Author: Hambledon Village Shop Management Committee

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Hambledon Village Shop Annual Meeting -July 25th

The Village Shop will be holding its Annual Members’ Meeting in the Village Hall at 7.00pm on Thursday 25 July 2024.

All shareholders in the shop are very much encouraged to attend to ensure there is a quorum for the formal business, which includes approving the latest set of accounts and approving the appointment of a new member of the Shop Management Committee. 

The meeting is also an opportunity to meet the current Shop Management Committee, hear how the shop is doing and pose any questions you may have about the shop.

Non-shareholders are also welcome to attend, although you will not be able to vote on any matters under discussion. However, if you would like to be able to do so in the future, it only costs £20 to buy a share in the shop and share application forms will be available at the meeting.

As ever, the proceedings will be accompanied by a glass or two of Jon Petersen’s specially selected wine.

The meeting is not expected to last for longer than 45 to 60 minutes and the Shop Management Committee would very much like to see you there.

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Hambledon Village Shop AGM

Hambledon Village Shop Ltd Community Benefit Society

Notice of an Annual General Meeting of the Society to be held at 7:00pm on Wednesday 28 July 2021 by Zoom conference call (details below) for the following business:

1.         To receive and adopt the accounts of Hambledon Village Shop Ltd for the year to 31st January 2021 (available to view at Hambledon Village Shop)

2.         To receive an update on current trading

3.         To reconfirm the decision of the Society not to appoint auditors

4.         To receive a report on the Membership and the Membership Strategy for the Society

5.         To approve the appointment of Emma Dunn as a member of the Management Committee and the re-appointment of Sean Sinnott as a member of the Management Committee and Treasurer and the re-appointment of Tabitha White as a member of the Management Committee

6.         Members’ questions to the Management Committee

 
Shareholder members of Hambledon Village Shop Ltd are entitled to vote at the meeting. Shop supporters, including those who have applied for new shares, are welcome to attend the meeting.

 13th July 2021

Management Committee

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Hambledon Village Shop – Update Tuesday 11 May 2021

When the country moves into Step 4 of the government’s Roadmap out of Lockdown, currently scheduled for Monday 21st June, we will return to operating the shop in almost the same way that it was before Covid with some differences.

You will be (so very) welcome inside the shop to use the Post Office, do your shopping and order from the Deli-Café.

From Monday 21st June the shop will operate as follows:

Post Office
Monday to Friday 09:30-14:00
Saturday 09:30-12:30

Shop
08:30-15:00, 7 days a week

Deli-Café
08:30-14:30, 7 Days a week

Cash and card payments will be accepted (we’d still prefer card if possible).

We will follow government guidelines in relation to all things including face coverings.

Some of the services we introduced during lockdown will be stepped down as follows:

Deliveries cease on Friday 28th May
We will cease our delivery service on Friday 28th May but from Monday 31st May, for 3 weeks, we will offer a collection service. You can send your order to shoporders@hambledonsurrey.co.uk as before (with a 10am cut-off) and come and collect it later from the shop. We will take payment outside.

Collections cease on Friday 18th June
The collection service will cease on Friday 18th June but from Monday 21st June, you will be able to come inside the shop to do your shopping. 

The shop orders email account will be mothballed and no longer monitored.

Personal Shopping Service
For those who still feel too vulnerable to enter the shop, we will continue to offer a personal shopping service from the terrace for the foreseeable future. This means you can come to the shop, stay outside, tell us what you’d like and we’ll get it for you. We’ll take payment outside as well.

Don’t feel abandoned
If this news is alarming to you and you are concerned about how you will access food and other important supplies, please get in touch as soon as possible via shoporders@hambledonsurrey.co.uk and we will do our very best to support you in any way we can.

Thank You
It’s been an absolute pleasure to serve you and a privilege to receive your support during the past year. We hope that in turn you have found the shop a useful resource and a safe port in the storm we’ve all been through together.

Our little ship sails on and we’d love to have you on board for the journey ahead.
With very best wishes,

Alison, Emma, Gill, Sean & Tabby
The Hambledon Village Shop Management Committee

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Hambledon Village Shop – Update Thursday 5 November 2020

As we enter another lockdown there will be some changes to the way the shop operates.

The two most impactful changes for customers are the suspension of the shop’s Eat-In Deli service and the shop’s closure at weekends.

From Thursday 5th November 2020:

  1. The Post Office will operate 5 days a week, Monday to Friday, 09:30-12:30.
  2. The shop will operate 5 days a week Monday to Friday from 08:30 to 13:00.
  3. We will continue to offer a free delivery service 5 days a week, Monday to Friday with a cut-off of 10am for same-day deliveries. The shop’s product list and more information on how the delivery service operates can be found by clicking here.
  4. We will offer a Personal Shopper service to walk-up customers 5 days a week, Monday to Friday, 08:30-13:00. We will pick and bag your shopping list while you wait and take payment by card outside. 
  5. The shop will be closed on Saturdays and Sundays.
  6. We will operate a reduced Take-Away Deli service 5 days a week, Monday to Friday, with cut-off for made-to-order food at 12:30 
  7. There will be no Eat-In Deli service and customers will not be able to use the shop’s picnic tables.

We hope that by operating in this way we will help to:

  • Keep people in their homes as much as possible
  • Minimise the number of unnecessary journeys
  • Minimise the number of interactions between different households
  • Minimise the duration of interactions between different households

Thank you for your patience and continued support of Hambledon Village Shop.

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Hambledon Village Shop Annual General Meeting

The Management Committee have decided that it is not going to be possible to hold the usual annual general meeting this year, but because there are formalities required to approve the accounts for the year to 31 January 2020 and to confirm certain other decisions, all shareholders should have recieved a SurveyMonkey invitation to vote.

