Ciséain Go Leor Customer Announcement - Covid 19

Update Friday 23rd October 2020

All orders are still being processed, shipped and delivered. As throughout lockdown, we continue to operate a weekly delivery schedule.

This means you will only see Friday dates available in the calendar at checkout. Although only Friday shows, we are still busy dispatching Monday-Thursday and so your order may arrive a few days before this. The Friday date is the LATEST date your gift will arrive, not the exact date. Unfortunately specific delivery dates cannot be met at this time.

To recap the delivery dates going forward into November will be:

Friday 30th October

Friday 6th November

Friday 13th November

Friday 20th November

Friday 27th November

As a rough guideline, orders received from Friday to Monday morning will ship on Monday/Tuesday. Orders received on Monday/Tuesday will ship on Wednesdays and orders received on Wednesday/Thursday AM will ship on Thursday.

We are noticing an increase in demand for our service, as lockdown measures become more stringent. As such we may need to bring the cut off point forward to Wednesday PM instead of Thursday AM. It is a time intensive process assembling Gift Baskets, and our staff are working as quickly as they can. We will keep you updated.

For additional guidance/T&C's on this please click here.

Our sales and support team are working remotely. Please get in touch via via email, rather than phone, if you have any queries, as we are not always able to answer calls.

We hope you all keep safe and well.

Update Wednesday 2nd September 2020

We have been comfortably keeping pace with the demand for our Gift Baskets throughout the Summer of 2020.  However, customers will be aware that we are still only offering a weekly delivery schedule.

The reason for this has been our need to amend our facilities and train new staff in our operating processes for the Winter.

The biggest change has been the creation of a second order processing area, which is necessary to create 2 separate staff shifts minimising risk of spreading the virus throughout the company.

Therefore to complete the works quickly and to create work teams, which act as independent units, at the same time as launching an entirely new website (we like to keep busy), we will not be dispatching orders between Thursday 3rd September and Friday 11th September.

All orders received from lunchtime on  2nd September will be dispatched between the Monday-Wednesday of the week commencing 14th September.

We trust this does not cause too much of an inconvenience to our customers.  The calendar at checkout will show Friday 18th September as the next available delivery date as this is the latest date your order will arrive, but it may well be a few days prior to this. You will receive a dispatch email once it has shipped so that you know it is on the way.

We will be back in touch with another update when the works have been completed.

Update Monday 27^th July 2020

Our last day of dispatches this week is Thursday 30^th July, 2020. We will be shipping today, Monday 27^th until Thursday 30^th July with all orders received between 12 Noon Thursday of last week and today at 9am being dispatched today and tomorrow.

For all orders received this week there is approximately a 48 hour turnaround time.  Orders received on Thursday by 12 noon will ship same day.

The calendar date at checkout is an estimated latest date of delivery and it will therefore only allow you to select Friday 31st July or a Friday in the future as the Delivery date.

Your contract/purchase with us is on the basis that this is the latest date by which you are prepared for us to attempt to make a delivery.  

Please, please, please do not order if you want an exact date, we can only give approximate indications.  

For additional guidance/T&C on this please click here.

NEXT UPDATE will be in 1 weeks time on 3^rd August

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GENERAL SUMMARY UPDATE | JULY 2020 | THE FUTURE

It has been 4 months since we started our regular COVID 19 Updates in response to the Pandemic.

April and May were synonymous for us with Face Masks, 7 day weeks, no staff, organising a clear order processing queuing system enabling us to work safely and 3 week crisis management periods.

We were able to keep working as we are working company directors and food distribution warehouses were deemed essential businesses.  

June saw an easing of lockdown and whilst we maintained the Social distancing rules, we were able to dispense with the masks.  That was such a relief.  It is extremely difficult to communicate with masks on all the time.  The combination of switching to a 7 day working week with longer hours and varied shift patterns enabled us to work some of our time isolated and reduced social interaction.  

All along this journey we were gradually improving our order turnaround times because we were getting faster, some staff were able to return and shops were gradually reopening.

We had our busiest ever Fathers Day week and not only had our order turnaround dropped from an average of 7 days to 3 days, but we were able to dispatch orders received for next day delivery for the first time in months.

