Blogspot Retirement

Now we have been established for 18 months and our website is up and running, we felt that this blogspot should be left as a testament to the hard work and enthusiam of the team that set the shop up. We certainly don't want to forget where we came from and how we got here, but this is now more of a history of the shop than a marketing tool. So please read on but there will be no more updates in the future ( well, never say never.....!) and many thanks for all your support.

Birthday cake!

What would a birthday be without a cake! Jo Songhurst used one of her many and various talents to decorate a very large cake this morning with our logo. As usual on a Saturday the shop was heaving with customers, but we managed to persuade Christine and Scarlet to leave the till and light the candle. Lots of customers were happy to have their photo taken too!

It's our birthday!

This weekend is the first anniversary of the opening of The Shop at Strood Green. We can't believe it! It has been such a busy year and we have all learned so much from it. The shop goes from strength to strength and now receives over 2000 visits a week from its customers. It is always buzzing. In the shop this weekend are complimentary shopping bags, balloons, chocolates, and our very own birthday cake!
Also this weekend we are proud to be featured in The Times - in the Weekend section we have featured as part of a walk in Surrey (as providing a good stopping point for afternoon tea!).
Many many thanks to all our loyal customers and volunteers for the support they have given the shop over the last twelve months.

Shop very busy in the big freeze

Hoards of customers are relying on the shop for their basics at the moment, as the roads in and out of Strood Green are so treacherous. Our bake-off oven is going like the clappers and we have ordered substantial quantities of vegetables for the weekend ahead, with more snow forecast. If the delivery vans and lorries can get through, we'll have enough supplies for everybody!

READY for Christmas!!

Our Christmas tree, kindly donated by Charlie Frost in Newdigate, is happily planted on the island outside the shop, and Ant Hamilton has spent several hours of his precious time installing Christmas lights on the tree and on the fascia, as well as inside the shop. Heather Simister has done a wonderful job decorating the shop window - it looks stunning.
Inside the shop is a hive of activity. Masses of Christmas stock is in store now - look out for the local hand-made chocolates, beautiful Christmas bouquets to order, and a great range of locally produced jams, chutneys, mincemeat, preserves, oils, cakes etc etc. Nearer to the time we shall have home-made mince pies as well.

WE ARE TAKING ORDERS FOR FLOWERS, FRESH VEGETABLES AND BREADS. THESE CAN BE COLLECTED CHRISTMAS EVE, OR EARLIER BY ARRANGEMENT.

Summer in the store

We now have prize-winning local honey in store, plus a wide range of locally grown vegetables - beautiful romanesque cauliflowers (so pretty: shall we eat them or photograph them?), new season's parsnips, beetroot, radishes, french and runner beans, huge marrows and local onions. Richard Ramsden is supplier of the month for his dedication in providing the shop with a steady stream of just-picked veg: courgettes several times a week, plus his beans and cucumbers. We are looking forward to his squashes and pumpkins!
The shop is as busy as ever and we were very pleased to find that sales didn't drop during the holiday period, when so many of our local customers were away.

Village of the Year Award

Yesterday we received the new that Brockham has been voted Surrey Village of the Year in the Business category, thanks in part to the launching of our community shop this year. Other factors were the new and well-run Brockham website(www.brockham.org) and the village's fundraising efforts for the Surrey Air Ambulance appeal. We are very proud to have helped bring this award home.