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Two Birds and a Boat, The Parlour, Yew Tree Farm Craft Centre, Pettiford Lane, Henley in Arden (2026)

03/03/2026

After the excitement of remote controlling our current home across a track, we received the news we had been waiting so long for - the boat build has started!!

Getting this update email made us actually squeal with excitement. We ARE going to have a boat that will be totally ours and reflect our wants and needs for our new lives on the water. It is no longer something that we are only dreaming of and attempting to describe to interested (or not really, but very patient) people. It is now something tangible, and for those of us who need visuals rather than concepts, there is finally something to see :-)

Better start thinking of paint colours...

27/02/2026

After being moved by Dave a couple of weeks ago, he was back to move the caravan from the pitch opposite.

Although we liked the pitch we were on, #1 struggles with the pretty constant road noise, as it backed on to a big A road. We had been waiting for one of two pitches on the other side of the track to become vacant and so it was ideal that we knew our neighbour would be off soon.

This was a prime pitch, so we had to be on lookout for when it became vacant. #2 was even geared up to try moving Emma single-handed if the vacancy arose in the middle of the day!

As it was, when we surfaced that morning the caravan opposite had already departed, so after some hasty dressing we got Emma moved 😁

We love the motor mover!

24/02/2026

After a lovely, occasionally chilly, few weeks just outside Evesham, it was time for us to head back into Warwickshire. One of the big positives from our stressful last move and the plea for help on Facebook was the recommendation of a caravan mover called Dave.

Pretty much as soon as we were in Evesham we were talking about our return in a number of weeks and the anxiety that was inducing in us both, not aided by our most recent experience. So Bird #1 got in touch with Dave and got a quote from him for bringing Emma the 17 miles to our next home stop. It didn't take much discussion at all for us to agree that the monetary outlay would be nothing compared to the slow burn of anxiety building up to moving day, so we booked his services and were then able to relax.

Come moving day we were nearly sorted when Dave arrived and he helped us get everything finished and then did all of the checks and hitched his truck to Emma so quickly! We drove in convoy style, with Emma between us both in our respective vehicles and got back to Warwickshire the most relaxed we have been on a moving day. While Dave was getting Emma into position on her pitch, the woman on the pitch opposite enquired as to who he was and after he was finished with us and Emma she promptly booked him to move her van a few weeks later!

I for one had been feeling a little silly for getting so stressed about moving Emma, but this is not the life that we have chosen long term so we can use people like Dave when we need to :-)

So, anyone in the Midlands who needs or would like a caravan moving, we can recommend Dave! Easy Move Caravans and Trailers

13/02/2026

Being at the campsite in Evesham is, on the whole, nice and relaxed. It is quiet, no real traffic noise and at night it is nice and dark. There is an orchard next door and opposite our pitch was a farmer's field where we saw deer running early one morning. #2 also enjoyed watching the tractor in there on one of the days she was working from the caravan!

One downside to being in Worcestershire is the fact that the child needs taking to and collecting from school every day, which means that not only does everyone have an early start, but for him and #1 it means being up and ready to leave home a good half an hour earlier than has become usual.

In theory, being 20 minutes nearer to #2's work should mean that she gets a bit of a lie in or at least a less hurried morning. Unfortunately that has not been the case, with predicted journey times in to Gloucester being only about 10 minutes shorter than they had been.

To add to the frustration, Google Maps has helpfully been notifying her of 'slower than usual traffic on your route' for the commute in either direction for a good three months. Surely that means the 'usual' traffic speed is now slower and so notifications aren't required?

Anyway, getting home, into Emma, who has thus far been very cosy, and being given a home-cooked dinner all helps to ease the commuter stress. Other than finding a job a lot nearer home, any tips for making long car journeys more bearable?

08/02/2026

Hello everyone! It's been a while... Quite a lot has been happening for us and finding the time to post has been hard. I (Bird #2) have decided that today is the time to rectify that.

After our last update we were on the move again. Or at least that was our hope. We were feeling good and had everything planned for preparing Emma for towing. I was a little apprehensive as I was doing the towing this time, but I was going to put my big girl pants on and do it. After all, it was one of the 'easiest' tows, a short drive to the A46 and down the big road to Evesham and Bird #1's happy place, surrounded by nature and dark skies.