Now in July when things are at their quietest, we needed to take a week off from dispatching orders between 13^th July- 19^th July in order to enable 1^st Fix essential building works required for this Autumn/Winter time.  It also enabled Staff members and ourselves to coordinate holidays at the same time.

For the month of August we will be operating with 5 delivery dates.

Aug 7^th  

Aug 14^th

Aug 21^st

Aug 28^th

Sept 4^th 

As a General rule all orders received from Friday to Monday mornings will ship on Monday/Tuesday or Wednesday.  All orders received on Monday/Tuesday will ship on Wednesdays and all orders received on Wednesday/Thursday mornings will ship on Thursday.  

Our 2nd Fix Building works to prepare for the likelihood of a Winter 2^nd wave will be carried out between Friday 4^th September and Sunday 13^th September.  We will then be in a position to fulfil orders throughout the busy Winter period.   

All of this means that there are no plans for the remainder of 2020 to resume a Next Day Service

There are simply too many variables in terms of the virus, stock, suppliers, distribution and staffing to be able to offer such a service.  It will be well into 2021, possibly even 2022 before we are able to even think about being able to match the Pre Covid19 era.

We will be resuming the wearing of Face Masks from September as the weather starts to turn in anticipation of the Winter Flu season to minimise chances of contagion in the workplace.  

Thank you for your continued support of our business, thank you for your patience, your pictures, emails, messages and reviews.  Its always so uplifting and sometimes humbling to see how your work is received.  We believe we make the Greatest Gift Baskets in the World and we work hard to ensure that anything dispatched from our warehouse we would love to receive into our homes. 

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Update Monday 6th July 2020

Our last day of dispatches this week is Wednesday 8th July, 2020.  We will return on Sunday July 19th and resume dispatching orders from Tuesday 21st July.

The reasons for the 1 week gap in dispatches are two fold.  

1. To enable essential building work to be carried out to enable safe working distancing in the forthcoming winter.  This is in the form of an extended Office and Staff Dining Area
2.  To enable holidays to be taken in one single block by core staff who have not been able to take any breaks this year.

Therefore, all orders received up until 3pm on Wednesday 8th July will be shipping on or before this coming Wednesday.  If you request a date for next week then it will ship automatically on Wednesday 8th July, so please note this before ordering.

All orders received after the 8th July Cut-off time will be processed on 19th July and will begin shipping from Monday 20th July.

The calendar date at checkout is an estimated latest date of delivery and it will therefore only allow you to select Friday 10th July or Friday 24th July as the Delivery date. 

Your contract/purchase with us is on the basis that this is the latest date by which you are prepared for us to attempt to make a delivery.  

Please, please, please do not order if you want an exact date, we can only give approximate indications.  

For additional guidance/T&C on this please click here.

NEXT UPDATE will be in 2 weeks time on 20th July.

Update Thursday 18^th June 2020

We will be continuing to operate a 7 day working week with limited bulk shipping days in order to maintain the safe social distances required from us with regards to the Covid 19 guidelines.

All orders received up until 1pm on Thursday 18^th June will have shipped today unless you have requested a later delivery date .

All orders received from 1pm today (Thursday) will be shipping next week unless they are clearly for Father's Day in which case we will dispatch sooner. If your gift is for Father's Day and ordered by 2pm on Friday 19th June we will ship it for Monday delivery on your behalf.  

GOING AHEAD

We will be dispatching Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday of next week, so orders placed over the weekend will ship on Tuesday according to our production schedule with orders at start of next week shipping on Wednesday.

It is now taking us an average of under 3 days to dispatch orders placed.  

However the calendar date is an estimated latest date of delivery and it currently shows Friday 26^th as the Delivery date.

Your contract/purchase with us is on the basis that this is the latest date by which you are prepared for us to attempt to make a delivery.  We are working effectively to better this estimate, we are working very, very hard to deliver your gifts, but we must be cautious considering the uncertainty of the current climate and our own physical capabilities.  If you require a later date then simply select that later date on our calendar.

Please, please, please do not order if you want an exact date, we can only give approximate indications.  For additional guidance/T&C on this please click here.

NEXT UPDATE will be next week.

  

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Update Monday 15th June 2020

The shops across Ireland and Britain are re-opening. However, it is still far from being business as

usual and it is unlikely to be the case for quite sometime.

