As I write this newsletter we are digesting the news of a second national lockdown. Being a food shop we will be able to remain open, as we have been throughout this year. It’s definitely thrown up some challenging times but we have plenty of cheese to keep everyone happy! As well as cheese we have started stocking other products that our customers have been finding it hard to purchase elsewhere. We’ve got fresh eggs in store as well as some cupboard essentials such as pasta, tinned tomatoes, yeast and flour. Whatever happens over the coming weeks we will do our best to keep these items in stock.

There haven’t been very many National shop awards up for grabs this year but one that is going ahead is the Indie Retail Awards. As the name would suggest these are only open to independent retailers and we are thrilled to have been shortlisted. This means that we are in the top 30 Independent shops in the UK and we await the results which will be announced at the end of November.

We’ve started to get a lot of our Christmas stock into the shop. Ali has managed to source some really lovely gift options and we’ve recently had a delivery of wonderful items from Sarah, our local potter. As always it’s best to buy these items when you see them as we don’t have huge storage facilities so often what you see in store is all we have available. We are working towards trying to put a list online with some of our other products on it but it’s very tricky to keep it up to date so if there’s something you’re looking for do give us a ring or drop us an email and we’ll let you know what’s available.

But what’s new on the cheese front…? We’ve got the ever popular Mont d’Or back in stock, both as a cutting cheese and the whole 450g baby version. It’s such a unique cheese and I love the way the top of a new Mont d’Or looks like a duvet cover! This is caused by the spruce ring that encircles the cheese being slightly smaller in diameter than the cheese itself. It almost feels a shame to cut into it but the ooozy goodness inside is worth it.

Our other new cheese is a local one. Sandy and Andy who make Barkham Blue have been experimenting and they’ve done up with Barkham Belle. It’s the same recipe as the Blue but without any blue in it. The intense buttery flavour from the Guernsey milk really makes your mouth water as you taste the cheese and it’s become a firm favourite with our customers since we introduced it to the counter. It is also available online where we’re selling it as a whole or a half cheese.

Christmas order forms are also now available in the shop and you can also place Christmas orders online. If you’re in our free flexi delivery area just put a note in the notes section during checkout as to which week you want your cheeses to be delivered and we’ll do the rest. Our online orders will close on the 13th December so do get your orders in before then if you want to choose from our full selection of cheeses.

On a personal front, those that know me will know that I’m a keen runner and back in January I set myself the challenge of running an average of 10k a day for a year… so far it’s all going well and I’m on track to reach my goal. There a few weeks still to go but I’m loving my daily plod!