All was going wonderfully until we were hitching Emma to Wally and there was no light on our Alko - indicative of no power going from the van to the caravan. Cue quite a stress and messaging of friends with big cars to see if they could tow. Bird #1 has a LOT of local contacts, but no-one was able to help us. Then she did a plea for help on Facebook and we headed off to see if the friendly folks in the farm shop at the Craft Centre could help.

Andrew, the lovely farmer, was willing to tow the caravan for us, so I got sent off to the new campsite to await their arrival. I won't lie and say I wasn't a little relieved to not have to tow! In the meantime though, he had gone with #1 and they had established that the lights etc still worked on Emma even though the light wasn't on on the hitch. Rather than put him out any more, #1 then towed Emma down to Evesham, escorted by me, who had driven up the A46 to accompany her.

One day, we might be able to move sites without any drama. Although that would put both of us on edge...

21/12/2025

We're still here!

Sorry to have been a little MIA of late, as you can hopefully imagine, things in the world of chocolate have been absolutely insane in the run up to Christmas, so poor Bird #1 has been shattered and working all of the hours. Bird #2 was hoping for a wind-down before Christmas but after receiving a short-notice phone call there was a week recently of just having to be primed and ready to spring into action every day, which is not conducive to relaxation!

However, in amongst all of the knackeredness we have managed to get our Emma as Christmassy as possible :-) Having previously had a 6 foot tree, Bird #2 spent a great deal of time affixing a string of 300 fairy lights to whatever surface was available (thankfully we had a whole pack of blu-tack!), sometimes doubling back just to make it extra festive! And Bird #1 chatted to the guys selling real trees outside her shop and got some fir branches so we even have something resembling a tree.

One issue we hadn't expected, stupidly, was where on earth we would store the gifts we had been buying. So we have been moving bags and boxes from the living area to the bed during the day and then from the bed to the living area overnight. Bit more of a workout than we had intended, and we really should have thought about lack of space beforehand!

Anyway, we would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year - we will be back with more regular programming in 2026, there is lots to fill you all in on...

17/11/2025

As part of my job I give talks about chocolate regularly. I have to present as a coherent professional with lots of inside industry knowledge. And I have got lots of industry knowledge. I've got to have picked something up in the last 13 years, right?!

It's quite fun giving a talk. I think my family would probably pay me good money to shut up so it's quite entertaining to have a room full of people all enthusiastic to hear what I have to say. And as soon as I start speaking I'm lucky that the nerves wear off and I'm good to go. I like storytelling and enjoy the chance to share my excitement about my job with different groups of people.

It's weird though. Now that I live in a caravan my social status feels a little bit 'less than' or different to others. So I can leave home having just had a crazy fight with a hose pipe and got drenched from head to foot and turn up to a room full of people wanting to hear my professional opinion on whether the recipe for Cadburys Dairy Milk has changed or the impact of the cocoa harvest on future chocolate prices in the supermarket. It's like yin and yang. Nothing has changed but everything has changed.

It's been an interesting experience untangling all my thoughts and feelings on our current living status and a real life social study to watch people's reactions when I say 'I live in a caravan at the moment'. There's so much in built prejudice towards travellers and some people react exactly how I'd expect them to. Others are curious, some are very much in the rather you than me camp and still others think we are nuts (I agree with the last bunch at the moment but it's quite fun).

I guess it's a lesson in asking questions and holding judgment until you really know a person. Do you have any thoughts on this?

(the truffles are beetroot if you wondered what the crazy colour was!)

16/11/2025

Campsites are all different and have their quirks and strengths. This one is brilliantly located on a school bus route near some local shops and about ten minutes from my work (and obviously about three million miles from Lou's work). It's actually a better commute than the old house was for her so I'm taking that as a win.

The down side of having an amazing transport network is that we are right by the A46 - as in it's literally the other side of the hedge from the caravan on our current pitch.

As a child when I went camping, sites were always peaceful calm places with birds singing in the trees and lots of wildlife. I'm struggling to get my head round the fact that we have fast traffic about 22 hours a day and sirens as well. It feels wrong. It's taking me a while to realign my expectations to our present reality as I imagine we'll be back here given how great the location is.

So I'm focussing on big skies and sunsets, walks in the hills and the simple joys of life here. And investing in ear plugs....