We will be continuing to operate a 7 day working week with limited bulk shipping days in order to

maintain the safe social distances required from us with regards to the Covid 19 guidelines.

All orders received up until 10am on Friday 12th June will have shipped today unless you have

requested a later date or we have held it back for delivery closer to Father's Day. All orders received

over the weekend will ship tomorrow. However, we will try to hold back as late as possible any

orders which are clearly for Father's Day.

GOING AHEAD

All orders received from 10am on Monday 15th June this week up until our cut off point this week will be dispatched from our warehouse on Wednesday & Thursday 17/18th June of this week. We will be attempting to dispatch everything on Wednesday because there are traffic build ups evident and that will translate into a knock on delay as the week goes on.

It is now taking us an average of under 3 days to dispatch orders placed. The quickest is 2 days and

the longest is 7 days. 99% of deliveries are attempted within one day meaning that an estimated time

for delivery from the moment you place your order is between 3 and 7 days with an average of 4.

The calendar date is an estimated latest date of delivery and it currently shows Friday 19th as the Delivery date.

Your contract/purchase with us is on the basis that this is the latest date by which you are prepared

for us to attempt to make a delivery. We are working effectively to better this estimate, we are

working very, very hard to deliver your gifts, but we must be cautious considering the uncertainty

of the current climate and our own physical capabilities. If you require a later date then simply

select that later date on our calendar.

Please, please, please do not order if you want an exact date, we can only give

approximate indications. For additional guidance/T&C's on this please click here.

NEXT UPDATE will be in a few days time closer to Father's Day.

FATHER'S DAY GIFTS Interim Update Monday 1st June, 2020

For all Father's Day Gifts please select Wednesday 17th June as your delivery date.  We will be dispatching on Tuesday through Wednesday and into Thursday during that week.  We will pull out Father's Day Orders and schedule them for Wednesday 17th or Thursday 18th dispatch unless you specifically request so that it is as close as possible to Fathering Sunday.

Please note we will be closing our Father's Day Order book earlier than previous years as we are limited by hours in the day, staffing shortages and social distancing regulations.

We anticipate last orders for pre Fathers' Day delivery to be approximately 14th/ 15th June, but may need to bring this forward in the event of any surge in orders.

Thank you for your understanding at this busy time.

Update Friday 29th May 2020

Lockdowns are being eased in our operating jurisdictions, but it is far from being business as usual. We will be continuing to operate a 7 day working week with limited bulk shipping days in order to maintain the safe social distances required from us with regards to the Covid 19 guidelines.  Our objective is to bring down average dispatch times efficiently to provide the best possible service to our customers despite the circumstances.

All orders received up until 10am on Monday 25^th May will have shipped this week on a next day delivery service where such a service exists.  

GOING AHEAD

* All orders received from 10am on Monday 25^th May up until approximately 5pm or close of business on Thursday, 28^th May will be dispatched from our warehouse on Monday 1^st June.  Expect a 24 hour day for Ireland and European deliveries due to the Bank Holiday Public Holiday in IRELAND on Monday 1^st June.   

**  All orders from close of business, Thursday 28^th May until approximately Monday 10am on 1^st  June will ship on Tuesday 2^nd June.

***  Orders from Monday Morning of the 1^st June until approximately Thursday afternoon of the 4^th June will ship on Monday 8th June.  

(NOTE THE IRISH BANK HOLIDAY ON 1^st JUNE, WHICH MAY DELAY DELIVERY, BUT IT WILL NOT DELAY OUR OPERATIONAL DISPATCH)

It is now taking us an average of under 4 days to dispatch orders placed.  The quickest is 2 days and the longest is 7 days.  99% of deliveries are attempted within one day meaning that an estimated time for delivery from the moment you place your order is between 3 and 8 days with an average of 5.

We are preparing to reduce our average dispatch time from 4 to 2.5 days and hope to be able to achieve this benchmark within next 2 weeks, just in time for Fathers Day!  However that speed of service delivery is not sustainable in the long run.   

From Monday 1^st June our calendar will therefore show 10^th June as estimated delivery date, but we may attempt to dispatch earlier to assist our operational logistics in anticipation of a busier than usual Fathers Day.

