Be a bystander in 2012… or sail into history?

A question of salt

This weekend I came to stay in Maldon Essex, somewhere I’d never been to before. I already knew about Maldon salt of course, I use it myself in cooking.  I half expected to see the salt factory, and take a tour, but there was no signage in evidence in the town, and there’s nothing on the website to indicate that it’s possible to visit, just lots of information including a video presentation about the manufacturing process, and a history of the business.

It was a sunny day, so, instead, based on a vague notion that Maldon must be on the coast or a tidal river,  I strolled down the High Street in seach of the quay from my base at the Blue Boar Hotel, a photogenic old coaching inn. Full of character, I was amazed to discover it even has its own on-site Farmers brewery, and, on the day I visited, a beer festival was in progress to re-inforce the point!

Summer attractions on the Hythe at Maldon

Passing by way of the well signposted local visitor information office, which although closed, distributes a free local guide, I soon found the quay, passing historic St Mary’s church on the way.

The Hythe is a lively place with several waterfront pubs, and posters advertising crabbing competitions (with monetary prizes) and other exciting sounding children’s adventure activities taking place locally. More information about visiting Maldon.

On the day I was there, river cruises were operating on the tidal river Blackwater, although I was unfortunately too late in the day to join one. However, one other interesting thing I found were plenty of advertisements from a company called Topsail Charters,  offering various adventures on board historic Thames Sailing Barges, one of which was tied up alongside the quay.

About Thames Sailing barges

I’ve discovered that, in their heyday, around 1860, there were up to 5,000 of these fine old ships, with their distinctive red ochre sails, operating as cargo vessels on the east coast of Britain, with the last few working until the 1960s. In Maldon the version known as a ‘stackie’ was used to transport bales of straw and hay, stacked to a level halfway up the mast, away from local arable farms.

Built for ease of handling, with a mast that pivots to allow them to sail under relatively low bridges, Thames Sailing Barges have a shallow draft and flat bottom. This means that they can rest without support on mudflats at low tide, in the shallow tidal rivers and creeks that are found along the Thames estuary. At the turn of the twentieth century the sailing barge fleet still numbered over 2,000 – but today only a handful of these traditional barges survive, restored and converted for leisure usage.

More pictures of sailing barges

Onboard adventures

With prices advertised for Maldon departures starting at £17 per head for a two hour two island cruise to £30 for a 3 and a half hour trip with a traditional ploughmans and apple crumble lunch, a cruise onboard a Thames Sailing Barge can be an attractive proposition. There are also various options for birdwatching cruises (sailing is almost silent, remember); and you can even hire out a barge out of season for a static self catering weekend if you’re worried about seasickness.

There are options for everything from team building events, to weddding receptions held aboard Thames Sailing barges. They’re available from Ipswich, London, Maldon or Tilbury, with operation broadly possible on the east coast of Britain between Aldeburgh in the north, down to Faversham in Kent in the south. More information and full details.
There is also a Thames sailing barge based at Whitstable in Kent offering summer cruises. More information

Thames estuary summer racing schedule

For a real adventure and fantastic photo opportunities, you can watch Thames sailing barge match races , held each summer.  Here are the remaining dates of the to be held in the summer of 2010:

* July 3 Thames (Gravesend)
* August 7 Swale (Faversham)
* August 28 Southend
* September 4 Colne (Brightlingsea)

Book well in advance if you’re interested in joining a racing barge for the day (for safety reasons on board participation is not permitted). Some of the races can also be followed on a spectator boat. These are annual events, so  check online for dates announced for future years.  Spaces for 2012 are likely to be particularly in demand in the weeks immediately prior to the London games, so I’d recommend planning ahead.

London 2012  – opening ceremony news

This week it’s been announced that Oscar-winning Danny Boyle and Stephen Daldry, will direct and produce the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the London 2012 Games. Find out how to register your interest in booking tickets.

A standalone production company, London 2012 Ceremonies Ltd, has now been set up and will be based in Three Mills Studio near the Olympic Park in East London, which I saw on a recent visit. For more information about what’s happening on on the ground in East London and at the Olympic Park at the moment, see my previous post dated May 25 on the subject, visit the London 2012 website or Inside the Games, a news site.

How Viv can help you

There will be increasing media interest in stories about tourism and the UK visitor economy during the run up to London 2012 . Commission me to help you with writing  about, filming or  photographing your destination or business, or simply researching and writing punchy copy about newsworthy events you’re involved in organising.

