Kington St Michael Village Shop & Post Point
Village Hall, Kington St Michael, Chippenham,
Wiltshire, SN14 6HX. Tel. 01249 750181
e-mail: ksmshop@yahoo.co.uk
(Industrial & Provident Society Registration Number 30226R)
WELCOME TO KINGTON ST MICHAEL COMMUNITY SHOP
Owned by the village and run by a dedicated and friendly team of volunteers, this award winning Community Shop was established in May 2007. Find us on Facebook.
OUR LOCAL STOCKISTS
~ BACON, WILTSHIRE HAM & CHEESE
Bartlett & Sons Family Butcher,
Allington, Wiltshire
~ HOME MADE MEAT PIES
Artingstall Butchers,
Monument Farm, Bremhill
Pensworth Dairy,
The Old Bakehouse, Malmesbury
~ FREE RANGE EGGS
Kington Langley
~
Kington St Michael
~ SELECTION OF LOCAL BEERS & REAL ALES
Box Steam Brewery, Colerne
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Mrs McCarron’s Comestibles, Sevington
~ HEDGEROW HONEY
Calne
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Wiltshire Wood Recycling, Castle Combe
~ LOCAL BEEF, SAUSAGES, PORK & CHICKEN
Monument Farm, Bremhill
Bartlett & Sons Family Butcher, Bath
LOCAL CRAFTS
Jewellery, Bird Boxes, Soaps & Bathbombs.
GREETINGS CARDS BY SALLY SWANNELL, Wilcot, Wiltshire.Specialising in quality, home and locally produced food, we offer an excellent range including; fresh vegetables, free range eggs, home-made cakes, jams and honey, locally reared meat and free range chicken, fast frozen to retain flavour and quality, bacon, cheese, ham, hand made scotch eggs and individual pies, locally farmed trout and fresh bread. There is a wide range of both essential grocery and household products.
Browse our selection of Local Crafts and greetings cards.
We provide a self service ‘Post Point’ for letters and small parcels throughout the UK, Europe and Worldwide. Proof of posting, Registered mail and Next Day Delivery services. Stamps of all denominations are available to purchase from the shop counter.
Whether you are looking for good quality, low priced, locally produced food, want to post a letter or buy ‘top up items’ you are sure to find a friendly and helpful volunteer waiting to serve you.
A delivery from Artingstall's Sheila, Pat, Catherine & Avril with a display of fresh produce
Opening Hours
Monday – Friday: 9am - 5pm
Saturday: 9.30am - 1pm
Sunday: CLOSED
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR NEWS UPDATES
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The Committee
Avril Balmforth, Linda Durno (Vice-Chair), Delcia Fussell (Secretary), John Hall, Maureen Hall, Malcolm Jago, Simon Jones (Treasurer), Hilary Leek, Kath Mackie, Roger Sealy, Pat Squires, Rick Squires (Chairman) & Sue Wilcock.
Non-committee roles
Matt Bridger (Rota Secretary)
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Did you know that the generally held view amongst estate agents is that around a 5% premium is generated by having a village shop. How about thinking of your house price, working out what 5% of that is, then considering whether or not it is worth using the shop?!"If every household in the village spent just £5 a week in our village shop this would ensure its success."
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Kington St Michael Community Shop News
SHOP NEWS
Kington St Michael Greetings Card
Available now from the village shop - £2.20 each.
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AGM
Fourteen shareholders attended the shop's AGM on May 15th. The accounts were accepted and Kington Accountants re-appointed as the shop's accountants. Several new ideas for the progression of teh shop were suggested.
Stan Hart left the committee as he is moving away and Hilary Leek was welcomed on as a new member. The new committee is Avril Balmforth, Linda Durno (Vice-Chair), Delcia Fussell (Secretary), John Hall, Maureen Hall, Malcolm Jago, Simon Jones (Treasurer), Hilary Leek, Kath Mackie, Roger Sealy, Pat Squires, Rick Squires (Chairman) & Sue Wilcock.
Local produce
The shop is happy to take any surplus fruit, vegetables and plants that gardeners may have. Conversely if you are looking for local home-grown produce please visit the shop to see what’s available.
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MEAT RAFFLE FOR MAY.....
This month we have 4 rump steaks from the home bred herd at Monument Farm
- just the thing for a summer barbecue.
Tickets still just £1 each.
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The winner of the village shop’s April meat raffle is Mrs A Parfitt.
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Congratulation to Brian Fisher, winner of our Easter Egg raffle.
