Tonight’s edition of Sheldon’s Times announces the unfortunate cancellation of the recently trailed art auction (sorry about the false start), the announcement of and opportunity for you to sponsor Sheldon’s Wine Runners (plenty of hiccups at this event), a small but smashing list of New Ins and a belter of a Car’s the Star with an invitation for car lovers out there. But first we have the Teddy of the Week. Less wine, more fun this time around. On you go…

This is Twix. You have been introduced to Twix in the past – he has appeared as a guest in a Sheldon’s On Tour article. He is of course a cockapoo and last Saturday he made his first visit to the shop. He has a slightly anticipatory look on his face. I don’t know why, I don’t think I was about to give him a biscuit. No, really, I wasn’t.

A big thank you to Kate for (finally) bringing Twix in to see us. Long overdue and may you become regular frequenters of our wine (& dog treats) emporium.

A couple of weeks ago we promoted a fundraising event for Shipston Home Nursing and the Stour Valley Wildlife Action Group. A number of pieces of original art by Thelma Madge Green were due to be auctioned from 20th to 30th April. I have been notified that the auction has been cancelled. Let’s hope this is a temporary blip and that the auction will be rescheduled at some point in the near future. Sorry for getting you all excited. We’ll keep you posted.

In just over two weeks there is a 10k run/walk taking place at Walton Hall, just north of Shipston. In a moment of weakness the team here at the shop agreed to participate. We have signed up as “Sheldons Wine Runners”. As Trish is the only one among us who has even contemplated doing any training (turns out the couch-to-5k app delivers real results!) it is going to be interesting to see how we get on. We are a team of two halves. We have a group committed to walking and a couple who are going to attempt to run some of it. Being wine merchants we are not known for our extraordinary levels of fitness. The goal is to raise some money for Shipston Home Nursing, the palliative care support organisation in our area. And of course we also want to achieve the task of completing the 10k course. No mean feat when you sit around chatting about wine all day and drink like a fish in the evenings.

Each member of the team will be conducting fundraising campaigns with friends and family. We already have our first rogue member of the Sheldon’s Wine Runners – we have co-opted Charlie Mellor (Halford) and he has raced out of the blocks having secured a number of donations already.

Trish pointed out to me the other day that if half of our Sheldon’s Times readership donated just £5 we would raise just shy of £2000 for the cause. No pressure then. If you can spare a little money to support our efforts we will be most grateful. Every contribution will make a big difference to the work of Shipston Home Nursing.

Should any of you feel compelled to support us, you can do so by visiting our donation page by clicking the link below.

Thank you in advance. And if any of you want to join us on the expedition do let me know. We might find time for a little something to rehydrate at the end of the ‘race’.

With Esther being away this week we have a little bit of a backlog of wines and spirits to be booked in which should appear next week. In the meantime, here’s a handful of delights in the Sheldon’s New Ins basket for you tonight:

White:
2013 Y de Chateau d’Yquem (the dry white of Chateau d’Yquem), Sauternes (£200)

Red:
2010 Giacomo Conterno Barbera d’Alba Cascina Francia, Italy (£75)

2009 Chateau du Domaine de l’Eglise, Pomerol (£69)
2009 Chateau Batailley, Pauillac (£70)
2010 Chateau Batailley, Pauillac (£83)

…and in the Magnum department:
2018 Chateau d’Armailhac magnum, Pauillac (£100) – this one is for putting away and forgetting about for a few years, we have 2 x 3-packs of mags in wooden cases.
2010 Chateau Rouget magnum, Pomerol (£129)
2014 Chateau Gazin magnum, Pomerol (£135)

Finally:
2009 Dominus Estate, Napa Valley, California (£295) – the famed Napa Bordeaux-blend made by Christian Moueix of Chateau Petrus fame.

Recently a few of you have asked about back editions of Sheldon’s Times. It is mostly the dogs you want to see, but occasionally you might want to go back and look at some of the wine-related information. Each Saturday morning, hangover permitting, I publish the latest copy of Sheldon’s Times on the News section of the Sheldon’s website. You can go back and look at previous editions by clicking the link below or visiting the website at www.sheldonswines.com and selecting News from the menu.

Suffering from insomnia? You now have the perfect cure.

This little beauty turned up one recent Saturday morning. The owner was attending the Wine & Spirit Education Trust Level 1 one-day course in the shop. Consequently the car was parked up all day and boy, did it turn a few heads. A Ferrari 348 no less. And while doing some research on this car I found out an interesting and on reflection rather obvious fact that I had missed in my youth. The number given to Ferraris from this era was derived from the characteristics of the car’s engine. This Ferrari 348 has a 3.4 litre engine and 8 cylinders, hence 348. Easy, isn’t it?

Many thanks to Rowan for parking up for the day and completing the Level 1 course. We look forward to finding out how you got on when the results come through.

As a little extra for you, local car enthusiast (Amanda says ‘heart-throb’) Richard Gray has just popped in to tell me about the Drive-It Day taking place this Sunday, 24th April. Anyone with an interesting, classic, vintage or veteran (or in my case old and knackered) motor car can pop by to Blackberry Farm, between Honington and Halford (on the little back road), postcode CV36 5DL between 10.30am and 6pm. There will be a little get together with like-minded people. A BBQ will be on site (bring your own grub and coals and of course wine), there will be tractor rides for big kids on an old Fergie and a 2 mile nature walk for those wanting a stroll. It’s free but donations to Shipston Home Nursing at the venue will be welcome. I might see you there, sounds like fun.

That’s it for tonight’s post-Easter edition of Sheldon’s Times. I’ve checked the oh-so-reliable weather forecasting application and it says that the weekend is going to be dry with sunny spells, albeit a little cooler than last weekend. Jude, Trish and I will be here tomorrow to find you some lovely wines to enjoy with whatever you are up to over the coming days. At some point I shall be out pounding the tarmac in the vague hope I can complete our event on the 8th May. Maybe I’ll run the 2 mile circuit around Blackberry Farm on Sunday.