Praise for corner shop

Editor, — For many years, I’ve considered myself to be the sweetest thing in Shiplake. That was until the Shiplake Corner Shop came under new ownership.

A revamped shop floor oozes sophistication and charm. All the basics are still here but now a farm-style table occupies most of the space and, on it, one can find an array of baked goods, local produce, fresh croissants and other tasty treats. And yet, with all these goodies on offer, I remained sceptical.

Ladies like me are easy targets for a drizzle cake but I was hell-bent on coming out unscathed. I ventured over to the freezer to suss out a crack in this seemingly impeccable operation and was dumbfounded to discover an array of homemade organic frozen meals. I swiftly remortgaged my house to justify the purchase of the £7 “macaroni and cheese for two” (which I gobbled down, alone, in one go) and I am pleased to report that the pleasure it brought me outweighed the benefits of fully owning my home.

There’s been some recent hoo-ha around these parts about the shop’s high prices since its dramatic, if urgently-needed revamp. But as I told my ex-husband in divorce court: you can’t put a price on luxury. I’d gladly start fracking my own garden if it meant maintaining access to the finer things in life. And at a time when the council is apparently green-lighting anything that’ll make a quick buck at the cost of our treasured greenery, I just might. — Yours faithfully,

Wendy Biggles

Mill Lane, Shiplake