We always love seeing local businesses finding creative ways to celebrate Newbury’s history and community spirit, and that’s exactly what GAIL’s Bakery has been doing ahead of the May half term.
If you’ve popped into the bakery over the last few days, you may already have spotted the beautiful new orange tree mural inside the bakery. The artwork was commissioned to celebrate Newbury’s connection to Michael Bond, creator of Paddington Bear, and GAIL’s worked with two local artists, Samantha Clarke and Anna Lawrence, to bring the idea to life.
Samantha is a seasoned upcycler who runs Restyled By SLC in The Arcade, just over the road from GAIL’s. Anna hosts step-by-step painting workshops to help people embrace their inner creativity, alongside a busy job running the The Swan Inn in Newtown!
It’s all part of a lovely new initiative from GAIL’s to embrace the culture and heritage of the communities surrounding each of their bakeries, and we absolutely love this thoughtful addition to Newbury town centre.
To mark the launch of the mural, GAIL’s will also be hosting a handful of family-friendly activities and giveaways throughout the May half term week.
On Wednesday 27th May, the bakery is holding a free storytelling session where Rosemary Flower, a volunteer Newbury Library, will be sharing some Paddington stories between 10am and 10:30am. Sounds perfect if you’re looking for something relaxed to do with little ones during the school break!
There’s a special treat for grown-ups on Thursday 28th May, as customers purchasing GAIL’s Marmalade will receive a free loaf of GAIL’s Sourdough (available while stocks last, so we’d suggest getting in early!).
Younger visitors are also invited to get stuck in with themed colouring sheets throughout the week, and if you’re out and about in the town centre during half term, keep an eye out for the GAIL’s team handing out marmalade sandwich tasters.
We’d love to see any photos you take in front of the mural so please do tag @visitnewbury and @gailsbakery in any images you share!
What a lovely example of a national brand celebrating local heritage and bringing something a little different to the town centre this half term.
