We are on the BBC!

Not on the telly, but we have made the Business news in a great article by journalist and business reporter Katherine Latham.

Katherine spotted a great story in the strength of the co-operative movement in her local area, where the Wye Valley Producers collective was formed in May 2020. Katherine tells the story of how local producers came together at the start of the pandemic in order to create something that is more than the sum of its parts. Local producers pooled resources and under the umbrella of the collective, continued operating throughout the pandemic, finding that working together provided a great support network as well, allowing the members to share skills, knowledge and worries.   

Scouting about for other co-operatives that had been shown to be more resilient to the impacts of the pandemic, Katherine was signposted to us at October Books. The article includes some of our experiences during the pandemic and highlights the importance of working collectively and collaboratively to stay resilient. 

Katherine finishes the article with a story from Croatia, where the women-led cooperative Brlog Brewery has been making a range of beers since 2016. They had great success during the pandemic in selling their beers direct to the co-operative network, as bars and restaurants were closed. We think we are going to have to try and track down some of their products soon!!

You can find the link to the full article here 

We’ll be closed this Monday 3rd May for the May Day Bank Holiday! 

Then we’ll be back to our our normal open hours of:

Monday - Saturday

10am - 4pm

We are back open six days a week, with the whole store open for browsing. We will still of course be taking customer orders and you will still be able to buy food and cleaning products online through our online store. 

We are able to be open 6 days a week again because of your consideration and care whilst in the shop. Keep doing what you’re doing and leave that extra space, sanitise those hands and pull on that mask. We know you’re smiling underneath it :) 

You will see we have a QR code at the door, if you have the NHS COVID-19 app downloaded to your smart phone please scan this as you enter the shop.