If you are a Hambledon Village Shop shareholder and have not received either a SurveyMonkey email invitation or (if you have a btinternet email address) an direct invitation to vote, please contact jane63moore@btinternet.com before 20 August and a new invitation will be issued.

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Hambledon Village Shop – Coronavirus Response

The following is an abbreviated version of a document prepared for Shop staff and volunteers outlining some policies and procedures regarding the shop’s operation during the Covid-19 outbreak. It is being posted here to provide the community with an understanding of the steps being taken to keep the Shop operating safely and in a way that best serves the requirements of the community during this difficult period.

Specific instructions on the Shop’s home delivery/collection service will follow soon. Day-to-day updates on the operation of the shop will be provided on the Shop Facebook page at facebook.com/hambledonvillageshop/ and on the village web site when appropriate.

Hambledon Village Shop – Coronavirus Response

The Shop performs a vital service and is a lifeline for many residents so our top priority is to keep it open.

The safety of our customers, volunteers and professional staff is paramount and whilst it is not possible to predict what’s going to happen in the coming weeks and months, we believe that we should heed government advice and ‘prepare for the worst’. The worst case scenario for the Shop is that someone who presents with the virus is found to have been in the Shop and/or in contact with customers and/or staff. We will address that scenario in a moment.

Phase 1 – Before the Worst Case Scenario

We will do our best to keep the Shop, Deli-Café and Post Office operating normally as long as it is safe to do so and we have the staff available.  Continue reading →

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Hambledon Village Shop needs you!

Hambledon Village Shop is a busy, community owned village store, café and delicatessen run and staffed by an enthusiastic team of professionals and volunteers. The Management Committee are looking for one or more individuals to take on the full-time job of managing the shop, possibly as a job share. Ideally you will have retail and/or voluntary sector experience. You will take responsibility -supported by the assistant manager – for staffing, managing staff and volunteers, stock purchase and control, health and safety generally and particularly food safety. All within a tight budget. You will be a computer literate, hands-on person with good communication skills and attention to detail. You will also be able to delegate, to contribute ideas and to engage with the Management Committee and village community. You will be willing to work some weekends. Salary negotiable depending on skills and experience. Start date as soon as possible.  Enquiries to the Management Committee Chair; nicholasmassey@hotmail.com

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Change at Hambledon Village Shop

At the end of this month (January) Gill will be stepping down as Shop Manager.

The reason is simply that Gill feels it’s time for a change of pace in her life but would like to convey that her commitment to the Shop and village life remains as strong as ever.

Although we will be sorry to lose Gill in her current position, we are very pleased that she will continue to be seen working in the shop at the Post Office counter and as one of our highly valued volunteers without whom our Village shop would not survive let alone thrive!

We are extremely grateful for the continued and incredible support given to the shop by its volunteers, shareholders, paid staff and customers, thank you!!

We are fortunate to have an expanding core of experienced volunteers and a strong professional team which together will provide continuity through this change.

Both Martin, in his continuing role as Assistant Manager, and Gill have made it clear that they are keen to support whoever maybe appointed to the Manager role and make the handover as smooth as possible.

We would like to thank Gill for her contribution over the past three years and for her continuing commitment and professionalism in supporting the Village and Shop Management Committee through this change.

We will be seeking to fill the Manager role and will be advertising the opportunity locally.

If you are a community minded person interested in applying for the vacancy, please write or email in the first instance:

for the personal attention of
Nick Massey
C/o Hambledon Village Shop,
The Cricket Green
Hambledon,
Surrey GU8 4HF.

Or

by email to nicholasmassey@hotmail.com

Hambledon Village Shop Management Committee

A Personal Message from Gill

I’d like to say a few words following the announcement from the Management Committee today.

As you will have read, I’m hanging up my pinny at the end of this month.

Managing our wonderful big-little Shop has been a fantastic experience; hugely challenging and fulfilling in equal measure.

Although Hambledon doesn’t have a centre as such, the Shop is most definitely its heart. It is a magnet for villagers and visitors alike who may come for bread, newspapers, coffee and lunch but they receive much more than that. I feel very privileged to have been the guardian of the Hambledon warm welcome that awaits anyone who treads a path to our village door.

I’m stepping down simply because I’d like a change of pace and to have time to do other things. I’m going to continue working on the Post Office counter and as a volunteer so I’m afraid you haven’t seen the last of me.

I think this is really good timing for the Shop, too. Things are going well, we have a dedicated and well-trained team of volunteers and professionals, lots of well-oiled systems and processes, a strong Management Committee and a highly capable and kind Assistant Manager in Martin. This firm foundation will give the next Manager the breathing space they need to establish themselves.

Martin and I are committed to supporting the new Manager and providing as much continuity as possible. So, with such a lot of goodwill and positivity behind them, I hope that the next person will enjoy the role as much as I have.

Goodwill is something I have received in abundance and I am so grateful for that. It’s been fantastic to work in the heart of our community and get to know you. Thank you a thousand times for all the support, kindness and appreciation you have shown me over the past three years.

Change can be uncomfortable but when you’ve been in business as long as the Shop, it is inevitable. I was fortunate enough to meet the originators last year, Denis and Brenda Jones. It was Denis who galvanised the village into action and re-opened the Shop as a community-run venture in 1992. On their visit they were delighted that the Shop was not only still going, but thriving. I am certain that this will continue and 26 years from now I fully expect to see the little Hambledonians who are currently spending their pocket money on five penny chews, swapping their weekday career hats for the barista’s apron for a few hours each month.

The Shop is more than the sum of its parts and the thing that makes it so is the warmth, dedication and sheer hard work of so many villagers.

Long may it continue!

With very best wishes and immense gratitude,

Gill.