Chicken or Egg?

We have rushed to get the April blog out in time for Easter. Let's hope we have a lovely weekend with all thoughts of frosts and dreary days long gone. Putting the clocks forward always puts a spring in our steps and we will be extending the cafe hours on Tuesday to Friday to 4.30pm (last orders 4.10pm) from 6th. April. Mothers Day was a stunning day and we put our first table and chairs out to welcome the sun. Brian came with some irresistble hellebores including a primrose yellow one and you were all very smitten! Fully booked for most of the day, we apologise to customers who had to be turned away.

Evening openings for the month are planned for Friday 2nd. April, which falls on the Easter weekend, depending on takeup. Also Friday 16th. April. Do book now. We are also being asked whether Garden Cafe is available to book as a whole. We have done this once or twice before and would be happy to discuss options. It makes a lovely venue. We are traditionally closed on Easter Sunday.

No sooner is Mothers Day over, then we turn our thoughts to Easter. The Store is looking very Spring-like with sherbet colours, unusual Easter eggs and bright foil chickens. Why not buy some of Vera's eggs, hard boil them and decorate with edible food colouring? Or have an Easter Egg hunt in the garden? Our kids used to love this....and so did the dog!

We are now looking forward to getting the first Spring vegetables and fruit into the Store. Before we know it we will have asparagus and rhubarb and new sprouting broccoli. We'll keep you posted.

Bev Beattie is returning by popular demand. This time she is holding a workshop called Knit and Embellish Books on Monday 19th. April 9.30 until 3.30pm. It is designed to allow you to experiment with lots of interesting yarns and to produce several samples. These are then decorated with buttons and stitchery and stuck onto Indian paper notebooks. More ideas for presents? The course will cost £45.00 including lunch and all refreshments. Materials will be extra so that you can buy as little or as much as you want. Book now with a deposit of £20.00.

All I need to do now is wish all our customers a very happy Easter. Now that Lent is over, come and indulge yourself with us!

See you soon

Jan

Birdsong, Muffins and Hellebores

I am writing to you in glorious sunshine. What a tonic! Our resident robin at the Store sings from morning to night, the rooks are squabbling over nest sites in the village and here are the first of the species crocus visible from the Cafe windows.

Brunch continues to be a great success. We seem to have hit the spot with your weekend requirements. Martin is now making herby sausage and bacon patties served with scrambled eggs and mushrooms or vine tomatoes. Yum! And we have found that little creamy French Onion Tarts go well with a couple of slices of grilled Free Range Bacon. Its very hectic in the kitchen so do remember to book your table.

The weekend of March. 13th & 14th. is Mothers Day weekend and Nettie is working on some extra special muffins with hand made flower decorations. Have you tried her Rosewater and Pistachio ones, or Orange Curd, or Apple Crumble? We can't keep up with her inspirational cooking. We don't usually take table bookings for tea and cakes but Mothers Day is different. Book to avoid disappointment.

An extra treat on Sunday 14th. March is our annual Hellebore Sale. Perfect for Mothers Day. Brian Robinson will have a stand outside the Cafe from 11.00 until 1.00 pm. He grows all the plants himself with his wife Sharon and there are some gorgeous colours...pure white, speckled and blotchy pinks and dark burgundys. They get snapped up, so come early. This hellebore is growing in the cafe garden and we bought it from Brian two years ago. Its not the most hospitable of locations but it struggles along delighting us with its delicate blooms

Eight students had a ball at our Knit and Felt Workshop! Bev Beattie brought a fantastic range of yarns and got everyone knitting furiously. The afternoon was spent mastering knitted flowers which are felted onto the body of the bag and everyone went home full of enthusiasm and brimming with ideas. Several of the students have been back to show us all the finished product. We have now decided to encourage knitters to get together at a Knit & Natter session

every Wednesday morning in the Cafe 10.30 until 11.45 (unless staying for lunch). Come and share ideas and show us what you've done. The purchase of a cappuchino or a pot of tea will oil the vocal cords!

Also from this month onwards we will be stocking some of the yarns used in the making of the bags. Many of you have said how hard it is to find good fibres and we could have sold the balls of yarn used to advertise the course last month ten times over! You will find them in the glass cabinet in the off-licence (no connection, of course!)

Our next Workshop is on Monday 19th. April when you can try your hand at Needle Felting and Embellishment. More in the April Blog and in the Store.

Whoever forecast the colours for Spring/Summer 2010 must have known that we would be emerging from one of the hardest winters for decades. Soft lavenders, shell pinks, sorbet lemon and lime are all shades that have been selling well in the Store and the delicacy of the jewellery and laciness of the new Spring scarves have struck a cord with you all. We are now adding stronger accents of turquoise and magenta...dare you not to be tempted by the new woven straw handbags in ice cream stripes!

See you soon.