A stall was booked at the Devizes Cornhall for Thursday 18th November 2010 in order to try to improve our fund raising.  Too late we realized that in order to be there at 7.30 in the morning, we would have to get up at 5.30 a.m. !!  Not a good time for either of us........getting too old for that sort of thing.  Never the less we managed it and thoroughly enjoyed the morning there.  It was quite busy and we met some lovely people, both customers and other stall holders.  But would we do it again? We had sworn "Never Again!".  Then we counted the takings and discovered that in the 7 hours that we had been there, we had taken £160, so watch this space! 

A Big Thankyou to Delia and Val.

A great lunch was held once again at Palmer Garden Centre Trowbridge. Summer holidays meant that there were only 19 of us this time, but it was immensely enjoyed by all, as usual. The raffle saw us making an extra £35 which will go towards the upkeep of our feline friends.

A lovely buffet lunch was held at the restaurant at Palmer Garden Centre Trowbridge. This was our belated Christmas celebration, normally held as a dinner in January, but this year we tried something different.  The buffet lunch proved to be most successful and was thoroughly enjoyed by all.  The food was excellent and plentiful , as can be seen by our photos.  The raffle provided a bit of light entertainment, especially when Pauline won the "Crystal Ball".

A big 'Thank you' to Pauline for the idea and making all the arrangements.

We are already thinking of holding another one  in the summer.

Palmer Gardens

Restaurant

Lunch

Chat

More chat

And the winner is....

It was decided at long last that the carpet ,which had been down for years when we took over the shop 10 years ago, should be replaced. Vinyl flooring was the answer - easy to clean and no more messy , chewing-gum marked patches underfoot. Easier said than done. It took an evening and the next half day to shift all the stuff from the front shop into the clothes room. This included :counter, showcase, bookcases and shelving. Everything had to be removed as it could not be risked that a piece of china or glass might fall onto the adhesive and shatter........and stick there!! Can see the point!

Firstly, it was discovered that the concrete floor was pot-holed and so that had to be screeded - a 24 hour drying job. Secondly, ofcourse the weather did not help, as usual, and it was damp and muggy when the work commenced. The adhesive took 2 days to dry out enough to have vinyl laid onto it...... So it can be seen that this turned out to take much longer than originally anticipated and a marathon job.

We closed on Monday, and re-opened at noon on Friday (9th October 2009). This was with a consequent loss of takings, BUT we now have a cleaner, fresher, lighter and more airy place for customers and staff alike to enjoy, as can be seen by the photos.

Many thanks to the many who helped:Chris, Ken, Matt, Audrey, Julie, Val, Tony, Tim , Delia, Gillian and Wynn. It was a tremendous job - hard work, but well worth it.