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New in store:
Wessex Mill - Strong White Bread Flour
Wessex Mill - Wholemeal Bread Flour
Doves Farm - Quick Yeast
Crunch Craving - Roasted & Salted Peanuts
Zest – Parmesan Cheese Bites
Sunrise – Spicy Natural Rice Crackers
Maretti - Mixed Cheese Bruschette
Linghams - Chilli Sauce
"With the flour and yeast, why not get baking like Paul Hollywood http://www.bbc.co.uk/search/paul_hollywood?!"
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Shop's first meat raffle
Congratulations to Sheila Jobbins, winner of the Easter meat raffle, consisting of a joint of lamb with vegetables. The winning ticket was drawn by a customer who was passing through.
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Find yourself short of cash when shopping with us? Why not open a Reverse Customer Account?
It works like a Pay as You Go 'phone - just deposit £10 or upwards with us then every time you
make a purchase it's deducted from your deposit, until it's time for you to 'top up' again.
You will be notified when your deposit has been used up.
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The shop would like to reassure customers that all of its beef, chicken, pork and lamb
moos, clucks, grunts and bleats in the right order as it is sourced locally!
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The shop is starting a monthly meat raffle in April.
Tickets are £1 each, available from the shop, for a chance to win locally sourced meat/joint.
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The shop has reduced its minimum spend on credit cards to £5.
Purchases on credit cards of less than £5 will incur a 25p fee.
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Date for your diary
The shop will be organising a village progressive supper for Saturday March 1st, 2014
- pop the date in your diary now for another of these fun and sociable events.
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Whilst the weather remains so cold why not settle down in your nice warm kitchen and try this recipe.....
HONEY CAKE
(All ingredients available from the shop)
You will need
170g/6oz clear honey
140g/5oz butter
85g/3oz light muscovado sugar
2 eggs, beaten
200g/7oz self-raising flour
Water
For the icing
55g/2oz icing sugar
1 tbsp clear honey
Hot water
Method: Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 3, and butter and line the bottom of a 7”/18cm cake tin. Measure the honey, butter and sugar into a large pan. Add in a tablespoon of water and heat the mixture gently until melted. Remove from the heat and then mix in the eggs and flour.
Spoon into the cake tin and bake for 40-45 minutes until the cake is springy to the touch and shrinking slightly from the sides of the tin. Cool slightly in the tin before turning the cake out onto a wire rack.
While the cake is still warm, make the icing by mixing together the sugar and honey with a little hot water. Trickle over the cake in whatever design that takes your fancy.
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AGM
Shareholders are welcome to the shop's AGM on Wednesday 15th May, 7.30pm in KSM Club.
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Difficulty Getting Out To Go Shopping?
Don't forget that the village shop will deliver, free of charge, to people who live in the parish and who find it difficult to get out.
We can also take orders, either over the 'phone on 750671, or email ksmshop@yahoo.co.uk for milk, bread and vegetables. Please bear in mind that the milk and bread is delivered on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and that we need at least 24hrs notice.
If you want to check on the availability of any of our products please ring the shop on 750181 for an update.
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Hamper winner
The winner of the Christmas hamper raffle at the village shop was Jane Lewis.
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Avril, Kath & Maureen manning the shop's stalls at the Christmas Fayre on 1st December
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New pork products from Padfield Porkies, Seend.
Available in the shop:
Home made sausages Pork & leek; farmhouse. Gammon steaks
Frozen: boned and rolled leg joints; tenderloin, Chinese flavour pork steaks.
Available to order:
Home made sausages: pork & stilton; pork & Guinness; pork & cider; pork & apricot, farmhouse sausages and chipolatas
Pork burgers; sliced cooked ham; girskin chop (chops without the bone); diced pork; pork mince; boned & rolled shoulder joint, leg joint and belly joints; pork steaks;; belly strips; gammon steaks; pork tenderloin; gammon joints; pork chops; pigs liver and shoulder steaks.
Chinese flavoured ribs, shoulder steaks, tenderloin and pork loin steaks.
Half pigs – prices available on request.
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(From left to right, Stan Hart, Linda Durno, David Macgregor and Rick Squires)
On November 7th David Macgregor, from Wiltshire Friendly Society, presented a cheque for £125 to the shop to contribute towards the annual cost of the postal collection; the Society recently celebrated its 125th anniversary.
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Gift Vouchers
Now available from the village shop - gift vouchers in any denomination from £5 upwards!
Why not buy one for birthdays, as a thank you, etc, etc?