You may order now for Fathers Day delivery by selecting 17^th June as your delivery date.  Please be advised we have limited stock and assembly capability, so please place your order early.

It is for this reason and we cannot stress this enough, the calendar date is an estimated latest date of delivery.

Your contract/purchase with us is on the basis that this is the latest date by which you are prepared for us to attempt to make a delivery.  We are working effectively to better this estimate, we are working very, very hard to deliver your gifts, but we must be cautious considering the uncertainty of the current climate and our own physical capabilities.  

Please, please, please do not order if you want an exact date, we can only give approximate indications.  For additional guidance/T&C on this please click here.

NEXT UPDATE will be in approximately 1 weeks time 4th June, 2020

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Update 21st May 2020

Lockdowns are being eased in our operating jurisdictions, but it is far from being business as usual. We will be continuing to operate a 7 day working week with limited bulk shipping days in order to maintain the safe social distances required from us with regards to the Covid 19 guidelines.  Our objective is to bring down average dispatch times efficiently to provide the best possible service to our customers despite the circumstances.

All orders received up until 10am on Monday 18th May will have shipped this week on a next day delivery service where such a service exists.  

GOING AHEAD

* All orders received from 10am on Monday 18th May up until approximately 5pm or close of business on Thursday, 21stMay will be dispatched from our warehouse on Monday 25th May.  Expect a 24 hour delay for GB deliveries due to the Bank Holiday Public Holiday in GB on Monday 25th May.

**  All orders from close of business, Thursday 21st May until approximately Monday 10am on 25th May will ship next Wednesday 27th May.

***  Orders from Monday Morning of the 25th May until approximately Thursday afternoon of the 28th May will ship on Monday 1st June.  

(NOTE THE IRISH BANK HOLIDAY ON 1st JUNE, ALL IRL DELIVERIES WILL BE HELD UNTIL TUESDAY 2nd June)

It is still taking us an average of 4.67 days to dispatch orders placed.  The quickest is 2 days and the longest is 7 days.  99% of deliveries are attempted within one day meaning that an estimated time for delivery from the moment you place your order is between 3 and 8 days with an average of between 5 and 6.

We have not changed our estimated date of delivery from the 27th May and will not do so until as late as Monday Morning 25th May.  The reason for this change in policy is that we are continually beating our estimated delivery timelines.  

We are preparing to reduce our average dispatch time from 4.67 to 2.5 days and hope to be able to achieve this benchmark within next 2 weeks, just in time for Father's Day!  

From Monday 25th May our calendar will therefore show 3rd June as estimated delivery date, but we may attempt to dispatch earlier to assist our operational logistics.

It is for this reason and we cannot stress this enough, the calendar date is an estimated latest date of delivery. 

Your contract/purchase with us is on the basis that this is the latest date by which you are prepared to accept delivery.  We are working effectively to better this estimate, we are working very, very hard to deliver your gifts, but we must be cautious considering the uncertainty of the current climate and our own physical capabilities.  

Please, please, please do not order if you want an exact date, we can only give approximate indications.  For additional guidance/T&C on this please click here.

NEXT UPDATE will be in approximately 1 weeks time 28th May, 2020.


Update 14th May 2020

Mid May and we are continuing to operate a 7 day working week with limited bulk shipping days in order to maintain the safe social distances required from us with regards to the Covid 19 restrictions. 

All orders received up until 5pm Sunday 10th May will have shipped this week on a next day delivery service where such a service exists.

GOING AHEAD

* All orders received from 5pm on Sunday 10th May up until 4pm Thursday, 14th May will be shipping on Monday 17th May.  

**  All orders from 4pm Thursday 14th May until Monday 10am on 18th May will ship next Wednesday 20th May.

***  Orders from Monday Morning of the 18th May until approximately Thursday afternoon of the 21st May will ship on Monday 25th & Tuesday, 26th May. 

(NOTE THE UK BANK HOLIDAY ON 25th MAY, GB DELIVERIES WILL BE HELD UNTIL TUESDAY)

It is taking us an average of 4.67 days to dispatch orders placed.  The quickest is 2 days and the longest is 7 days.  99% of deliveries are attempted within one day meaning that an estimated time for delivery from the moment you place your order is between 3 and 8 days with an average of between 5 and 6.

