Page 79 - BR December 2023

December 2023 December 2023
THE LATVIA CANDELABRA will give you a call to discuss what you would like. The last day for hamper orders is
Saturday 16 December.
th
You can order anything specific you would like, fruit and veg, meat, bread,
In Affpuddle church Visitors to the Parish churches in Bere Christmas trees and dairy items. Order forms are in the shop now. Orders for
Regis and Affpuddle may have noticed Christmas meats need to be with us by Friday 1 December but non-Christmas
a multi- branched wrought iron meats will be available as usual. So save yourself the hassle of going to the
candelabra in each and wondered supermarket and order from your shop. The last dates for orders will be –
where they came from and what they
are doing there. Saturday 16 December:
Friday 1 December:
In 1991 the small Baltic state of Latvia Dorset Hampers
became independent after 37 years of Christmas items from Curtis Italian Bakery items
occupation by Russia and forced Christmas Trees
membership of the USSR. In 1944, George Sargents Dairy items
Silavs, a Latvian- born resident of Fruit & Veg
Briantspuddle had escaped from Riga
with his mother and sister ahead of the The last posting dates for UK mail (ie letters and cards) –
occupying Soviet forces . They made
their way, on foot, to Western Europe, 1 class – Wednesday 20 December
st
then to Australia and eventually to the
UK. In 1992 George was able to return to 2nd class – Monday 18 December
Latvia to meet his father and other For parcels and overseas mail see www. https://www.postoffice.co.uk/last-posting-
members of his Latvian family for the first dates or check with the PO.
time.
We still have calendars available in the shop at £6.00 each (including an
He came back with desperate stories of envelope) so please support what is a firm Briantspuddle Shop tradition!
the plight of the recently liberated
Latvians; shortages of all manner of Christmas opening hours: the shop and PO will be shut on Christmas Day, Boxing
commodities, food; clothing, school Day and New Years’ Day. Newspapers can be collected from the box outside the
books and equipment and, in particular, shop on Boxing Day and New Years’ Day – they probably won’t have arrived by
medical supplies and equipment. With the loan of 9.00am so leave it until a little later to collect them. Please let us know in good time
a coach and volunteer drivers from a coach if you are changing your newspaper order.
company in Bournmouth, an aid mission was If you would like more information about the help we currently need and/or you
rapidly organised for the following year. The think you can offer some time to help keep the shop going please get in touch
coach was stripped of most of its seats, loaded with us at the shop on 01929 472000, e-m briantspuddle.shop@gmail.com or pop
with donated aid items, and over the course of in and see us. Our opening hours are:
about 7 days a party of volunteers made the
overland trip to George’s home- town of Ikskile in Shop: 9.00am – 12 noon Monday to Saturday and 10am – 12 noon on Sunday.
Latvia.
PO: 9.00am – 12 noon Monday – Friday.
During that first trip, we met members of the
Latvian Scouts who were in the process of re- It is your shop, so please support it, either as a customer, or a volunteer, preferably
forming from the Soviet Young Pioneers movement both!
and promised to come to Latvia the following year
and help them set up a Summer camp for the
newly-formed Latvian Scouts and the many In Bere Regis church
orphans of forced Russian marriages. Affpuddle and Turnerspuddle website: www.briantspuddle.info

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