'Sparrows & Amazons' - January 2021

What is “Sparrows and Amazons”?

 2021 is very welcome and we are all hoping and hanging on in there for time where we are able to create our new normal and get back to meeting our friends and family. It has started with a new national lockdown, and just like many others, we too are juggling home school and doing what needs to be done to keep the business ticking over. It’s tough times but we are embracing it as quality time to help us shape and guide Nate to be prepared for whatever the future may hold.

 This lockdown it is cold and wet so we are spending much time indoors, maths, English, handwriting, science, languages, cooking and reading are on the timetable. At this time of year, what is nicer than curling up in front of the fire with a good book and taking yourself to another place? even for a short time. Taking time out from our day to day and imagining ourselves somewhere different is really therapeutic, and there are stories for everyone.

 Nate loves the Alex Rider books (https://alexrider.com) and is making his way through the whole series, they are really good spy stories about a 14 year old, and the author Anthony Horowitz has also written some of the contemporary James Bond books.

 All of our Accommodations are named after  books (except Lucky Venture), and many of these names were in place when we brought the business. Simon and I both read the Swallows and Amazons books as children and both loved them, (https://arthur-ransome-trust.org.uk/shop/Swallows-and-Amazons-novels-c29091300). Quite quickly we gave each houseboat their own character and added Coot Club to the collection.  When we brought the floating pod we called it Secret Water (another Arthur Ransome book), although the land pod has the name of another children’s book, Secret Garden, it’s is a story  where good things happen as people spend time together in nature and the great outdoors. 

 When I was pregnant I read Arthur Ransome “Swallows and Amazons” to my ever growing tummy, and who knows if it helped, but Nate loves spending time “messing about on boats” and in the warmer months is often found creating his own adventure on a boat or a kayak. I suspect this summer we will see him creating his own spy adventure around Hippersons basin .

 This year we have an experience package available to help you create your own adventure, and we have named it the “Sparrows and Amazons” package, using our family name and the books we all love. To find out all about it click here:  https://www.hippersons.co.uk/sparrows-and-amazons. We hope this package will help you and your loved ones to have fun, create your own adventure and make magical memories together enjoying the therapeutic benefits that life on the water offers.

 So while we are staying home and keeping safe, we can spend some of our time planning how we will spend time with the ones we love once we are able. We are happy to help you and hope you will enjoy discovering our “Sparrows and Amazons package”.

Christmas

The Festive Season is Upon Us....

It’s December and the weather has turned really chilly. Boats are out on hardstanding and a series of approved suppliers and contractors have been visiting the yard, and fixing the bits that we can’t offer here. It’s a good time, and for us the most exciting thing that has happened is that our engine has started!

This is exciting as Simon has been working on rebuilding a new (to us) engine for the last year. It has taken a long time as parts were scarce in lockdown and the police OST lockdown we worked without a day off for four months. Now he has had some time, he has performed the impossible and put together eBay sourced bits and bobs, used wine corks and gin tops and got the engine working. There are some blogs coming along about this process and they will be published to our you tube channel soon.

As a result of all his hard work, depending on the tier and what we are allowed to do, we may be able to go out for a little river adventure after Christmas Day. It’s been awhile for us, but time out on our floating home, exploring nature, spending time together and indulging in the good food and wine we bring along, is a brilliant way for us to rejuvenate

Whilst you can’t be with us over the festive season, you can start planning your visit for next year and book yourself some time out to rejuvenate. New for 2021 is our first land based Glamping hideaway -  Secret Garden, and this is already to book at https://www.hippersons.co.uk/glamping-hideaways.

Last year many of you enjoyed Pauline’s breakfast from the Beccles Station cafe, and it is fair to say she was thrilled with the customer feedback. For 2021 she is going to continue with the breakfasts, if you missed it the video is here  https://youtu.be/emmGFcRfR-g

From customer feedback and looking at ways to help you enjoy your time out as much as you can, in 2021, Pauline is also going to offer food hampers that can be on your accommodation for when you arrive. This is a really exciting partnership for both our businesses, and we are thrilled to be able to develop it further. To find out more about the cafe take a peek at their Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/becclesstation/

However you decide to spend your festive season this year, raise a glass to say good bye to 2020, and here’s hoping the “new normal” of 2021 allows us all to #EscapeTheEveryday having  fun with family and good friends in a huge social bubble.