We cannot stress this enough, the calendar date is an estimated latest date of delivery. 

Your contract/purchase with us is on the basis that this is the latest date by which you are prepared to accept delivery.  We are working effectively to better this estimate, but we must be cautious considering the current climate.  

It currently shows 27th May as estimated date of delivery as we do not want to disappoint. Please, please, please do not order if you want an exact date, we can only approximate.  For additional guidance/T&C on this please click here.

NEXT UPDATE will be in approximately 1 weeks time 21st May, 2020

Update 7^th May 2020

Our 7 days weekly schedule is continuing for the month of May. We are still in National Lockdown until 18^th May and it is important that we do what is asked of us with regards social distancing.

We are still operating with Directors and core Operational Staff and are able to maintain safe social distances between us through Warehouse and Office Zoning.

We started today training existing staff in Operations in preparation for the lifting of lockdown.

All orders received up until 5pm Sunday 3^rd May will have shipped this week on a next day delivery service where such a service exists.

GOING AHEAD
 All orders received from 5pm on Sunday 3^rd May up until 5pm Wednesday, 6^th May will be shipping on Monday 11^th May.

The exceptions to this rule are Gift Baskets sent for International Mothers Day, which will ship Today 7^th May and Friday 8^th May.

-All orders from 5pm Wednesday 6^th May until Sunday 3pm on 10^th May will ship next Wednesday 13^th May.

-Orders from Sunday evening of the 10^th May until approximately Wednesday evening of the 13^th May will ship the following Monday, 18^th May.

As you can see we are still working between 5-7 in arrears over the course of the weekend but midweek dispatches are down to less than 1 week and as quick as 3-4 days to process. We have reduced dispatch times, but we are getting busier.

We cannot stress this enough, the calendar date is an estimated latest date of delivery.

It currently shows 20^th May as estimated date of delivery as we do not want to disappoint. 

Please, please, please do not order if you want an exact date, we can only approximate.  For additional guidance/T&C on this please click here.

All deliveries are usually with 1-2 days, but can be delayed if Medical freight takes priority.

NEXT UPDATE will be in approximately 1 weeks time 13/14^th May, 2020

Update 29 April 2020

Our 7 days weekly schedule will continue for the month of May.  We are still in National Lockdown and it is important that we do what is asked of us with regards social distancing.

We are operating with Directors and core Operational Staff and are able to maintain safe social distances between us through Warehouse and Office Zoning.  

We added an extra dispatch date this week to take into account the Irish and British Bank Holidays next week.

All orders received up until Sunday, 26/4/20 will ship today 29^th April or tomorrow Thursday 30^th April.

GOING AHEAD

All orders received from 9pm on Sunday 26^th April up until 12 noon today Wednesday, 29^th April will be shipping on following dates:

Great Britain: Monday 4^th May

Ireland: Tuesday 5^th May

-All orders from today 29^th April until Saturday 12 noon on 2^nd May will ship next Wednesday 6^th May.

-Orders from 12pm Saturday 2/5/20 until approximately next Wednesday 6/5/20 will dispatch the following Monday, which is May 11^th, 2020.

As you can see we are still working between 5-7 in arrears over the course of the weekend but midweek dispatches are down to less than 1 week and as quick as 3-4 days to process. We have reduced dispatch times, but we are getting busier.

We cannot stress this enough, the calendar date is an estimated latest date of delivery as we do not want to disappoint. Please, please, please do not order if you want an exact date, we can only approximate.  For additional guidance/T&C on this please click here.

All deliveries are usually with 1-2 days, but can be delayed if Medical freight takes priority.

NEXT UPDATE will be in approximately 1 weeks time 6^th May, 2020

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Update 22 April 2020.

We are continuing to work a 7 day weekly schedule with reduced staff numbers to ensure social distancing. We are able to provide an approximate date of dispatch based upon the time of your order. Currently we are operating 5-7 days in arrears, which is why the only available dates for delivery are from Wednesdays from 6^th May onwards. We cannot stress this enough, the calendar date is an estimated latest date of delivery. Do not order if you want an exact date, for additional guidance/T&C on this please click here.

What this means is that all orders received over Easter and up until Wednesday 15th April will have shipped on Monday 20^th April.  

