I have been volunteering at our local shop since I retired from the Met Office in 2021 and have found it a great way to meet others in the village and to keep my brain active. Our esteemed leader, David, asked me to put in writing what life as a volunteer in Payhembury Provisions is like so here are a few thoughts.
There are many different jobs needed to keep the shop running all done by volunteers and I help with several of them. I start with opening the shop, getting there at 7:30 am every Tuesday morning guided by Roy, who is experienced in most things in the shop. He has recently been teaching me how to do an order for the bread. The early shift sees much activity sorting the newspapers and magazines, as long as they are delivered on time, so those who pre-order a paper can get them laid out ready for collection. Its always interesting comparing the headlines from each of the papers. Managing the till can sometimes be a challenge when there is no change or the computer refuses to save purchases to a customer’s account. Happily our customers are always tolerant of any slight delays we volunteers might have.
Another regular shift I have is on Friday afternoon when the school children all come out of school and head to the shop for sweets, chocolates or in many cases ice creams even though its freezing outside! It is often quite chaotic then with the shop full of excited children and I’m trying to deal with payments as quickly as possible. Many of the children know their parent’s account number to charge to which helps me but I’m never sure if their parents approve the amounts! Occasionally I close up on a Friday evening finishing at 7:00 pm when all the notes and coins have to be counted and all the card and shop transactions for the day filed away. For this shift one hopes for not too much change to count. Closing the shop door without triggering the alarm can be a nerve wracking experience as I found once when I deafened the neighbourhood for a while until someone could tell me the secret code to silence the alarm.
Apart from being behind the till, once a month we have a delivery of various items for the shop which all have to be taken upstairs to the stock room, which keeps me fit. One of the perks of being a volunteer is once a year you are invited to a delicious meal in the village hall to thank everyone for their efforts. So if you can spare an hour or two a week, I can recommend volunteering in Payhembury Provisions and I’m sure you will find it rewarding.
We have some new sugar free drinks available Radnor Splash in various flavours which are recommended by schools. A great healthy option for the kids.
Roger Saunders
