Prepare for Christmas!

Exciting news…your ‘Ultimate Guide to Christmas at Kingfisher’ will soon be hot off the press! Find it inside the Farm Shop or on our website. Absolutely everything you need to know is in there, from Christmas trees to wreaths, to food orders and turkeys! We will be taking orders for Christmas Week online this year, so please do make sure you order with us before Wednesday 8th December.

As always we are here to help, so don’t hesitate to contact us with questions.

We have a small favour to ask our lovely locals… We’re are in need of your well read, expired newspapers to reuse in the Farm Shop. Please drop them by the back door or hand them to a member of staff. Many thanks in advance.

This month we share our news with you as usual, including a new clothing bank, Abinger Hammer's Christmas Fair and a small message from Aldhurst Farm.

Root veg for November…

Roast dinner must haves in the Farm Shop!

• Purple Sprouting Broccoli

• Rainbow Chard

• Beetroot

• Heritage Carrots

• Brussels are back…Tops, Sticks and Sprouts!

Sweet Chestnuts and Fresh Cranberries are also available just in time for the festivities!

And in the Flower Shop…

• Herbs and Foliage

• Chrysanthemum

• Silly Isles Narcissi

• Dried Berries, Oranges and Pinecones (the ingredients for the perfect wreath!)

Return your empty bottles to our Farm Shop…

Donate your un-used clothes, blankets & shoes!

We very happy to take up the invitation to home a textile bin for the community. All Recycle Ltd currently have over 570 clothing banks located in Surrey, Sussex, London, Essex, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Kent, to help raise additional funds for local charities.

They sell the textiles and 94% of the profit made goes to their annual chosen charity, which this year is Rocking Horse Children’s Charity who raise money to provide live-saving medical equipment and additional services with the aim of improving the lives of sick children throughout Sussex.

Here are the guidelines…

Create your own Christmas Wreath at home…

Back by popular demand, the Flower Girls have revamped our ‘do it yourself’ wreath kits. The perfect way to spend a rainy afternoon or perhaps you could share an evening with friends.

The kit includes everything you need, from foliage to an instruction booklet.

Don’t worry (if you don’t have the time or headspace), The Flower Shop will be taking orders for bespoke Christmas Wreaths. Please order sooner rather than later to avoid disappointment.

For your wreath to last for the festive period, we advise ordering your wreaths kit, no earlier than the last week in November.

Local businesses team up for a Christmas Fair…

Join local entrepreneurs Hannah from The Beauty Shed and Shannon of Made by Shannon on 12th December to celebrate the best businesses around. The fair is open at Abinger Hammer Village Hall between 10am - 4pm. We are delighted to be joining Hannah and Shannon. Kingfisher will be there with wreaths, hampers and many more Christmas gifts!

Find handmade gifts and shopping by local crafts people, tea & cakes, bauble painting and a charity raffle. Admission is completely free, so bring your entire family.

Thank you Hannah & Shannon for bringing us all together!

Charity Christmas Cards now on sale

We are proud to say that this is the 10th year that Kingfisher Farm Shop has supported the artists in residence programme at Send Prison by selling their Christmas cards and Calendars.  All the profits from the sales go back into the programme, which has been funded by the Michael Varah Memorial Fund (MVMF) since 2009 and whose aim is help rehabilitate prisoners. In that time, there have been over 2,750 attendances.

There are 5 Christmas cards this year, all designed by the ‘Our Time’ artists on the programme at HMP Send delivered by Watts Gallery Trust and funded by the Michael Varah Memorial Fund.

The prices are the same as last year:  £3.00 for a pack of 5 Christmas cards (all same design) 

The 2022 Calendar features work by the women artists within the prison and also several alumnae who have left and, in one case at least, is now working as a commercial artist.  They are £7.00 a copy.

This registered charity continues the beliefs of the late Michael Varah, a progressive and pragmatic Chief Probation Officer who knew the difficulties faced by offenders and ex- offenders as they try to rebuild their lives. It supports those who are marginalised and at risk, to help develop their skills and improve their life chances, especially in the transition back into society. Often, we work collaboratively to provide partnership funding.  

All proceeds from the sale of MVMF Christmas cards will fund further workshops at HMP Send. Thank you for believing in these women artists – especially this Christmas as they emerge from the pandemic and need the restorative power of art more than ever.

Meet Ewa…

Always a welcome and a smile even behind a mask, Ewa is very much in command of the shop floor.  From the moment Ewa joined the team 14 years ago, she literally rolled up her sleeves and immersed herself into Kingfisher life! Behind the scenes Ewa makes sure everything is in its place and all is clean and tidy. 

No task is ever too great. Ewa’s eyes light up at the opportunity to change a display, rearrange products and make things look eye catching for you all. Her love of the outdoors gives plenty of occasions to explore our coastline and when back at home in Poland grabs the chance to go kayaking on the lake in her village. The opportunity to nourish the team with home made soup (even her grandmother’s secret recipe) illustrates the mothering role she provides within our team.

Ewa’s favourite Kingfisher products are Surrey Hills Coffee - Cottage Blend and our fabulous watercress!

Photography Credit: @chloe.hardwick