Hoogly Blogs / summer holidays

A Little Bit of You-Time with Hoogly

A Little Bit of You-Time with Hoogly

Have you ever looked at the clock and it seems to be moving backwards? The passage of time is a strange phenomenon; we all remember occasions when it screams past too quickly—but when it’s sluggish and ugly, it can do weird things to the hands of a clock, or the digital readout on a watch. 

Waiting for a delayed train is one of my personal, time-bending bugbears. Or perhaps labouring through a tedious project at work. Maybe even during a date with a person who is totally wrong for you: a quick glance at the watch to see that seven minutes has elapsed, and you were sure it was two hours. 

Sometimes having the kids home in the summer holidays can feel like this. And especially so after the yawning time-chasms of the national lockdowns, where many parents and guardians became full-time educators as well as boredom-fixers. Six weeks is a long time in anyone’s books, but with littles one around all day long, demanding to be fed, to go on adventures, to play games and to do it now, then the pressure can build on those poor souls looking after them.  What’s worse is the debate and controversy about foreign travel, which has kept many families grounded, unable to get away and put their feet up in the sun. And I haven’t even mentioned the poke-nudge-tantrum when it comes to screens: one family app calculated that parents will be hounded 521 times over the holidays about getting behind a phone, tablet or console. That’s some high-quantity pestering! It can be expensive too, with working parents seeing the bills mount up for childcare and holiday camps—a prospect that is difficult to swallow after the financial and career uncertainty caused by the pandemic.

One thing you can be sure of, dear readers, is that the time will pass, the kids will eventually have a nap or go to bed, and the summer holidays will end. And at the end of the day, when you’ve finally got the couch and the remote to yourself; when your back aches and your head is throbbing; when your feet are blistered from hiking and your hands are sticky from glitter and glue—remember that you’ve earned yourself this time. You deserve the rest—and you deserve the most luxurious treat to accompany your me-time.

And this is where Hoogly tea comes in!

Our Hygge-inspired brews were created with mindfulness and relaxation at their core; they are liquid tranquillity, luring you in with tantalising aromas, before leaving you spellbound with an array of delicious tastes. Our teas are the perfect way to unwind and let go of the shrieking madness of the day-gone-by. Hoogly moves at your pace. It won’t bug you; it won’t tug on your shirt; it won’t demand Minecraft or Fortnite. It will, however, leave you yearning for another cup, drawn in by the naturally healthy and vegan ingredients, woven together in original and elegant ways, and dazzled by the way it makes you feel. You can even rely on Hoogly to look after the environment while you chill, with our plastic-free bags and ethically sourced, fair-trade ingredients!

But if a cup of spectacularly delicious tea just won’t get you there—why not try our seriously indulgent Salter Caramel hot cocoa?! Using Himalayan salt and coconut nectar sugar, this sweet treat is the ultimate way to put the day behind you, with more warmth and comfort than a childhood blanky!

That’s it for now, tea lovers! Good luck with the rest of the holidays, and remember to flip on the kettle whenever you need little bit of Danish delight from Hoogly!

Written by Chris Bedford

www.hooglytea.com

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A Lolly good idea!!

A Lolly good idea!!

Greetings Hoogly fans! The other day I was trying to solve a very difficult problem. I had a tune to a TV programme going around my head, but I couldn’t remember which programme it belonged to. I had a feeling it was a children’s TV show, but the more I hummed it to myself, and the longer it stayed on tip of my tongue, the more frustrated I became. Unlike most problems, this couldn’t be solved with a quick Google search, which is most infuriating to a person in the year 2019. Eventually, my interest waned, but every few days or weeks, the tune would re-emerge organically in my brain, the volume up high, and the irritating process would start all over again. I asked friends and family, but nobody seemed to know. A few friends became as annoyed as I was, clutching their hair and squashing their eyes shut as they tried to force the name to come. It was as if I had passed on some kind of exasperating virus. Eventually, about three months after the tune emerged in my head, somebody cracked it, and, I have to say, it was a huge anti-climax. It turns out that it was the tune for Grange Hill, which I had initially ruled out as a possibility because I knew the original Grange Hill tune, which wasn’t the tune in my head, failing to remember that the tune had changed at some point during the show’s lifespan. Still, at least the mystery was solved, and I could go back to humming songs I knew.

I tell you all this because I’d originally planned to talk about memory, specifically childhood memories of summer, and I realised that the Grange Hill debacle had a certain connection with this thread, although I’m hoping most of your childhood memories come back to you more easily, and bring more pleasure than my farcical episode!

For me, summer is about grass. The back garden and the park. Paddling pools, water pistols, tennis rackets and balls of all shapes and sizes being bounced of the garden wall or accidentally lobbed over the fence. I loved warming up and cooling off. Sliding and diving around, getting mud on my knees and elbows. Five-a-side football with my mates. American football with my dad. Cricket with my great aunt—who at the age of 65 was still capable of delivering a wicked swing delivery and bowling me out!

And in those seemingly endless evenings, I used to love pitching a tent in the back garden, pretending I was an explorer, hunting bugs, escaping furry predators, finding hidden treasure (Cadbury’s Crème Eggs buried by my grandma) and hunting UFOs in the night sky. I would sit out for hours with my cousin, eating Coco Pops from a cake mix bowl, staring at the stars, waiting for ET to swish by, or land, or fire a laser beam. Although we never got any concrete proof, we both swear to the fact that, one evening in Northampton, we saw three orange triangles shoot silently across the sky in a tight formation. Our very own episode of the X-Files!

Last but not least on my list of childhood memories of summer: BBQs! This is a love that, for most people, never really goes away. The scent of grilled foods that you can float on, cartoon-style, drifting out towards where the action is happening, filling your plate time and time again with unashamedly naughty food. Add to this the joy of friends and family huddling around for fun, games and laughter…and third courses…what more could a kid want??

…Well I’ll tell you what more a kid could want!

Hoogly popsicles and ice tea!!

The sun has been pretty unrelenting this summer—nothing like the nonsense of last year’s heat wave—but still intense. To ensure that you stay refreshed and cool off in style, why not try a Spiced Orange or Berrylicious lolly? Simply brew the herbal infusion bags for twice the usual amount of time, pour into a mould shaped to your preference, and leave it in the freezer overnight! By morning, you’ll have some distinctively delicious sweet summer snacks to fuel your fun in the sun!

Alternatively, why not chill out with the elegance and seduction of a Hoogly ice tea? Simply pop two teabags in a heat-proof pitcher, cover with four cups of boiled water, then leave for around five minutes. Then, remove the teabags, sweeten to your preference, then mix in five or six cups of ice until they melt. If you feel like customising your brew, why not add slivers of your favourite fruit and allow them settle into the mix? Pop the finished article in the fridge and you’re ready to rock when the sun gets too hot to handle! For the best iced teas, we highly recommend Chill Out Mint, with its invigorating and cooling menthol character, Cosy Chamomile, with its carefully chosen herbs that relax the body and soothe the mind, and Jasmine Dawn, a delicate and alluring blend of jasmine, vanilla and rose.

So that’s it! Now you’re all set to enjoy a hot, Hoogly summer, confident in the knowledge that you can stay refreshed and mindful with every sip! Here’s to making more happy memories…cheers!

Written by Chris Bedford

www.hooglytea.com

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