Autumn

Thank You  

 Autumn. The time of the year when the nights slowly begin to draw in. In Autumn there are some incredible twilight skies as the sinking sun throws colours across the skies in a manner that evokes a masters painting, constantly evolving as the sun sets and the moon takes over. Sometimes at this time of the year you can see both as they set and rise together.  

 We are now closed to guests and as we are in a second lockdown of 2020 we are able to take the time to reflect that the boatyard has been incredibly busy throughout the shorter season.  A massive thank you is owed to all our guests who have came to visit us this year. It has been a pleasure to help everyone have timeout, relax, explore,  create adventures and find new ways to bring the river to life.  

 This year we added our new YouTube channel, with the catchy name of Hippersons Boatyard, and we have had great fun creating vlogs showing our guests enjoying themselves. To share with everyone how much fun the season was we have made a little video, featuring some familiar faces, reflecting on the season of 2020. Click here and see how many faces you know.

 In the autumn season, I love the colours that the leaves turn, many mirror those of an autumn sunset: russet reds, organza oranges and happy daze yellows. In Autumn many of our Moorers start to think about taking their boats out of the water, to dry out p and rest until the spring, and it’s a good time to make sure jobs get done to keep your boat safe throughout the winter.  

 I am beginning to think about Christmas  and making plans for us to have family time (before Nate grows too old and would rather be with his friends). Locally the public hall is hosting  a socially distanced pantomime and we already have our tickets reserved. The link for anyone local is: https://www.becclespublichall.co.uk. We are hoping on the way home we can either collect or dine in (depending on the rules) for a pizza at Oak Fired, Nate’s favourite place to eat, and it will be the perfect pantomime finale:  http://www.oakfired.co.uk 

 Talking of not missing out and making time for the ones we love,  we have opened our bookings for next year and the summer is filling up fast, so if you enjoy being here and bringing the river to life, book early and we will be ready to welcome you: https://www.hippersons.co.uk/stay.      

 Another place to look for next years adventures on the Broads is on the Visit the Broads website: https://www.visitthebroads.co.uk Here you will find lots of ideas and information on all the exciting things you can do in 2021.  

Whatever adventures you plan, enjoy everyday and live for the now.  

August

The Great British Summer 

We are now over a month into opening and pleased to let everyone know that all of our new procedures to ensure everyone can #enjoysummersafely are working really well.  

We have been awarded  the ‘Good to Go’ logo and are proud to be part of this National campaign to help everyone have a great summer. One of the lead hashtags for this summer is #knowbeforeyougo to encourage everyone to plan ahead and enjoy the Great British summer responsibly. All of our experiences are bookable online in advance only, to support this national campaign and to keep all our guests safe. Once an experience is booked you will receive an online waiver that is signed before you arrive, and information about where you can park. Our staff will come and meet you and get you out safely to enjoy the river coming to life. 

 So what makes a Great British Summer? I think it is a well known recipe that takes a few favourite ingredients, firstly the weather. There must be sun, at least glimpses of it, and definitely some rain showers so we can demonstrate our British spirit that whatever the weather, we will enjoy ourselves. I remember fondly days on the beach on the east coast as a child, sheltering behind a wind break, munching on a cornbeef and tomato sandwich, with the promise of an ice cream at the end of the day. On rainy days, my dad would say ‘you may as well go swimming, if it’s raining you are only going to get wet in the water so it makes no difference out or in,’ and I would run with glee to jump over the  waves. 

