Festive Spirit

We have a rule at the Store that no christmas cards go out on sale until October and decorations aren't put up until the beginning of December. That way we try to keep Christmas special and still full of magic.

Our shelves are bulging with Pannetone, sloe gin truffles, Lubeck marzipan and other indulgent treats for the festive season. We have little wicker baskets or hessian bags to house three jams or chutneys of your choice for £12.75. These make excellent gifts for all sorts of people, especially neighbours, grandparents and work colleagues. We can make up trays of goodies for you to your own specification including a bottle of wine, cheese biscuits, condiments, chocolates, preserves etc. One of the most popular gifts for the sweet tooth is a hessian carrier with a bottle of dessert wine and a finger box of chocs.

Don't forget your Baby Stilton. We also have a lovely selection of other individual cheeses: the famous Mont d'Or which is only available in the winter months, Chaource, Gres de Vosges, Black Bomber to name a few.

Make Christmas easier by having in a good selection of salamis, parma ham and wild boar prosciutto. These make a simple starter with crisp salad or pick up nibbles if you have friends round.

Our Garden Cafe is now open on Friday and Saturday nights from 6.30 until 10.00 (last bookings at 8.15) Customers are enjoying the food and the ambiance with chilled out jazz. Our slowed cooked beef is full of flavour and the Lamb with Madiera sauce is sweet and succulent. Starters include roasted tomato soup or pea, mint and goats cheese tartlet and the desserts can be apple charlotte (fruit from our own trees!) ginger pudding or creme brulee. Everything is homemade and the price is fixed at 2 courses for £16.50 and three for £20. Our shop is also open on these evenings and Maria will have a range of wines for you to taste before you buy. Make a date with us in the New Year.

The gifts in the Store look gorgeous. We have recycled lanterns, boxes and table mats for the planet conscious, diamante and pearls for the glamorous, teapots, fruit bowls and storage jars for the homebird. Then there are stunning hairbands , bracelets and purses for the nine year old (going on 19!) and funny coasters, Simon Drew calenders and puzzle books for the men in your life... open every day from 15th. Dec., come and see for yourself. We make a much more civilised destination than Nottingham in the weeks leading up to Christmas and you'll find present ideas that will delight your friends and family.

Fast tracking to 2010 I want to tell you about a workshop we are holding in Garden Cafe on Monday 15th. February. Bev Beattie will be showing you how to make knit and felt bags.

As you can see from the photo, the yarns are fabulous and the colours irresistible. There is a huge interest in knitting at the moment and Bev's new book is an inspiration. This a new departure for us but as there are no daytime classes for adults who want to enjoy learning something creative anymore we may come up with a programme of events. More in 2010....

It just leaves me to thank you all for your support in what has been a very difficult year in retailing. Our lovely customers who make us laugh and are so enthusiastic often brighten up a slow day.

Below are our opening times during the festive period:

Shop:

Christmas Eve close at 1.00 (don't forget to pick up your turkey!)

Reopen: Tuesday 29th. Dec 10.00am

New Years Eve. close 1.00pm

Reopen: Tuesday 5th. Jan 10.00am

Cafe:

Christmas Eve closed (unless you're an oven ready turkey!)

Reopen: Tuesday 29th. Dec.10.30am

New Years Eve. close 1.00pm drinks and cakes only

Reopen Friday 8th. Jan 10.30 - 4.30 (daytime only)

Bookings available Evening Sat. 9th. Jan

Wishing you a happy Christmas and a sparkling New Year from all of us at Colston Bassett Store and Garden Cafe

Festive Spirit

We have a rule at the Store that no christmas cards go out on sale until October and decorations aren't put up until the beginning of December. That way we try to keep Christmas special and still full of magic.

Our shelves are bulging with Pannetone, sloe gin truffles, Lubeck marzipan and other indulgent treats for the festive season. We have little wicker baskets or hessian bags to house three jams or chutneys of your choice for £12.75. These make excellent gifts for all sorts of people, especially neighbours, grandparents and work colleagues. We can make up trays of goodies for you to your own specification including a bottle of wine, cheese biscuits, condiments, chocolates, preserves etc. One of the most popular gifts for the sweet tooth is a hessian carrier with a bottle of dessert wine and a finger box of chocs. (photo of cheeses)

Don't forget your Baby Stilton. We also have a lovely selection of other individual cheeses: the famous Mont d'Or which is only available in the winter months, Chaource, Gres de Vosges, Black Bomber to name a few.

