The Clematis took a brutal chopping earlier this year, Trish wanted to clear it all away. Thankfully we know it responds well to this aggressive treatment and true to form it started shooting up almost immediately after it was butchered. It is now in bloom with plenty of buds that should keep us going for a while yet. And the Hydrangeas in the pots are beginning to flower too, despite getting nipped by a late frost.

This weekend Carol and Trish will be tidying up the planters in front of the shop and putting in some Geraniums and Dahlias that Carol has been nursing at home. Lots of colour to come.

Say hello to Juno and Freya, two excitable visitors to the shop in the middle of May. It was a job to keep the pair still for long enough to take the obligatory photo. What a lovely duo, very much in need of a biscuit or two.

Many thanks to Richard and Becky for bringing them in to see us. Such lovely beasties. A coincidence that we should also see you all today too. Thank you.

Amanda has written this next article. I didn’t have her down as a footie specialist but every day is a school day…unless of course she is just using it as a means of drinking more wine!. Read on…

Is it just me who is finding watching England’s football matches a tad dull in this Euros competition? To spice things up a bit I’ve started to challenge myself by selecting a wine from each of the countries playing and have a wine-based competition at the same time.  This was too challenging in the early rounds. We don’t stock any wines from Czech Republic, Scotland or Croatia (maybe we should?….)

Now that we have made it to the second round, things are getting easier to pair. It has made me think that there could be a correlation between the best wine producing countries and their ability to play football. Here are the rules:

1. Pour a glass of wine from each of the countries playing.

2. Take a small sip from the relevant glass each time there is either a shot at goal or a corner.

3. Take a large gulp from the relevant glass for a penalty, a goal scored or a red card awarded.

Based on our performance so far I’m not anticipating that I’m going to get through much English wine, but I’m going to need to select my German one quite carefully as I could be consuming quite a lot!

The kick-off on Tuesday for the England vs Germany game is at 5.00pm. My selection will be a Lyme Bay Sparkling Brut Reserve from England (a half bottle should be ample!) and a Johner 2016 Pinot Noir from Germany.

Please feel to join in and let us know which wines you have selected. I hope we get to play Italy soon…

Amanda x

From the photos I am receiving it seems some of you are having more success than others with their sunflowers. I think Alfie and Ronnie are in the driving seat at the moment, they are feeding theirs with tomato feed and the occasional glass of vintage port. Trish’s aren’t far behind.

Maria’s on the other hand are not looking too tall – she is complaining that we might have given her dwarf seeds. We wouldn’t do that, would we?!

We have been stockists of The King’s Ginger for donkey’s years. The perfect winter warmer, the original product apparently dates back to 1903 when the doctor of Edward VII asked Berry Bros and Rudd to create a drink to warm the King. The ‘old’ bottling weighed in at a decent 41% alcohol, making it an ideal Christmas mixer. Some use it for medicinal purposes.

Berry Bros and Rudd have decided to bring The King’s Ginger up to date, with a modern (and rather attractive in my opinion) new bottle. The liquid inside has been held at a more modest alcohol level of 29% and a twist of zesty lemon has given the juice a lift. This makes it more accessible as a sipper and a great additive to cocktails.

We have just received our stash of new bottles and have a handful (no more, and no more will be sourced) of the old bottling too. If you are a fan, now is the time to buy a bottle or two and start to experiment. Personally I have one of each of the bottlings at home, both useful for different occasions. They are priced the same at £22.99.

We also have the return of Berry Bros and Rudd award-winning No.3 Gin. We sold out of this a while ago so we are delighted to have it back in the shop (£36.50).

It has been great fun watching your (and non-Sheldon‘s-Times-readers) response to the publication of some of our material on social media channels. One trade magazine picked up on the Badger Gin article thinking it was serious. When we explained it was a spoof they thought it was even better, it may appear in a trade mag at some point in the near future. You all spotted it was a spoof, right?

Anyway, we have a leading fan of Sheldon‘s Times on social. How do we know this? Because we have seen the following on their phone…..

Being as social-media minded as I am, I didn’t even know such badges existed. You live and learn. Of course I cannot divulge who our top fan is…and before you ask, it is not me!

A short and relatively sedate list of New Ins this week:

White (dry):
2019 Joseph Drouhin Macon Bussieres (£17.95, new vintage, the 2018 has run out)
Today we conducted a blind tasting of the last bottle of Drouhin Macon Bussieres 2018 against the first bottle of 2019. The results were unanimous, every taster preferred the new vintage. It has riper fruit, more weight on the palate and a greater level of intensity. Many thanks to Charlie, Tim, Debs, Jackson and Dougie for participating in the taste-off. A worthwhile exercise indeed.
2014 Domaine Leflaive Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Clavoillon MAGNUMS (£450/mag)White (sweet):
2007 Chateau Rieussec HALVES (£25/half)Red:
16 Stops Shiraz, Australia (£9.50, a replacement for the now-unavailable Lehmann Wildcard, thanks to Mr and Mrs T for helping us select the wine out of an international Shiraz/Syrah line up)
2009 Chateau Potensac, Bordeaux (£42)

Next week I am looking forward to announcing some smashing wines from Spain, for which we are planning a mixed case offer to see if we can entice you to try them. Good fun.

Ok, I know we’ve had this wonderful Morris 8 as Car’s the Star in a previous edition of Sheldon‘s Times but it was nice to see it make another appearance at the shop just a week ago. Such a smashing car for the occasional journey into town. Plenty of space for shopping or an overnight bag. And proper front doors that open the right (wrong) way for easier access.

Many thanks to Peter and Pam for bringing it over to see us. Such a treat, I will never get bored of it, please don’t stop coming….

That’s it for tonight’s edition of Sheldon‘s Times. The weather this week has been somewhat mixed at best. Here’s hoping for more sunshine over the weekend. As usual, Trish, Amanda and I will be here tomorrow to meet your wine-related needs. And we’ve restocked the doggie-biscuit stash so no shortages for your furry friends. See some of you tomorrow.