From Judith Britton: We were treated to a fascinating talk for our April meeting on Islamic
Gardens. The speaker, Nathalie Mignotte, is a former lecturer at Hartpury College and her interest
centres on the relationship between faiths and gardens. We were shown a wonderful array of slides
taken during her extensive travels in Morocco and the Middle East. Nathalies presentation
portrayed the close- knit relationship between symbolism and faith, showing the gardens as places of
reflection and particularly the importance of water and shade. Water not only for irrigation but also
representing the four rivers, water, honey, milk and wine interpreted as the four rivers of Paradise.
All the lines in the gardens are straight with four sections .The number four is of particular
significance with all the patterns and geometry of the design built around multiples of four. Our next
meeting is on Thursday May 12th at 7.30pm in the Village Hall. Once again we are being treated to a
foreign experience this time visiting Canada. The speaker is Christine Counsell recounting tales of
her Canadian travels. There is a photographic competition simply entitled Spring . We welcome
new members and /or visitors.
From Peter Jones: Last weekend a small party of volunteers carried out a stock check of
everything that had been input on the computer record system. The reason for doing this out of the
normal end of year check is that the computer in the till is now able to keep a running check of all
the stock on hand at any time and adjust this on a sale by sale or repurchase basis. The downside
of this is that every item of new stock purchased will need to be verified and bar coded before it
can be put on display for sale which can be somewhat time consuming and needs a good degree of
accuracy. The upside however is that everything is now properly bar coded and prices are
adjusted as necessary. It will be much easier for the volunteers to complete sales more rapidly,
and our buyer will be able to replenish stocks and make sure everything priced, now displayed on
the shelf markers are absolutely accurate. So, once again, we are trying to improve efficiency for
the shop, and at the same time making it easier for our customers with their shopping. It is early
days, but we think you will notice an improvement.
Last words: To celebrate Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Seconds 90th Birthday, the Shop
offered free coffee and cake to all its customers and supporters during the morning of Thursday 21st
April. The Queen served refreshments to our regular group of cyclists and she later joined other
customers for a well- earned rest, eating orange drizzle cake and fairy cakes! We had a morning of
great fun with the shop decorated with Union Flag bunting. Well done to all the staff that helped
commemorate this auspicious day. We will hold another event in June to commemorate Her
Majestys Official Birthday and the refreshments will include ground roast bean coffee from
Nicaragua. This coffee is from micro managed farms helped by a local charity called Peace and
Hope. Every bag of coffee sold benefits the farmers and in turn aids local families and the
economy. Event details will be provided in the next newsletter, for June 2016.
Dont forget to cast your vote on Thursday 5th May your chance to elect the Police and Crime
Commissioner for our area. Voting from 0700 2200 at the Village Hall
To contact your community shop telephone 01531 650744 or: theshopatbromsberrow@btconnect.com