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WINES & BEERS: There is an excellent range of red and white wine from Stewart Wines of Clifton, Bath Ales and Box Brewery Beer.
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The shop welcomes any feedback you may have;
just email ksmshop@yahoo.co.uk
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The community owned and run shop in the village has extended the period that it is offering Chippenham Time Credits to volunteers for a further two months. The scheme has been introduced to reward volunteers by offering the credits that can be “cashed in” at various venues in Chippenham and the surrounding area (see www.wiltshire.gov.uk/time-credit-chippenham-menu.pdf ). If you would like to make a contribution to the local community and become a volunteer at the shop, please call Avril Balmforth, Shop Manager, on (01249) 750671.
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The winner of the shop's cake raffle at the church fete was Val Simpson - well done Val!
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750181 - our telephone number
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474 products
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47 ‘likes’ on Facebook
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43 ½ weekly opening hours
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20+ volunteers
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18 Christmas turkeys
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17+ local suppliers
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13 committee members
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9 local craft lines
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7 charitable donations
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6 postal collections
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5 anniversaries
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5 star Environmental Health certificate
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3 fresh bread and milk deliveries
AND ONLY 1 VILLAGE SHOP!
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AGM
At the 2012 AGM the following were elected to the committee: Avril Balmforth, Catherine Dean (Secretary), Linda Durno, John Hall, Stan Hart, Malcolm Jago, Simon Jones (Treasurer), Kath Mackie, Roger Sealy, Pat Squires, Rick Squires (Chairman) and Sue Wilcock. Thanks were given to Gay Sealy and Alan Slavinski for their work on the committee.
It was reported that during the past year the shop has bought a new freezer, increased the range of crafts and gained a 5 star Environmental Health award. To cust costs there will no longer be a Saturday postal collection, as from June 2, as it is not cost effective, the waste collection costs have been reduced and the electricity supplier has been changed.
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We are now stocking local Hedgerow Honey and are looking forward to getting a new stock of Kington St Michael honey (the bees are busy!)
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HOW MANY ITEMS DOES THE VILLAGE SHOP STOCK?
We bet it's more than you think! Currently the shop is stocking 474 different products and other items are being added all the time. To view a list of what's currently on offer just click here - you should be able to save yourself a trip to the supermarket (and your petrol) by popping down to the shop.
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5th Anniversary
(Photo courtesy of Sarah Harriman)
Cilla & Colin with Iona at the pancake stall Avril & Gay on the wine stall
Thank you to everyone who attended the shop's 5th Anniversary on Saturday 28th April. The free tasting of local produce was very successful with people then becoming customers and buying the item from the shop. Takings for the morning were over £300 plus almost £50 from the sales of tea and coffee.
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Following a recent inspection by the Environmental Health Officer the shop is pleased to have been awarded a 5 star certificate.
The shop is looking for news suppliers and crafts for the village shop; contact Maureen hall on (01249) 750550 for crafts and Avril Balmforth on (01249) 750671 for suppliers.
Volunteers are needed to man the shop on Saturdays; contact Avril as above.
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NEW TO THE SHOP
Another new product.... for those of you with babies, or grandbabies - Elle's Kitchen baby breakfasts and smoothies.
Hot drinks "to go" - tea, coffee and hot chocolate.
The shop now stocks sliced cooked beef and frozen lamb chops, pork fillet and rump steak from Bartletts.
Why not pop down to the shop and see our other ranges of goods and crafts?
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Stall at the Christmas Fayre - 3rd December
Kath & Maureen man the stall at the Chrsitmas Fayre. A selection of jewellery avaiable from the shop.
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The Cheese & Wine evening on 15th October raised £254.10 for the Diamond Jubilee Fund. Thanks to all who supported this event.
Cheese & Wine evening 15th October '11
(photo by Sarah Harriman)
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Shop Grant 2011
Kington St Michael shop committee is pleased to announce that the following organisations from Kington St Michael and Kington Langley have received donations from the shop's grant scheme for this year:
~*~*~*~KSM Diamond Jubilee Committee
FOSMAA (Friends of St Michael & All Angels Church, KSM)
Friends of Kington St Michael Primary School
Kington St Michael United Charities
Kington St Michael Netball Club
Kington St Michael CE Primary School
Langley Fitzurse School (Kington Langley)
Community Area Award Success
Avril Balmforth was nominated in the individual section of the first Chippenham Community Area Awards, for her years of voluntary work with our community shop and the recent community defibrillator scheme. Having been shortlisted into the final four, Avril was Highly Commended and a framed award was accepted on her behalf.