Make Christmas easier by having in a good selection of salamis, parma ham and wild boar prosciutto. These make a simple starter with crisp salad or pick up nibbles if you have friends round.

(photo of baubles and ivy)

Our Garden Cafe is now open on Friday and Saturday nights from 6.30 until 10.00 (last bookings at 8.15) Customers are enjoying the food and the ambiance with chilled out jazz. Our slowed cooked beef is full of flavour and the Lamb with Madiera sauce is sweet and succulent. Starters include roasted tomato soup or pea, mint and goats cheese tartlet and the desserts can be apple charlotte (fruit from our own trees!) ginger pudding or creme brulee. Everything is homemade and the price is fixed at 2 courses for £16.50 and three for £20. Our shop is also open on these evenings and Maria will have a range of wines for you to taste before you buy. Make a date with us in the New Year. (photo black & white dresser)

The gifts in the Store look gorgeous. We have recycled lanterns, boxes and table mats for the planet conscious, diamante and pearls for the glamorous, teapots, fruit bowls and storage jars for the homebird. Then there are stunning hairbands , bracelets and purses for the nine year old (going on 19!) and funny coasters, Simon Drew calenders and puzzle books for the men in your life... open every day from 15th. Dec., come and see for yourself. We make a much more civilised destination than Nottingham in the weeks leading up to Christmas and you'll find present ideas that will delight your friends and family.

Fast tracking to 2010 I want to tell you about a workshop we are holding in Garden Cafe on Monday 15th. February. Bev Beattie will be showing you how to make knit and felt bags.(photo of wool)

As you can see from the photo, the yarns are fabulous and the colours irresistible. There is a huge interest in knitting at the moment and Bev's new book is an inspiration. This a new departure for us but as there are no daytime classes for adults who want to enjoy learning something creative anymore we may come up with a programme of events. More in 2010....

It just leaves me to thank you all for your support in what has been a very difficult year in retailing. Our lovely customers who make us laugh and are so enthusiastic often brighten up a slow day.

Below are our opening times during the festive period:

Shop: Cafe:

Christmas Eve close at 1.00 (don't forget to pick up your turkey!) Christmas Eve closed (unless you're an oven ready turkey!)

Reopen: Tuesday 29th. Dec 10.00am Reopen: Tuesday 29th. Dec.10.30am

New Years Eve. close 1.00pm New Years Eve. close 1.00pm drinks and cakes only

Reopen: Tuesday 5th. Jan 10.00am Reopen Friday 8th. Jan 10.30 - 4.30 (daytime only)

Bookings available Evening Sat. 9th. Jan

Wishing you a happy Christmas and a sparkling New Year from all of us at Colston Bassett Store and Garden Cafe

Misty, Moisty Mornings

More than our fair share of autumn sunshine has given us fog in the mornings after temperatures have dropped sharply at night. Aside from the potential hazard to motorists you have to admit that the rising mists over the past couple of days have been atmospheric and quite magical. They set us firmly in the month of November and we have loads to tell you!

Our Garden Café will be open on Fridays and Saturdays from November 20^th. Bookings are being taken from 6.30 until 8.15pm. and we can’t wait to share with you our Autumn menu, which will include heart warming dishes such as Roasted Tomato soup, slow cooked Beef and Apple Charlotte. These are the kind of home cooked dishes that are absent from many a restaurant menu these days but which reflect our interest in seasonality, local produce and ingredients from our Deli.

At the same time the Store will be open (except for the Deli counter) and Maria O’Reilly will be giving customers an opportunity to ‘try before you buy’ in the Off Licence. We have some cracking wines and our first tastings will concentrate on wines from £5.99…. mellow reds, crisp whites and incentives for buying a mixed case!

In the daytime we often have diners nipping out between courses to shop and try on jewellery! We are wondering whether this will happen in the evening… I can’t think of any other restaurant where you would have the chance to shop as well… will this prove to be a unique feature of Colston Bassett Store!!

Since the clocks went back at the end of October we have had to shorten our café daytime hours closing at 3.30pm on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday as we did last year. With the nights drawing in rapidly, customers seem to prefer not to travel out to us once it gets dark. However, at present we stay open until 4.30pm on a Friday to kick start the weekend!

We are pleased again to be taking orders for Chris Hortor’s turkeys this Christmas. As many of you will know, we have been enjoying Chris’ birds for nearly twenty years and have found them to be succulent and full of flavour. They are also ethically reared in deep straw and, as you can see from the photo taken last week, are happy and shaping up nicely!

