Alison and Berny are the two members of staff who each work part time covering shop opening hours from Monday to Sunday each week. If you are a regular customer, you will know what an asset they are to the shop and will have sampled some of their friendly banter. If you haven’t been in the shop, call in and say hi. They are sure to make you welcome and offer help in any way they can.
Volunteers
The shop is supported in many different ways by volunteers and without their help it would not be viable. Not everyone wants to appear on the website but here are a few of our regulars and below are comments outlining why they volunteer.
Jimmy
What would we do without Jimmy? Every community needs a Jimmy. Jimmy voluntarily opens up the shop at the crack of dawn, every day the shop is open, to receive the newspapers which he then sorts out and labels for the regular customers and those with subscriptions. He is often seen dashing out to a car
on a freezing cold morning to pass a newspaper through the window to the driver, to save them getting out. He’s our regular ‘Paper boy.’ Jimmy also does countless other jobs whilst he is in the shop- too many to list.
What some of our volunteers say.
About 7 years ago Richard thought about how best to help people in the community and started serving in the shop. He likes the contact with customers and feels that in this way he finds out who needs help and who needs information.
Pam likes to support the shop and get to know people in the community. She loves working with Alison and Berny.
Maggie loves working in the shop because of the camaraderie that develops when you get to know the customers.
David finds that working in the shop gives him a lot of satisfaction and he looks forward to seeing friends and neighbours when they pop in for goods or coffee. David helps mostly with checking in new stock and filling up shelves on his morning in the shop.
Sue feels that she is helping the community by working to keep the shop open and loves the people she works with.
Shirley has been a volunteer for almost 5 years and does it because she loves meeting people.
L first volunteered in the shop at the start of the covid pandemic when most of the regular volunteers were following government guidelines to ‘shield’. She imagined she would only be helping out for a few weeks but almost 3 years later, is still volunteering. She feels that volunteering has enabled her to meet people she would not otherwise have known. She enjoys lovely chats with customers, recognising that for some this may be the only conversation they have in a day. L feels strongly that the shop is a vital part of the community. She emphasises that volunteers are not pressured to do any jobs they are not happy to carry out and that Alison and Berny are patient and understanding with volunteers who ‘mess up’ on the till.
William is doing a Duke of Edinburgh award and spends a little time in the shop each Saturday. He likes interacting with customers and contributing towards the community as well as gaining skills that will support him in gaining his award.
Anne volunteered when the shop first opened but then left when she returned to work. She has since retired and is returning as a volunteer as she loves meeting people she hasn’t seen for a long time and enjoys contact with the wider community. She feels she is still finding out about the village even though she has lived here for 38 years.
Volunteers don’t only serve in the shop.
Our wonderful band of volunteer cake makers diligently supply the shop with delicious goodies each week. Our team consists of Wendy, Jo, Heather and Kirsty. We could use more volunteer bakers and we pay for costs involved. If you are interested, please let Alison or Berny know.
You might not have noticed that from time to time we have jars of jam, chutneys and piccalilli on the shelves or there again you might have missed them as they fly off the shelves. They are made by Mary and are always delicious and full of flavour, being made with produce mostly from her garden whenever possible.
Rachel helps with providing shop displays themed for the time of the year. She never seems to run out of ideas.
Gabriella and Mark have recently joined out team of volunteers to provide IT services and social media support for the shop.
Michael is the shop’s handyman and we would be lost without his skill & expertise as he can turn his hand to almost any repair. He is worth his weight in gold in so many ways. We appeal for anyone else who could help with providing handyman skills. Please have a word with Alison or Berny or one of the committee members f you feel you can lend a hand from time to time or assist Michael.
Bob helps us out from time to time with electrical work at the shop & by providing electrical certification.
On the first Tuesday of every month Diana quietly carries out the date checks on all the shop stock. It is a really important role to prevent wastage. She also highlights goods coming to the end of their sell by date within the next month or two so the staff know what to keep an eye on and what to promote.
The Shop Committee
The shop is run by a team of volunteers who meet about every 6 weeks to discuss issues relating to the management of the shop as well as being a point of contact for daily matters that arise. The committee has a responsibility to the shop’s shareholders, but also aims to continually improve this invaluable village resource. There are currently 7 members on the committee, consisting of Wendy Curtis, treasurer; Audrey Teodorini, secretary; Dave Bowman, health &safety: Natalie Ryan, general support: Jane Chapman, accountant; Tracey Hinton, volunteers and Jean Wilkins, social media.
We are always on the lookout for new members to join our team. Get in touch if you are interested.
Cottingham & Middleton Village Store and Cafe 