 A Great British Summer also involves getting out on the water, and here at Hippersons there are many ways to do that. You can go on a dayboat, although this summer you will need to book at least 10 days in advance to avoid disappointment at https://www.hippersons.co.uk/explore#/dayboats. On a dayboat you can book a pub lunch, and you can reserve a table in advance at the 

Wherry Inn: https://www.facebook.com/thewherrygeldeston/.                     Tel: 01508 518371 

Alternatively, if you leave by 9.30 you can get to Oulton Broad and enjoy a delicious pub lunch at The Commodore on Oulton Broad.https://www.moss-co.com/the-commodore/about/  

 We have two brand new way to get out on the water at Hippersons this season, either by taking a guided canoe tour with Stephe, and enjoying hearing about the area whilst learning some new skills, https://youtu.be/0SfuyJBCVQY or by going out on the pedal boat  https://youtu.be/ixcsUicBQHA .

Both of these compliment our paddle-craft offer and all are bookable here https://www.hippersons.co.uk/explore#/canoehire.   

 However you enjoy the Great British Summer, make sure you make memories, have fun and enjoy yourself, whilst keeping everyone safe and following all the guidance. It does change and sometimes it feels hard to keep on top of it, but if we all do our little bit to help then everyone should be able to have fun, and add the last essential ingredient  - smiles and laughter.  

July

New Beginnings.....small steps towards the future  

 We are so thrilled we are able to open and bring the river to life for our guests again, the virus is now under control enough for the new beginnings in the new normal.  

 Day boats have been running for a week with our new procedures in place, and they are working well. All paperwork is signed in advance on line, every party has a dedicated parking space, and now we clean the boats at the end of the day rather than in the morning. Every buoyancy aids is also sprayed down with antiviral cleaner and left to air overnight. It’s a different routine but works well and is our first small step towards the new normal. 

 Accommodation opens for overnight stays from 4th July, and for the last few days we have been inundated with bookings, thank you all. At the time of writing we have a few two day breaks, a couple of 4 days and 1 week left until September. We are open until the end of October so plenty of time for you to take a break www.hippersons.co.uk/stay  

 Throughout June we have been preparing for opening and we have amended all of our check in procedures so that we do not come onboard any accommodation or boats with our guests, however we are still here and talking with you from a safe social distance. It will be great to see old faces and meet new ones as the season slowly moves along. Our welcome to your accommodation video is here to give you a taste of our second small step to the new normal https://youtu.be/yREXUjV_64Y 

 Talking of tastes, we have been developing our partnerships with local restaurants and cafes even further throughout the last couple of months. We have made sure that when you visit us, there are still plenty treats to have on holiday, and we have personally tried them all during lockdown (selflessly to ensure we taste check for our guests you understand). They are all doing take away, either delivery of allotted collection slot or both. By the time you arrive there will also be socially distanced dining at restaurants available with reservation in advance only. I will update you on my Facebook posts as they open. Three more steps towards the new normal. 

 Graze : http://www.grazewhitehorse.co.uk/takeaway-menu/.                          Tel: 01502 715974 

Royal Oak Fired Pizza: http://www.oakfired.co.uk/downloads/menuV4.pdf.   Tel: 01502 710111 

Wherry Inn: https://www.facebook.com/thewherrygeldeston/.                        Tel: 01508 518371 

 An exciting  new service being offered this year is a breakfast delivery, if you call this number  07544038313 and speak to Pauline you can choose what you like. To see what it can look like here is a little video https://youtu.be/emmGFcRfR-g I can guarantee you it is an indulgence worth having, waking up to breakfast delivered to your doorstep. It doesn’t get much better than that.  

Sitting in the sun, on the deck of Secret Water having breakfast, was hard work, but someone had to do it. A brilliant step towards our new normal. 

All of these small steps to start us on our journey towards a future which we think will be bright, and help us to create a place where all our guests, for all our experiences, can have a safe and fun time relaxing, and making memories. We will be a floating home from home for you all⚓️ 

June

To say this season has started in an odd way, is definitely an understatement, we are still waiting the go ahead from the government to allow us to have our guests on site (now we know its from the 4th July). Meanwhile we have carried on making improvements to the yard to ensure it is at the best and safest it can be. 

