It is a while since we last sent you an update on the activities of your store, and with so much having happened this year, we thought you would appreciate hearing some good news.
Firstly most of you will be aware that we have a number of new committee members who have joined us this year. Peter our previous Chairman & Eleanor our previous Secretary have both stood down this year and we thank them for their tremendous work they have undertaken during their time in office. Robert Guilbert & Paul Hagger have joined the committee with Robert taking on the role of Secretary. We are still without a permanent Chairman although Linda has stepped up in her role as Vice Chairman. We are however still looking for a new Chairman, so if there are any volunteers out there, especially any with Retail experience, we would love to hear from you.
We are working through a long list of shop improvements, the most important of which for many of our volunteers and customers was the installation of a new till. Thanks to the Friends of Tewin for their kind donation which paid for this. No more till freezes and waiting to pay whilst the till decides how long it will take to come back to life!
Other areas that we hope our regulars have noticed, have been the 2 new chillers which look rather smart having replaced our old chiller which regrettably gave up on us. The vegetable rack at the front of the store has also been refurbished along with the shop front windowsill which were both looking rather furlorn! Earlier in the year we repainted the shop sign, installed a new shop front awning and we received so many favourable comments on the new front door mats - those little things really do matter! Likewise the hanging baskets added to the front of the store and the courtyard all help to brighten up our surroundings. Finally we have printed new colourful menus for our cafe.
Less visible have been other improvements we have undertaken behind the scenes: The kitchen has just been through a ‘deep clean’ and we are now looking to undertake the same for the rest of the shop in the autumn. Thanks to EHDC for their grant which has funded this. Our electrical wiring and plug sockets have recently been inspected and repaired with all the loose wiring tidied up. We are now turning our attention to the guttering and drainage which is likely to be a bigger job and will take some time to undertake.
On the less positive side, as we are all aware, prices have increased this year and continue to do so. We are not immune to this and have had to increase our prices for many goods accordingly. Nevertheless, whilst we can’t compete with the large supermarkets, we provide convenience for goods locally as well as a super friendly service provided by our wonderful team of volunteers.
And of course our cafe provides freshly prepared drinks and food which we know many of you come in and enjoy whether inside or outside in the shade of our courtyard. And for those of you that haven’t been in recently, please come and visit us – fresh food, drink and a friendly chat are always on offer - you don’t get that at Aldi!
Which of course leads us to thank Bev, our Store Manager for her commitment in running our shop and our team of volunteers whom without their time & support, we couldn’t continue to operate.
Read more about our village shop on Tewin Village