Before I sit down to write each week, I like to give last week’s effort a quick once-over; in the same way a football manager reviews the match highlights. Only instead of looking for tactical brilliance, I’m mostly finding wayward sentences and wondering why on earth I felt the need to mention certain things. Last week was, frankly, a shambles - rambling, chaotic, with more tangents than a Ronnie Corbett story. This week, I’ve promised myself a bit more focus. Whether I actually achieve, well, that remains to be seen.

January’s never the life and soul of the party, and the miserable weather isn’t exactly helping either, so we expect it to be slow. But, I mean, the shop has been soooo quiet. (If you’ve braved the cold and dropped in, by the way, thank you! Seriously. Your custom during the first few bleak, barren months of the year is appreciated far more than you’ll know.)

On the plus side, quiet times means I’ve had time to tackle all those jobs I’ve been ignoring since Christmas. Mostly, this involves cleaning and sorting. You know the kind of thing - wiping, cleaning, reorganising shelves and stock, pretending I know what I’m doing. It’s really satisfying, though. And the shop is starting to look shipshape and ready for spring.

Of course, there’s more to January and February than just wielding a duster. I’ve also been plotting - big plans and grand schemes. For one, I’m trying to boost online sales. Currently, they’re… well, let’s just say they’re not booming. To call it a challenge is putting it mildly. The first hurdle is for me to become digitally savvy. This involves getting to grips with things like Googly, InstaTok, Bookface, Snappychat, and understand why these things insist on converting my nice short links into lengthy hieroglyphics! It would be easier to understand non-Euclidean geometry.

Another plan: let more people know the shop exists. You’d be amazed at how many times I hear, “Oh, I didn’t know you were here.” Hmm, I wonder if we can get one of those kids, like in American, dancing and doing tricks spinning a placard on the street corner. Maybe I’ll try more practical measures, like somehow just telling people. Watch this space for updates - I’ll keep you informed of any more hare-brained scheme I come up with.

At this stage, I was going to bombard you with a big, preachy list of reasons why shopping locally is not just a Good Thing, but a necessary thing, but then I realised: nobody wants a lecture. Instead, I’ll give you just one reason each week, and try to justify my thinking. I’d love to get some comments on these…

Why Shopping Locally is not just a Good Thing, but a Necessary Thing – Reason 1 - Preserving the Heart and Soul of Our Community: 
Footfall on UK high streets dropped by 3% last year (more so in Wokingham) . That’s a lot of empty pavements. And if people stop using local shops, towns will turn into a Ghost Towns. By shopping locally, you help keep small businesses like mine going. And of course, local businesses pay local business rates which means more revenue for local things like improving public spaces, and all the little things that make Wokingham a decent place to live. Plus, let’s be honest, do you really want your only shopping options to be soulless supermarkets and the online behemoths?

And when did Amazon ever give you free cheese? Free you say? Yes, free - this Saturday, we’ll have Village Maid Waterloo as our taster of the week. It’s delicious, it’s free, and it’s waiting for you. So come down, have a nibble, and say hello.

That’s it from me this week. Until next time - here’s to staying focused. Or at least trying.

Take care and Have a great week !
Cheers!
Phil
Phil’s Good Food in Wokingham, 2-4 Broad Street, offers a range of high-quality, ethically sourced products, from local honey to world-class cheeses, indie beers, wines, chocolates and much more. Our beautifully curated hampers make the perfect gift, or you can handpick your favourites, and we’ll create a bespoke hamper just for you!
We don’t deal in mass-produced plastic nonsense!
www.philsgoodfood.co.uk 
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