ChequesPlease note that we are now unable to accept cheques (unless from credit account holders).
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What Our Customers Said About Our Christmas SuppliesShop Festive Fair 2009"Dear Avril
I thought a mention about the trees and turkey was deserved. The trees were fabulous and remained looking as good as when I picked them up – truly no needle drop.
And the turkey was delicious.
Great suppliers, hope they continue to be viable.
Wishing the shop a good turnover in 2010.
Regards
Anne"
"Hi AvrilI just wanted to say (before I forget!) how delighted we were with our turkey, which you kindly delivered on the 23rd. It was delicious and nearly half the price of the free range turkey we bought last year from ********* [a local garden centre].
We know where to come next year and will spread the word!
Thanks again
Sally Jones
11 The Close"
The shop’s festive open day in the village hall on November 7th had a steady flow of visitors, who were able to learn about the Post Point, view stock and taste samples of cake, ham, pates and more. Orders were taken for turkeys, hams, pates, Christmas trees and other goodies.
The winner of the Christmas cake raffle was Pat Woodward.
LET THEM EAT CAKE!
ALSO AVAILABLE ARE HOME-MADE CAKES AND FUDGE BY LIZ McCARRON.
LIZ ALSO TAKES ORDERS FOR BIRTHDAY/ SPECIAL OCCASION CAKES
- CLICK ON THE CAKE 
FOR DETAILS OF ALL CAKES.
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Recycling
If you have any spare carrier bags, egg boxes or empty, clean, jam and honey jars, please take them down to the shop, where they will be re-used.
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We have had requests for fresh bread on a Saturday
but unfortunately the delivery days are
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
We do our best to ensure that there is wrapped bread in store
on a Saturday but sometimes the demand is higher than anticipated
on a Friday resulting in little or no bread on a Saturday.
To ensure we have what you want you can place an order for bread
and we will reserve it for you for collection on Saturday.
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THINKING OF HAVING A PARTY OR HOLDING A FUNCTION,WHETHER IT'S FOR PLEASURE OR FUND RAISING?
DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU CAN BUY A SELECTION OF WINE
- SALE OR RETURN - FROM THE VILLAGE SHOP?
SPECIAL PRICES FOR CASES OF 6 OR MORE BOTTLES
2 WEEKS NOTICE REQUIRED.
TO ORDER:
Email: ksmshop@yahoo.co.uk or telephone: 01249 750181
or call in and place your order with a member of staff
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POSTAGE STAMPS
DON’T FORGET WE STOCK STAMPS FOR FIRST & SECOND CLASS MAIL, EUROPE, LARGE LETTERS & SMALL PACKAGES. FORMS FOR REGISTERED, NEXT DAY DELIVERY AND PROOF OF POSTING.
WE CAN SUPPLY SHEETS OF STAMPS FOR BUSINESS AND PERSONAL REQUIREMENTS; 24 HOURS NOTICE REQUIRED. TO ORDER CONTACT JOHN HALL 01249 750550.
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Village Shop Comes 2nd in Awards
Our village shop has come second in Wiltshire Life's 2009 award for "Best Village Shop of the Year". The award ceremony was held at Wilton house on March 27th. The winner was Urchfont shop, with Steeple Ashton shop coming third (both are community run shops like ours).
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Order Your Fruit & Vegetables Over The Internet & Collect From KSM Shop
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Need to post a package or parcel, but don’t want to go all the way into town? Then try using………
POST POINT
Kington St Michael Village Shop has its own Post Point
where you can send letters, packages and parcels nationally & internationally.
Standard, Special and Recorded delivery options are all available.
Why not do your shopping at the same time?
We stock a wide range of products.
(Disabled access, car park adjacent)
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The volunteers, who man the village’s community shop, met at Home Farm House, by kind permission of Mr and Mrs Rick Squires, where they learned about the shop’s new postal services. The Post Point will be available during the shop’s opening hours and will mean that letters, packages and parcels can be sent nationally and internationally via a range of standard and special deliveries; and there will be daily collections. During the evening the volunteers enjoyed a slice of birthday cake and a glass of donated wine to celebrate the first year of trading. Eighteen out of the 28 volunteers were able to make the evening. Anyone who would like to volunteer to help in the shop should contact Avril Balmforth (01249) 750671.
