Update: 2023 Season Merchandise Pre-order and a couple of requests

It's getting close to the season now and we are in the full swing of preparation for the season. We have agreed on the merchandise and pre-orders are now open for these, which includes the tote bags often requested. In previous years SHARP has produced yearly interim reports, this year we are trying something new and are producing a newsletter. It will be fairly informal, in full colour with lots of information and photos about the archaeology and research of the 2022 season. There will also be reviews as well as a range of other articles about SHARP both on and off site. We hope it will be of interest to SHARPies old and new, but also something the general public and Friends of SHARP will enjoy reading.

We would like to thank everyone who has been sharing our posts, far and wide, via social media and we are as ever very grateful to the SHARP community for their support and voting for us. We unfortunately did not get the Dobbies award but we were up against some tough and worthy competition.

Merchandise Pre-order

The merchandise pre-order system worked really well last year so we are going to do the same this year. This year's design features the rubber ducks that were found across the site all last summer, which is set in a popular movie design. The t-shirts will be screen printed in two colours on the front (black and yellow) with the logo on the reverse. There will also be a mug of the design available, in full colour.

Over the years we have had tote bags requested. We will be getting some screen printed with our logo and this year's design. We hope to also produce some with other designs should they prove popular (let us know what designs from the past you would like to see again). Like last year, in the shop there will be cloth badges available of the SHARP logo, and for those that like collecting there will be a 2023 SHARP cloth badge, to add to their collection.

The survey is now ready and will act as a pre-ordering system which will allow you to choose what you would like to order from us, and how many. There will be a section to indicate which week you are attending (so we can have your order ready to be picked up) or to indicate you would like them posting if you can’t get to SHARP this year. We are not asking for money at this stage, and if you miss the deadline for ordering, please don’t worry as we will be ordering a few more of each but obviously these are only available while stocks last.

The SHARP pre-order survey is here https://www.cognitoforms.com/SHARP14/SHARPMerchandise2023 and it will be open until Wednesday 24th May. There are note boxes that allow for you to indicate where you want more than one of something, or different sizes etc.

A couple of requests

If you are intending to book and haven’t yet, SHARP ask that you please either book or let us know by the end of the month if you are intending to come. We need to get a firm idea on numbers to allow us to plan for the season. One reason for this is we are still facing a potential shortfall as many of our expenses have gone up even higher than expected this year, and the cost of living crisis means we are seeing fewer bookings too. We have had a couple of donations for which we are very grateful. If anyone else would like to help us at this time (and we know times are tough) please consider donating to SHARP, every little really does help, and even more so if you can gift aid it. To make a donation, follow the 'Donate' button at the bottom of your page.

Finally, we are still looking for catering staff to help us during the season. So please do keep sharing our catering adverts far and wide, we really appreciate the shares we have had so far. We would ideally like someone with a bit of experience in catering. There is an hourly rate and they get free site accommodation and food throughout the season. You can find more information on the position here.