Phone us on 01949 81321 to place an order. Collection on Christmas Eve until 1.00pm from the Store. We can also provide free range Streaky Bacon and Chipolata Sausages from Redhill Farm as accompaniments.

We have finally got a source of honey to replace the honey from David MacClaren which has been so sadly missed. Our new supplier is Tom Ryder who has hives on his roof in the Park, Nottingham! The honey is dark, runny and simply fantastic. Bees are having a hard time, weakened by pesticides and disease and the cold Springs and wet Summers we have been experiencing have made this worse. We will enjoy Tom’s current season of honey while it lasts…

I am just including a shot of the giftware that is hitting the Store on a continuous basis as we motor up to Christmas. Lots of ideas for presents and stocking fillers for every age group! Don’t drag into Town with all the attendant parking problems… COME TO US!! You won’t be disappointed!

Jan Lindsay

The Joys Of An Indian Summer

We have had more customers enjoying the sunshine on our terrace in the past few weeks than during the whole of the Summer! The stillness and that beautiful golden light you get at this time of year have really cheered us all up.

The bumper harvest continues and we have picked and stored the apples from the shop garden and from our Bramley tree at home and are now using them on our glazed fruit tarts in the cafe. The shop apples get used first because they do not keep as well but we were still cooking the Bramleys in January this year! We are now very happy with our supply of vegetables and are thinking of offering you a chance to place a veg order for the weekend on line. The order would need to be with us by Wednesday and picked up between 12noon and 5.00pm on Friday. Would this be something you may be interested in? Email us if you want more information on info@colstonbassettstore.com

Nothing marks the frantic pace of the calendar more than the return of Mont d'Or at the end of September. This unctuous cow's milk cheese comes from the French/Swiss border and is only made in the Autumn when the herd come down from the high summer pasture. It is formed in a spruce bark casing which gives it a resinous tang and its texture under the crust is mild and creamy. We stock the individual ones weighing 480gm which are fun to share at a dinner party. Try slitting open the crust, moistening with a bit of white wine and baking for a few minutes in a hot oven to warm through. We also stock the cutting Mont d'Or which means you can have as big or as small slice as you like.

There is a new exhibition of work by Steve Boylan in the cafe until end of November and all the works are for sale from £100. These paintings are mixed media and acrylic, predominantly monochrome with flashes of pink and are naive in style. Beautifully framed, they have a sense of Cornwall about them featuring seascapes, boats and cliff side cottages and impart a feeling of calm. Steve's work has been exhibited in galleries in Rutland, Leicestershire and Cornwall and is very collectable.

Now that the nights are drawing in you might be interested in keeping yourself fit and flexible through the winter! Stepping outside the Store for a moment, I would like to make you aware of the evening classes we have in the Village Hall at Colston Bassett. The Hall has exceptional facilities with a sprung wooden floor, effective central heating and dimmed lighting.

Monday 7pm to 8pm Yoga with Lisa Brindley

Tuesday 7.30pm to 8.30pm Total Body Work Out with Catherine Gordon (starting October 27th.)

Thursday 10am to 11am Tai Chi with Lisa Brindley

Thursday 7.30 to 9.00pm Yoga with Roger & Angela Tuck

Something for everyone!

Finally don't forget Girls Night Out on Wednesday 11th. November at 7.30pm. Our Charity this year is in aid of Sckin, who are trying to make us all aware of the increasing incidence and danger of skin cancer in this country. Tickets are £5.00 which includes a glass of Prosecco. All proceeds to Sckin. Come and enjoy...and spend! Its all for a good cause.

Jan Lindsay

Season of Mellow Fruitfulness

Sorry I am late with the September blog but at least it has enabled me to share my love of this wonderful Indian Summer weather with you all. What a fantastic few days we have had...golden sunshine, the leaves turning on the trees and that indescribable stillness that only comes at this time of year. Harvest festivals and scarecrow fairs celebrate an abundance of crops. It has been a bumper year for fruits of all types: blackberries, damsons, apples and plums to name a few. Next year we would love to negotiate with you a price for any surplus you may have which we can then freeze and use in crumbles, flans and desserts in our cafe!

Unfortunately, the lack of sunshine in the earlier summer has left me with a lot of unripened tomatoes and I would like to share with you a Jamie Oliver recipe which has transformed this green fruit into a great salsa:

3 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped

1/2 fresh red chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped

2 green tomatoes, finely chopped

1 red tomato, de-seeded and finely chopped

1 small bunch of parsley, finely chopped

2 tbsp. cider vinegar

6 tbsp. olive oil

Put all the ingredients into a bowl with a good pinch of sea salt and mix.

