in Luton. Pam has been a stalwart supporter of the shop from the start and volunteered week in week out on a Saturday morning for years often working with teenagers doing their D of E awards. Her warm and friendly nature was a huge support to them and a joy for all our customers. Thank you Pam from us all! We have recently had some more …
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Did you give something up for Lent this year? Or perhaps you feel that we've all already had to give up too many good things over the last year? Either way, what's certain is that we could all do with a few small treats to look forward to over Easter, and even if it's not going to be the 'family Christmas at Easter' that we were all hoping for (has anyone else got Christmas turkey legs lurking in the freezer and a Christmas pud loitering in the cupboard?) we have all sorts of delicious things in the shop to help you celebrate. Our wine …
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We're hoping that March will bring the glimmerings of light at the end of the tunnel for everyone, with falling Covid cases, re-opening of schools, warmer weather and longer days. We will have some good things going on at the shop too with two local businesses ready to supply us with their first-class produce again. Firstly we will have Spring bulb flowers from Colestocks Flower Farm, what could be a better symbol of new life and a fresh start this Spring? Last Autumn Jenny and Tom were busy planting masses of tulip bulbs and beautiful scented …
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Ding dong merrily on high! Once again we are offering you free hot drinks this December to provide some comfort and cheer this gloomy winter. In return, if you felt like giving a donation to our fund for village groups that would be very welcome. Or why not buy some of our raffle tickets in December and you will have a chance to win £50 or £25 to spend in the shop. This year, all profits from our weekly raffle and all last year's hot drinks donations went to the Friends of Payhembury School who have been prevented from doing most of their …
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The government's mantra of Hands, Face and Space is of course important, but a few months ago who would have thought that Keys, Contactless card and Mask would be essentials on everyone's 'things to remember when going out' list? Whilst we can't help much if you forget your keys, we do have ideas to help if you forget the other two. Most of you will know by now that we have a simple and convenient accounts system for customers, but if you are new to the village we should probably explain; you just need to come into the shop, sign the paperwork …
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This month we were hoping to encourage everyone to come to our annual members meeting but at the time of writing it looks like this is unlikely to go ahead in its traditional form. We will keep you posted about arrangements and will make sure that everyone will be able to read chairman David's report on this year's trading and our plans for the future. In the meantime we are always happy to try and answer your questions and we welcome any suggestions you have; it's your shop! Sadly, our favourite local yoghurt and ice cream makers …
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We have all been admiring the flowers by the Payhembury sign and along Church Lane recently as well as the fields full of cheerful sunflowers at Rull and brilliant blue chicory flowers at the bottom of Poffitt Lane and it made us wonder if we could start selling cut flowers. Luckily for us we have found a grower and garden designer in Colestocks who we hope is going to provide us with beautiful fresh Devon garden flowers to sell in our shop, none of your long distance air-freighted flowers here!  Weekends are busy in the shop with lots of …
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