All orders from 12pm on Wednesday 15th April until Friday 2pm of the 17^th April will ship today Wednesday 22^nd April.

As you can see this means that we are operating between 5 and 7 days in arrears.  This is a necessary state of affairs due to logistics, staff and warehouse space restrictions on safe working.  All of these orders had the 29^th April as an estimated delivery date.

GOING AHEAD

All orders from Friday 17th April until 5.45pm on Tuesday 21st April will be dispatched on Monday 27^th April. Orders from Tuesday 21st at 5.45pm until Friday 24^th April at 5pm will dispatch the following Wednesday 29^th April.

All deliveries are usually with 1-2 days, but can be delayed if Medical freight takes priority.

NEXT UPDATE will be in approximately 1 weeks time 29^th April

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Ciséain Go Leor  Customer Announcement - Covid 19

We have taken the extraordinary measure of suspending orders on our website from 11am on Saturday 28th March.  We are not closing and the facility will be manned by one of us, it is a temporary suspension of dispatches only.

We expect you have more important things to worry about, than reading an update from our little family run Gift Basket company, but we wanted to let you know, to explain why, and our plans to get back to work - serving you.
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The reason for this suspension are 4 fold.

1. LABOUR

It's a time intensive business at the best of times.  And with just us 3 Siblings, and 2 staff members we simply cannot process your orders quickly enough in a safe manner. We have a standby group if anything happens to us, and we of course have staff furloughed to return when things outside are safer.  But, for now, we have to rotate warehouse and office space to keep us all individually isolated. We have adapted very well and our facility is manned 7 days a week from sunrise to long after sunset. Alas in spite of thousands of square feet of warehouse, and the ability to zone it off quite effectively, we effectively march at the speed of the office’s ability to process.

2. LOCATION

All of us will have our own tales to tell of Covid 19’s impact based on our location and time.  We believe that at this moment in time in our location, we help the most by stopping movement totally for a 3 week period with only emergency or essential exceptions.  Whilst we are not on the list of businesses, which must stop trading, we believe we serve society better by ceasing dispatches for a temporary period.

3. INCREASING DEMAND

We have been ahead of the curve for the past month putting measures in place to protect and serve our staff and customers.

Weekend of March 7th - Surfaces and Hygiene targeted
March 9th - Vulnerable staff sent home and told to isolate
March 14th - Moved to a 7 day week, 15 hour day to exceed social distancing guidelines
This is our 2nd week of limited dispatch days, and whilst we have managed it, we’re really riding our luck.  So over this weekend and up until Tuesday we know we can ship all orders going at the pace we are working.

4. PREPARATION

We need the time to prepare to use what small resources we have to organise to help others locally, or target aid for particularly badly affected urban areas. We’re thinking about what comes next.

We don’t know in what format or guise we will be returning to in 3 weeks time, which we fear may be overly optimistic.  For comparison sake, Wuhan is only just beginning to return from lockdown after more than 2 months. Perhaps we will be needed to support the Retail Food Supply Chain in processing and dispatch.  Perhaps we will serve as one of the many small local/regional hubs which collectively will take up some of the slack from the supermarkets. Perhaps we’ll pack for the supermarkets. We’re just not sure yet.  But we think in 3 weeks we can be part of the solution and not the problem because we’re low intensive, careful and are following a plan.
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Helping you

We meant what we said in our recent “Mother's Day” email.  You, our customers are local to us. We are acutely aware that there are many amongst you who have elderly or vulnerable relatives isolating in Ireland & the UK.

During this period where we cannot dispatch, please rest assured that we will monitor all orders and prioritise and process orders received from our current customers.  This allows us to distribute what stock we have, without being overwhelmed in 3 weeks time. Orders placed will be executed as quickly as we can manage it regardless of date specified on shipping calendar.

Please look out for an email from us detailing the code words to use to avail of priority orders.
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All that remains is for us to thank you very much for your past custom and support.  We know that this is probably the beginning of the end for our little business. It has been such an privilege to have had a ringside seat into the messages of love, support and friendship that humans can create socially with one another.  From celebrating birth, to mourning death and every conceivable gift occasion in between, no matter the distance that separates us.

We wish you safe passage over the coming month, and what lies beyond.

Take care, Andrea, Lynne and Neil.