New Year - New Hope

Here we are in 2021 a New Year is just starting - an empty page… and hopefully it brings hope of getting back to some kind of normality for all of us! Who would have thought that we would still be in the thick of this Pandemic in 2021 when it was first brought to light last year?

Like many small businesses, it has been a struggle to keep momentum and positivity during these crazy times! I’m constantly reminding myself of how incredibly fortunate I am to live in this lovely rural location, with a beautiful home and garden, immediate family close by, and the support of so many people in our local community.

Clarke’s Farm has been able to keep going with TakeAway Teas since re-opening last May, with a period of opening the Tea Room to guests with socially distanced measures in place. The same for the Bed and Breakfast… business that I am very grateful for. It’s quite weird how your mind plays tricks on you when the business is ‘in limbo’ and thoughts of people forgetting you exist & not coming back start to creep into the back of your mind, you ask yourself questions about whether it’s worth carrying on in these uncertain times?

Having to reschedule, and eventually cancel all bookings for the festive period was heartbreaking - but I just kept reminding myself that there were many people in far worse positions than me & I should ‘man-up and stop feeling sorry for myself!’ The Gift Shop I started during Lockdown1 has been ticking over very nicely with socially distanced visits to the Tea Room (when permitted) and a click & collect service through my Facebook group ‘Clarkes Farm Vintage Teas’. It has kept me busy during quiet times, finding suppliers and ordering beautiful things for the home and garden. Now that I have this revamped website up and running (with a great deal of outside help) my hope is to offer a shopping page (for local delivery or collection only)through here too! It’s all a learning curve for me, and I am definitely a bit of a dinosaur when it comes to these things, but as I appear to have quite a bit of time on my hands at the moment - there’s no time like the present to get the ball rolling!

I hope to reopen the Bed and Breakfast rooms as soon as it is safe to do so - any bookings which have to be cancelled due to Covid restrictions incur no cost to the guest or me, so if you’re feeling positive about a little trip away later this year, please don’t hesitate to get a booking in my diary. Bookings made direct with me save us both the Booking.com fee and come in at the price published on these pages.

I really hope to be able to host more fabulous celebrations and events at the Tea Room very soon, the decoration & party favour service will be available at an additional cost to make your special occasion truly unique.

I also hope to. be able to collaborate with my small business friends to offer the popular craft workshops again - but feel I don’t want to set any dates yet, as having to cancel them again just makes me feel sad.

I am so lucky to be ‘Living My Dream’ and will ‘Keep On Keeping On’ because I Just Love It! Thank you to everyone for your words of encouragement, recommendations, and continued support-it is so incredibly heartwarming & humbling to know that people appreciate what Clarke’s Farm is offering …… Thank you x