15/11/2025

We couldn't wait!!!!

During the last move I put the tow ball which covers Wally's tow bar when it's not in use on the towing apparatus of the caravan, forgot it was there (obviously) and drove off. I managed to wend the caravan down a bumpy, windy gravel road all the way to the end of the campsite, stop the van and get out to open the electric gate, drive up to the side road, drive down that and round a corner and then pull on the A46 before it fell off. Impressive I thought.

The tow ball then fell off and exploded in a shower of black plastic which did absolutely nothing for my towing anxiety. In the absence of a safe place to pull over and pretty confident that the shower of black plastic wasn't, in fact, the caravan actually falling apart I carried on. It was only when I realised we were missing the tow ball that I worked out what had happened.

This is the replacement. There are a huge range of novelty tow balls you can buy (3D printers are awesome!) but this propellor was Lou's choice. And pink, of course!

I can dream I'm phutting my way down the canal until that dream eventually comes true! Love it when people make fun and beautiful things for serious jobs.

What's your favourite little detail you've seen out on the roads? (You're talking to the girl who has a hoodie on her gear stick!).

(Please ignore the dent in my door where the caravan rolled downhill in to the back of the van!!!)

14/11/2025

Regular readers may recall the various water pump crises that we've had over the last few months. Crazy that something that I've always taken absolutely for granted causes so much drama now. It's really easy to turn a tap on and water just comes out, hot and cold, on demand. And also a luxury.

When you have to lug the tank to the tap in the rain in the dark, fill it up without spraying your feet from whatever hose connector has decided to give up the ghost today, and roll it back, hook it up and wait for the bubbles to spurt out without being soaked it takes on a slightly different perspective. When you look out the window to the rain pouring down and hear it pounding on the roof (it sounds a thousand times heavier than it actually is) desire to leave the cosy caravan is very limited.

With two family members with ADHD there is a whole other added challenge (other than just remembering it needs filling before the pump runs on empty). Lou is in charge of remembering the water but apparently both Elliot and I have the memory span of a goldfish and while the pump is out of the water or she's off emptying the grey water we both routinely forget and try the taps (cue the pump having a meltdown) or, worse, empty the sink so the water just washes all over Lou's feet. Poor girl has a lot to contend with!

We have a new system in place - the pump has an off switch inside the caravan and that's a useful tool to combat inattention with the taps!!!

At least we haven't yet tried to use the toilet when that's being emptied though.....

13/11/2025

We had a little hiatus from posting yesterday - and with good reason. This young man is fourteen years old and we needed to celebrate!

First of all where on earth did 14 years go?!

And secondly how on earth did we manage to fit two of us, three teenagers, and ALL of the pizza in to a tiny caravan?! Elliot had two friends over and it was a really fun night and lovely to hear the kids chatting and laughing together. We ordered Dominos to the campsite (the driver was deeply unimpressed with the address we gave him - apparently the big sign for the campsite isn't obvious!!!) but drove off with a big tip and I was greeted like a homecoming hero arriving at the caravan with armfuls of fresh pizza!

We even had cake - of sorts - although very much not home made!!! There will be no baking for me until spring when we have a little more space again with the awning back on.

A good time was had by all, even if Lou and I had to sit on the bed so there was room for all the kids on the sofas! And Elliot is delighted with the fluffy socks that Nanny bought him :-)

11/11/2025

A few years ago I was privileged to have a look around 'The Farm' at Snitterfield just before it opened. It was a possiblity that we might take on one of the units there to make chocolates in. Little did I know that several years later we'd be living basically next door. It's changed hands and is now called Cobbs but it's our nearest shop (walking distance) and what a local shop to have!!!

There are beautiful fruit and veg, meat counter and all sorts. And conveniently in the spring I booked to do a market at Cobbs which happened to fall on the week we were living opposite!

And just around the corner is Snitterfield Village Shop which has an insane range of produce given it's size. I managed to do an entire weekly shop there and get everything we needed. It's epic!

Happy days!

(photo credit to the original owner)

Two Birds and a Boat

03/03/2026

27/02/2026

24/02/2026

13/02/2026

08/02/2026

21/12/2025

17/11/2025

16/11/2025

15/11/2025

14/11/2025

13/11/2025

11/11/2025

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