 We have changed the pull cords in the quirky houseboats to chain pull ones so they can be sanitised, we feel this will work better than the old rope ones. Following our staycations on the houseboats, we have changed some of the placemats, cistern handles and added shelves where we felt they were needed. If you have been following our you tube channel, you will have seen I have also been adding to the soft furnishings aboard some of the accommodation. If you want to see, just follow the link. https://youtu.be/jo486Y88wQo  

 Around the yard, Simon has been cutting the grass weekly and Nate has been helping, part of his home learning has meant he is now getting quite good on the ride on mower. We have also been trying our hand at growing vegetables, and after three attempts at propagating seeds we now have 1 tomato plant. The pumpkin seeds definitely worked better first time, so Halloween should see some really good lanterns at Hippersons.  

 Emotions have been very mixed for all of us, at times frustrated, sometimes we feel angry and other times we are just content. We have talked about our feelings together, and this has been really therapeutic to get them out, rather than bottling them up inside.  

 What I have realised is to start with I felt quite annoyed at being told what I could and could not do with my own business. One of the qualities Simon loves in me is my inner strength and the fact that I am an independent person; but this means I can,  at times, find it difficult to follow others instructions and I really hate not being in control of my life. The government were telling me not to open our business and make a living and I was annoyed. We are very grateful for the support they put in place, but as an independent person I am not great at accepting help and have had to learn to do this. This has been a time where the help has been vital to keep the business viable.  

 Through our discussions we have realised, that although we are not very good at being told what to do, the government aren’t telling us what to do to be annoying, they are trying to ensure our lives are safe and we keep well. Like the rest of us, they want the economy back on its feet again and they want us to be able to trade, but only when it is safe and we won’t put anyone at risk by being open. 

 We have been working on the steps we need to take to ensure the business is safe for our guests once we are able to open. We are exploring ways our guests can sign the hire agreements on their own devices so there will be no need for paper and pens. We are going to make videos that explain the rules of the river and e mail them out with bookings. All of these measures, and more, we hope will help everyone of our staff and guests keep safe social distances. 

 Look forward to seeing more of you when we are allowed too, and happy to wait (sort of 😀).  

Lockdown

It has been a strange time for everyone over the last seven weeks, and in that time we have been privileged to explore our own yard. We speak to many of our family and friends using all the technology that we can, speaking to those in the U.K, New Zealand, Australia and America and the same question we get asked by everyone is how are you coping in the lockdown?

We have reflected on this question every so often, and after the initial shock and worry, when we realised that our business was definitely not going to open, we started to adjust. When your income is reduced to zero as a business the government support has been invaluable, and we have really appreciated all the local support to help us. Then we adapted as everyone has done, we were in lockdown in our boatyard, our own holiday destination.

Since we brought the business six years ago, we have never had a sunny spring day in the yard without sharing it with our guests, and it has been a unique experience. We sincerely hope this will never happen again, but as we have it all to ourselves we decided to make the best of it. We have tried out nearly all our accommodation, having a night away break at home, and enjoyed the changes we have made. We particularly love the new floor to ceiling windows in Coot Club and Swallows. Nate has been enjoying home schooling and we have made use of Jo Wicks PE for the nation, and we have all improved our fitness. We are intending to carry on with Jo once it’s all over and make it a lifestyle change. I joined an online choir and really enjoy rediscovering singing (not since a child have I properly joined a choir). Nate has watched Greg & Maddie live and we made a bird feeder. Perhaps this or the natural order, has opened my eyes to how many birds their are in our yard. They normally hide themselves in plain sight, but with the reduction of humans in their garden this April and May I have easily seen, the Reed warblers, yellow wag tails, robins, the swallows have returned, and of course our kingfisher, to name a few. I really wish I had been able to get a go pro camera to capture these moments for everyone, but maybe soon.