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2008
Village Shop AGM
Kington St Michael Village Shop Ltd held its first Annual General Meeting, on Thursday 29th May in the Village Hall. Twenty six of the 100 shareholders attended, with apologies for absence received from 23 others. As a community owned shop it was agreed that the first eight months trading had been a deep learning curve for all involved and it was thanks to the hard work and dedication of committee and volunteers alike, that the shop is such a success.
The shop has received a grant from North Wiltshire District Council which will enable a Post Point service to be installed, whereby it will be possible to send letters, packages and parcels, by normal, recorded or special deliveries, and to have a daily collection. It is hoped to purchase the necessary equipment shortly to enable this service to be up and running as soon as practicable.
2007
~ There is a debit/credit card facility in the village shop. If you don't have enough cash on you, don't worry - you will now be able to pay with your card. Please note that for purchases under £10 there will be a small additional charge of 25p and that there is no cashback facility. The shop also offers a new “Carry Home” service, whereby you may come down and purchase your groceries and they will be delivered to your home as soon as possible, which is especially useful for heavy items.
~ The shop has introduce a "parcel delivery point". This means that people who are out during the day can arrange for small, liftable parcels to be delivered to the shop for collection at their convenience.~ Volunteers to man the shop are always welcome, especially for the holiday period. If you are able to help, either regularly or occasionally, please contact Avril Balmforth (01249) 750671.
~ The community shop’s open evening on Friday 14th September was a great success. Parishioners turned out for an evening of produce tasting and wine sampling and many took the opportunity to do some shopping at the same time. The shop committee gathered information in person and via questionnaires and have taken note of questions asked. For example; it was asked if the shop stocks light bulbs including energy saving ones, and the answer is yes it does. Another query was for Diabetic jam, which can be stocked if there is sufficient demand. (Now stocked).
Several local businesses ran their own produce stalls – Ceri’s Cheeses and Nicola Foxwell cakes proving very popular, as did Wiltshire Tracklements. Following positive feedback it is hoped to stock a selection of their products in the shop soon. Nicola Foxwell also offers a birthday cake service requiring two weeks notice. The cake can be pre-ordered through the shop.
The Open Evening
August '07
Many thanks to the Book & Video Recycling Scheme for its donation of £50 to the shop's funds. This will be put to good use.
July '07
At a recently held committee meeting of Kington St Michael Village Shop Limited, it was reported that sales were slowly but steadily rising. The introduction of new products had proved successful and the milk sales were up. Whilst the current level of volunteers is encouraging, more are needed to help cover the holiday period.
At the recent Church Fête Pat Squires and Karin Davies ran a stall which displayed some of the goods now found in the shop. This attracted a lot of interest and the 'free tasting’ of a variety of foods was greatly enjoyed.
The old sign has been re-furbished, and is now more obvious to passing traffic and pedestrians alike. Outside the shop the rails have been painted and a new ramp has been installed. In time, when funds allow, a blackboard advertising goods for sale will be fixed on the end rail. Share sales are progressing well though more need to be sold. (Click here for an application form). If anyone is interested in giving two hours of their time to help occasionally in the shop, please call Avril Balmforth (01249) 750671.
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Kington St Michael Village Shop Ltd
The village shop in Kington St Michael has become a community shop, owned by the community and staffed, initially, by volunteers from the village and beyond. The handover took place on Saturday 28th April 2007 and the shop was spring cleaned and completely rearranged, with new stock. The new shop adopted a new legal entity from 1st May, as an Industrial and Provident Society Community Co-operative. This means that the shop is owned by the community for the benefit of the community. Anyone living or working in the local area can become a member as a shareholder, each share being £5. This will raise valuable funds for the shop, and will give you the opportunity to have a say on how the shop is run in the future. Please note, the liability of shareholders will be limited to the amount of shares purchased, i.e. £5. Residents are encouraged to purchase additional shares, but this does not incur greater voting rights, as the co-operative means that 1 member can have only 1 vote. This is a very democratic way of running a business and we believe will ensure that the shop remains in perpetuity for the benefit of Kington St Michael.
Currently the shop offers a good range of food, confectionery and household goods at reasonable prices, a number of which are lower than those in Morrison's and Sainsbury's for identical goods. Running the shop in this manner should ensure its continued prosperity and expansion. We need a bank of volunteers to help staff the shop. If you have a couple of hours a week to spare please contact Avril Balmforth on 750671 or fill in the form.
Volunteers will also be most welcome to help with other aspects in running the shop. We were advised to change the layout of the shop to give it a central gondola to make it easier to access goods. If you have retail skills and/or experience your comments and advice would also be welcome.