All posts by Alastair Walton

Helping Hooves return to Barnaby’s

One our favourite local causes is Helping Hooves.  Based here in Swanmore, Helping Hooves assist people experiencing change caused by illness, injury, recovery or other trauma.

Today, “Mouse” and “Hamish” made the journey down Hampton Hill to be brushed and loved by Barnaby’s customers, although they were a little bit too damp for that by the time they got here! To support our Charity Awareness Day,  Helping Hooves owner Abbie Withey held a tack sale inside the Paterson Centre. Lots of tack was bought and sold, while “Mouse” and “Hamish”  enjoyed a carrot or two from those who had come down to visit.

Visits from Helping Hooves have proven to be very popular with our younger customers, so we look forward to welcoming them back in Spring next year.

 

Poppies now available

Ahead of our Charity Awareness Day for the Royal British Legion on Saturday 13th November, poppies are now available in Barnaby’s. If you wish to support this wonderful charity with a donation of any sort, the ability to do so by card or cash can be found by the till.

Details of the Charity Awareness Day for the Royal British Legion will be released next week.

Classic cars round out the summer

A collection of 50 stunning Classic Cars enjoyed the autumnal sunshine outside Barnaby’s this morning, including three stunning E-Type Jaguars. Our famous popup coffee shop was on hand to keep the owners happy, offering tea, coffee and yummy homemade cakes from our friends at Bishops Waltham Country Market. As at previous events, we agreed to give all the money we collected to a local charity. Today we chose our local partners at the St.George Foundation.

To Pete, Roger, Berty, Sarah, Vicky, Chrissie & Sharon, the BBT would like to say a huge “thank you” for all the help you gave towards this summers events. Well done! You did it!

Happy 8th Birthday Barnaby’s!

Barnaby’s is 8 years old this week. In celebration, there are two cool things going on:

  1. we have a series of 60 slides on the big screen showing some of the fabulous things that our volunteers have achieved over the past 8 years. Well done everyone!
  2. all our customers can enjoy a ‘Buy One, Get One Free’ offer on all hot & cold drinks this week.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BARNABY’S

Meet the volunteer. This month – Roger Morfill

To mark Barnaby’s 8th Birthday this week, there are a number of fabulous images on the screen showcasing the work of our marvellous volunteers. In order to celebrate their achievements, today marks the first of a new series called MEET THE VOLUNTEER. We begin by asking Roger Morfill what it is that he loves about being part of the team:

Q.  What is it that keeps you coming back to Barnaby’s Roger?
A: There are a number of reasons really, first of which is that I get to meet so many people that I probably would not ordinarily get to meet. This has led to many new friendships, particularly with other volunteers. As for customers, well every day someone new comes in, and they have a variety of reasons for doing so. We often see people who are researching the possibility of moving in to the village. As we are right opposite the Primary School, we see lots of mums on their collect/drop-off schedule too, plus  there are always plenty of dog walkers & cyclists.

Q.  How easy is it fitting shifts in with everything else you have going on?
A:  Oh, that’s really easy. I just log in to the site and choose the shifts I want. Some weeks I can do a few shifts – some weeks I can not do any! There are different roles to chose from too, so it’s pretty flexible.

Q.  How did you get started as volunteer?
A:  I was a customer for quite a while, as I rather enjoyed Barnaby’s role as a community hub. I enquired about doing a trial shift, and had a go at making my own coffee. That was 5 years ago. Now I am a Team Leader, having benefitted from lots of training along the way.

Q.  What skills have you learned over the years?
A:  I suppose the one thing I have learned that I had never expected I would learn in my lifetime is how to operate a proper coffee machine! I have not quite got the hang of latte art, but maybe that will come one day…

Q.  Can you explain the photo Roger?
A:  Well, being snapped in a sparkly green hat and feather boa on St.Patricks Day is an obvious highlight of my time here! I’ve also been caught wearing a Tam O’Shanter and ginger beard on St.Andrews Day, but that’s a whole other story.

Thank you Roger!

Queen Elizabeth II

There is a Book of Condolence next door to Barnaby’s in St.Barnabas Church, along with a place to light a candle for those who wish to. In support, Barnaby’s will remain open during this period of mourning. As a community cafe, we feel it is important to continue to provide a place for people to meet and share their experiences with each other.

Our visit from Helping Hooves will be rescheduled to another date.

Autumn shifts now available

On Monday 5th September, Barnaby’s returns to its normal full schedule. As such, a wider number of shifts are now available for our amazing volunteers to choose from in ShiftController, right through the autumn. Please log in today and choose the shifts you’d like.

If you’re new to the area and would like to see what it’s all about, why not join us for a short trial shift?  We’d love to hear from you! Head to barnabys.coffee/volunteer to find out more.

Our normal hours are:

Tuesday 2pm to 4.30pm
Wednesday 2pm to 4.30pm
Thursday 9am to midday
2pm to 4.30pm
Friday 9am to midday
2pm to 4.30pm
Saturday 10am to 1pm

 

Barnaby’s is on holiday

This Saturday marks the beginning of our usual summer schedule. In order to give our amazing volunteers a very well-deserved break, our Summer Schedule will be:

Saturday 23rd July to Thursday 11th August 
Closed

Thursday 11th August to Tuesday 6th September
Open Thursday, Friday (10-12 and 2-4)
Open Saturday (10-1)