Wildlife has been roaming around the yard. Mr and Mrs Swan are nesting again (5th year here) and sitting on 6 eggs. There was a recent run in with a mink who dared to venture in one evening, but Mr Swan saw him off, and has kept guard with greater vigilance since. They are definitely missing all of you visiting them as they only get fed twice a day by us, there is no longer a constant stream of delicious healthy swan food. There have been many pheasants wandering around the yard, across the caravan site, and one was even trying to board a day boat last week. The birdsong that normally starts at 5ish and then quiet end as the working day begins, is still ringing loudly in my ears at 8.30am, and doesn’t really go till the sunsets, and we sit and watch the glorious sundowner in top of our barge. I come back to my original question - how are we enjoying lockdown? Well, yes we have zero income, and yes we are following all government guidance; but we are getting to holiday exclusively in our own home. We are spending quality time together, learning things about each other and for the first time in six years I guess we are nesting in out yard. We are discovering our home and loving it. I know, compared to family and friends, some with no garden, we are abundantly privileged and we are living proof that money doesn’t happiness buy, but spending time in our little oasis certainly goes a long way towards it. We are looking forward to reopening and seeing you all again, and hope you get to see a little of what we are living, it really is relaxing, and an entertaining place to be. Wildlife watching definitely provides its own little story.

February

February, and the wind is blowing, with gust up to 80mph, it’s weather that makes sitting in front of a fire with those you love the most a very attractive proposition. In the yard we are getting on with as many jobs as we can do inside as possible. Day boats are being maintained, soft furnishings created and also lots of number crunching (tedious at the time, but an important part of owning a business).

February is also known for love and Valentine’s Day, and every four years we have an extra day and call it a leap year. 2020 is a fourth year, so this year we have a leap year with 29 days in a February. What are behind these traditions? I thought I would do some research and once again the influence of the Romans is present.

The ancient Romans may be responsible for the name. How this one relates to sharing and caring love bewilders me, but it is sad that Emperor Claudius II executed two men — both named Valentine — on Feb. 14 of different years in the 3rd century A.D. Their martyrdom was honoured by the Catholic Church with the celebration of St. Valentine's Day.

February 29 is a date that usually occurs every four years, and is called leap day. This day is added to the calendar in leap years as a corrective measure, because the Earth does not orbit the sun in precisely 365 days. Again there is direct influence from the Romans, general Julius Caesar introduced the first leap year over 2000 years ago. But the Julian calendar had only one rule: any year evenly divisible by four would be a leap year.

The Romans had many ships, used primarily for transporting goods across the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, and sometimes I suspect amongst the cargo we would have found little love gifts for that someone special left behind whilst the Romans went on voyages.

Locally there are things that can be done on Valentines, in Norwich there is the first Love light festival https://www.lovelightnorwich.co.uk/whats-on/events/the-valentines-parade/, which definitely looks worth a look. Local artist Sarah Cannel is taking part in this as she prepares her lanterns for her own festival of light https://sarahcannell.com/creative-odyssey/. She is using a ship in her parade, and there will be more about this next month. Simon, Nate and I are going to help Sarah at the parade, and as a family make a magical valentines memory, huge thanks to Sarah for asking us, we feel honoured.

Boats themselves can be very romantic, and spending time on a boat as the sunsets is a really wonderful experience. Here at Hippersons we do Twilight self drive day boat hire from Mid May to the start of August on Thursday evenings. This year we are partnering with a local provider and will be offering hampers that can be added to the experience, to make it truly quality time with your loved ones. All bookable in advance on our website.

New Year

Why do we make New Years Resolutions? It's said that Julius Caesar started our tradition on January 1st as a way to honour the Roman mythical god Janus, whose two faces allowed him to look back into the past year and forward to the new year. It is said Romans often made morality based resolutions, such as seeking forgiveness from their enemies, I wonder if we ever see this in Shakespeare’s version of Julius Caesar? 

 Around the boat yard the New Year resolution has been to really get on top of the winter maintenance  programme, so we closed the office for some extra days to allow everyone to get on and focus. 

 The new bunk beds in Swallows and Coot Club, made by Stephen, look wonderful, as the ones in Secret Water got such a great reception last season, we thought we would change the style in the houseboats with bunk beds too. Come and see for yourself if you can. 

