The silly season is almost upon us and here in the shop we are in the midst of Christmas mayhem ? Cheese and Christmas seem to go hand in hand with each other. Last year was Ali and my first experience of the retail world at Christmas and with a lot of expert guidance from our brilliant team here, we got through it unscathed! This year is almost more daunting as we know what to expect but I’m definitely looking forward to it. I thrive on being busy and I love it when the shop is buzzing. My running also increases as we get busier as I use it as a way to unwind at the end of the day, all in all it’s a great time of year.

 So why is cheese such an integral part of Christmas? It’s a time of year when homes are traditionally filled with friends and family and cheese is such a good thing to have to eat at a party. Whether you like a hard cheese, a soft, a blue or a flavoured one there is always a cheese for everyone. It is also a relatively cheap way to feed a lot of people, and it keeps well so you can keep bringing out the cheese throughout the party season.

 When I was a kid my dad would always bring home a 2kg Stilton. He and I were the only two in our household that ate it and so the top would get cut off and we would spoon out the cheese as and when we wanted any. If only I’d known then that the rind of the Stilton is by far the best bit! Stilton, Brie and Cheddar are our most popular Christmas cheeses and we’re already taking orders for collection during Christmas week. 

 However, for us here in the shop it’s not all about the cheese. We stock a great range of gifts which we try to make sure are unusual and unique to us here in Pangbourne. Some of our gifts have a cheesy theme but lots of them are just quirky items that might just suit that hard to buy for relative. We also spend a lot of our time making up bespoke hampers as gifts. It’s so cool watching people build up a gift which we then wrap and beautify. We’ve got some brilliant wines, ciders and beers in, as well as some delicious flavoured vodka. Our mead is popular at this time of yearI spend a lot of time travelling around meeting cheesemakers but I also get to go and visit wine merchants and brewers.

 Christmas is a special time of year (manic, hard work, tiring, full on, mad…but special!)