Use immediately to get maximum freshness!

The recipe is an accompaniment to foil wrapped sweet potato and cajun chicken. Brilliant combination of flavours and ingredients we often have in the Store at the weekend. Ring and check (01949 81321)

Well, guys, switch off now! This is about the Autumn/Winter 2009 Collections. Lots of black, shoulder pads, leather and knee high boots! Not for the faint hearted, but the fashion savvy can cherry pick and so can we!

Instore already are some great accessories... jewelled insect brooches, snake diamante bracelets and faux pearls (courtesy of Carol Webb from the Jewel Box who has a showcase with us). The structured handbag is back with us and Jan Worth from Bags of Style has delivered some great skin bags which will not be 'on the High Street'. Talking of which: put a date in your diary for 'Girls' Night Out' on Wednesday, 11th. November. For those of you have not been initiated by baptism of fire, this our annual Charity evening where our customers by ticketed entrance only can, with Prosecco in hand, peruse some fantastic merchandise. All our stallholders are unique in what they have to offer. So this a chance to wow friends with Christmas presents or do a bit of secret personal shopping for yourself. Either way 10% goes to charity. More next month...

Enjoy that glimpse of sunshine while you can.

Jan

A Disappointing Summer

Since writing our July blog, Garden Cafe has been more a refuge from torrential rain for our customers than a chill-out space on the terrace. Let us cheer you up with the sun drenched landscapes on view in the Cafe until mid September. Painted by Bob Evens, an established Nottingham artist, they are all for sale at very good prices. We are still taking advantage of the last of the summer berries on our cakes and desserts, but watch out for peaches, nectarines and plums on our open fruit flans.

Some of you may be aware of the plan for an intensive pig farm to be set up in Colston Bassett. As residents we obviously have concerns about its impact on the village. At the Store we have always tried to stock organic or free range meat from known sources. Our bacon and sausages come from Redhill Farm near Gainsborough where the pigs are completely free range. Our eggs from Vera Oxby in Kinoulton are also free range and are used in all our cakes and quiches in the Cafe as well as sold in the Store. We also buy a small selection of organic meat and free range chickens from Stephen Morris in Loughborough which comes into the Store on Wednesday. Specific orders from customers need to be placed the weekend before. The demand for cheap food in the U.K. has resulted in animals being often reared in unacceptable conditions and prone to the diseases that intensive agriculture brings. The chickens at the Store may cost more than those in the supermarket but I would rather eat them less often and enjoy their superior flavour and texture. Why not try one?

Cards and jewellery are the star performers in our gift area. We are constantly bringing in new ranges and work hard to keep the prices accessible. Snap them up when you see them as we don't keep much stock. There is an 80's revival on trend for the Autumn and we hope to accessorize it with chunky pieces and plenty of bling! Children's party invitation and no present? Just arrived...beaded hearts, flower key rings, decorated hairbands. They might get you out of trouble!

Before you make the journey into West Bridgford or Nottingham, why not come and visit us. We may well have what you're looking for and save you time and petrol! As one customer said: "Where else can I buy a pack of free range sausages, a beautiful soap from Italy and a crystal necklace!"

See you soon.

Summer's here!

We have been wanting to keep you up-to-date with news from the Store and Cafe for ages and have finally set up this blog which we will be refreshing on a monthly basis. It will keep you in touch with all the seasonal foods coming in to the Store, help you take advantage of any offers and alert you to specials on the Cafe menu board.

July is one of the most exciting months in the calendar for vegetables and fruit and the store is full of locally grown strawberries, gooseberries, carrots and summer cabbage. We use a supplier who works with nearby small holdings and farms with the result that there is little time wasted between gathering the produce and selling it to you. This is an issue for supermarkets who despite their best efforts are simply not able to replicate this quest for freshness and low food miles. Enjoy it!

Those of you who have visited our Cafe will know that there is a synergy between the food we stock in the Store and the ingredients used next door. Expect to be offered Cornish Crab salads, creamy baked cheesecake with raspberries and scones with Southwell strawberries. We are busy planning our Autumn menu when we hope to also be open on some evenings.

Not everyone who pops in to the Store is a food shopper. Our greeting card selection is very comprehensive with some great humorous cards that have customers in stitches in the hallway. More recently we have introduced homewares and jewellery. Come over in the next couple of weeks and scoop up a new range of summer handbags at excellent prices. Fancy something in shocking pink and black? We have it!

See you soon.