 The soft furnishings are coming together slowly, and I am now experimenting with different waddings, as I have found one that is heat resistant. I have made a few table mats for us to try in our barge, and if they are successful, I am going to make stake me heat resistant mats for furniture tops. Most of our guests are wonderful, but occasionally accidents happen, and hot mugs get left on furniture and the dreaded ring occurs. I am hoping that these mats may solve that issue. I will let you know next month how we get on.  

 Later this month (if the weather permits), Stephen and Simon will be getting down and dirty as they start digging a trench for the new power cable to our brand new field pod, arriving in February or March, and to repair the damage to the quays caused by the heavy rains. I guess it’s free exercise for them both, they both like to keep fit.  

 New Year is definitely here, what resolutions have you made? I have to admit as I get older I make very little except to try and do something for the first time every month. I want to make sure I keep living and experiencing all that life has to offer. 

 When I first started a first a month, I found I was looking at opportunities in a different way, and instead of saying no to things I was not sure about, I said yes. This led to me jumping off a telegraph pole (I was on a rope held by an instructor who talked me cleverly through my fears), attending a speed dating night (clearly before I met Simon), cycling across the Mekong Delta and drinking Cosmopolitans at Grand Central station New York. Since we have brought the boatyard my personal firsts have included owning a Boatyard, passing my VHF course, passing a paddlecraft safety course with Boardinskool, and riding a water bike.  

 Looking ahead to 2020, I am planning some new things for us to do as a family, and will let you know what we get up to over the months. This is a perfect time for looking ahead, and sitting somewhere warm planning your adventures and firsts for the summer. Perhaps it might be a stay at Hippersons with one of our new “Sparrows and Amazons” packages We look forward to hearing from you and hope we can help you with some of your plans.  

Mary’s Maritime Musings

We’ve all been getting ready for Christmas and the season ahead here at Hippersons. We’ve been giving a lot of thought to our winter maintenance programme. We have also been upgrading the exterior look of Swallows and Coot Club by remodelling the windows with double glazed UPVC windows and putting new cladding up where it’s needed. We still have a way to go on this project, the first stages have been tremendous and we are really impressed with the way they are looking. We almost can’t wait for the first guests to see what they make of them, although we still have plenty to do!

Boats have come out of the water for the winter, and the winterising of most is complete now. The car park looks extremely full of boats all wrapped snugly under nautically coloured tarpaulin. They all look like they are hibernating for winter and really don’t want to be disturbed as they rest up ready for another season on the river.

The yard is looking a little festive with the addition of Simon’s light Christmas tree, always looks warm and welcoming, and the Christmas cards, being written and arriving. Thank you to everyone who sent one, I love a card at Christmas.

Why do we give gifts at Christmas? Gift giving at Christmas is said to come from the gifts given by the three kings to the baby Jesus, Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. They were welcoming him as the new saviour and showering him with presents fit for a king. It is said we give gifts to loved ones to show them how much we care, and the gift represents our love for them

Personally I have been thinking about how to give gifts that show I care. It is always difficult and very tempting to get into a lot of debt at this time of year, so many expensive new gadgets, tricks and toys children (young and old) feel they really need to have. I have tried making some of my gifts this year, and although I am pleased with the result, for some reason I feel as though I am cheating because I am not spending money on ready made. That is a bit daft, as when I think about it, the resources needed to make the gifts that were purchased, and a lot more time and thought has gone into what I have made. I have tried hard to match the materials to the personality of the individual so they can see the thought that has gone in.

The other gift I love to give is a memory maker. I love to buy an experience for us to do as a family, these have included attending the Ed Sheehan concert, an overnight stay at The Pigs and tickets to Classic Le Mans. I guess my recent brushes with cancer have taught me the one thing I love the most is the memories we have, roasting marshmallows on fires at Christmas, biking on a family adventure to the beach and back, sailing a boat around the Broads and canoeing up the river. This quality time spent with ones I love, is worth more than the latest gadget (often quickly discarded) but the memory is talked about forever. I think this Christmas I am going to give homemade gifts and memories.

I hope you enjoyed reading the first of the Hippersons monthly blogs. Look out for more news and information about the boatyard and our nautical adventures, and also a few more of my own reflections in January. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy and prosperous 2020.

Mary