I’ll cut to the quick and won’t go over the top with waffle, puff  or hyperbole. A true content strategist, I can package up information in the form of anything from website content or advertorials, to news releases or video scripts, to match your end user needs.  I’ll take real pride in doing a great job, so why not contact me at Manifold Associates to find out more.

Until next time…

Minding the gap? Why writing can be a challenge…

You may have wondered why there’s been a gap in posts in the last week or so. The answer’s quite simple. As you’ve probably realised by now, I make a living through my use of word and image, and the assistance that I give to other businesses, to help them more effectively  market themselves or their  destination to consumers, or other businesses.

I’m a one man band – and what that means in reality is, that it really is just me that does all the work. It can be very fulfilling, but it takes a lot of time. So when I’m really really busy, something has to give, and this time it was Virtual Viv that had to feel the pain.

Time managment for creative types

Problems can occur with a blog due to unecessary time spent on procrastination. I’ve  found it can be a problem selecting a single topic to focus on, even when theoretically I have a free choice. I like to be topical, and several themes I’ve been mulling over in recent weeks continue to compete for attention; and I couldn’t decide which to dash off quickly, like I usually do. It was only when I realised that too much time was elapsing, and that I had to make a decision or risk alienating everyone who looks out for my posts, that I simply got down to writing about an entirely new topic, unblocking the metaphoriacal ‘log jam’ in my torrent of thoughts, and solving my problem ‘at a stroke’.

Still a relative ‘newbie’, I find as I get used to regular blogging that the answer is to write up a plan and initial draft of potential topics and a stock of photography to accompany them. This does go slightly against the grain with me; but nevertheless the words can always be kept topical, and new photos can always be taken.  For me the best type of plan is one that can be flexible and has potential to be changed if necessary.

Avoiding stress

I pride myself on  anticipating how long something’s going to take; but like many writers I’ve discovered the hard way that it’s sometimes hard to be accurate. Like anyone, I can get thrown when I find things taking far longer than I’d thought.

I don’t think I’m alone in getting stressed by the realisation that I’ve got less time to do the things I need to do, than I thought I had, especially at this busy time of year. What I’ve found by experience, is that this is most likely to happen when I have to push  boundaries in my own knowledge while I’m working, something which, in our fast moving digital age, always has the potential to occur. The answer, I’ve realised is to work in a smarter way, not just be smarter about marketing, and allow for such a contingency.

Absorbing new stuff is important

Now don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy learning new things. No one could accuse me of being an old dog which refuses to learn new tricks.   In the last two or three years, I’ve managed to find time to learn German and pass the GCSE exam, study Geology to AS level at a school with a group of 17 year olds, taking and passing another exam in the process; and try video editing  (not my thing at all) and screen printing (which I intend to continue). I’m also currently learning Italian, and hope to take that forward to GCSE as well.

I also subscribe to other blogs and loads of e-newsletters. Among those I currently find most useful are Travolution, Travelmole and Travel Blather, which gets my vote as a great blog.

When it comes to writing, there’s a lot of really sensible advice in the book ‘Brilliant Copywriting’ by Roger Horbury (ISBN 978-0-273-72734-7).

Learning from past errors

When you’re in the middle of a big but exciting research and writing project, as I’ve been over the past few weeks, it can be easy to allow it to take over your life.  That’s never likely to be a good move, and must be avoided.

Determined to do things differently this time, I continued much as usual this time, even wearing a wig and dark glasses to a party to avoid being recognised as tired and haggard, which perhaps was going a bit far! However I didn’t miss my exercise class and even managed to fit two days on long distance walks, and deliver a breakfast presentation about my business, to an audience of local business people from outside the tourism industry. This really helped crystallise my thoughts about how to explain better exactly what it is that I do. More about that in a future post…

So apologies to everyone who’s wondered about the decline in frequency of posts. You’ll be glad to know that I’m now back on the straight and narrow, determined to keep up with near weekly posts (I think it’s only fair to retain some flexibility).

Did you realise that you  could commission Virtual Viv to help you with writing  about, filming or  photographing your destination or business. I never go over the top with waffle, puff  or hyperbole. A true content strategist, I can find a great angle for your news; creating or writing anything from website content or advertorials, to news releases or video scripts – I’ve got plenty of form – and I’ll take real pride in doing a great job for you too! So why not contact me at Manifold Associates to find out more.

Until next time…