In the latest in our series finding out a little bit more about what it is like running a local independent business in Norfolk we caught up with the team behind The Hemporium Shops, one of our newest business members.
What is the History of The Hemporium Shops?
We opened our first Hemporium in Hunstanton in August 2019 followed by the second in Wells next the Sea in the first easing of the pandemic lockdown in June 2020. The third was in Holt in August 2020 with the fourth in September 2020 in Norwich just before the November lockdown. Finally shop number 5 was due to open on 5th November in Burnham Market but stalled due to the November lockdown being imposed but then opened briefly in the December prior to Tier 4 imposition for Xmas and then the January 5th 2021 lockdown! So the next stage of easing in April could see all 5 shops open for the first time ever!
What makes Norfolk the perfect location for The Hemoprium Shops?
Norfolk is a county with many small villages or towns with lots of interesting high end independent shops and small populations but 'flooded' with visitors almost all year round and making it a retailer's paradise.
Norfolk is a county with many small villages or towns with lots of interesting high end independent shops and small populations but 'flooded' with visitors almost all year round and making it a retailer's paradise.
Tell us a little bit about some of the products that you sell in the Hemporium Shops?With many of our products being newly developed it's a surprise to many just how far CBD has come in such a short time.
Three new modern, all-weather, floodlit tennis courts are now open for budding Wimbledon stars at Heigham Park in Norwich.
Norwich City Council have installed the courts and aim to build on the success of other Norwich Parks tennis schemes at Eaton and Waterloo parks by providing high quality, accessible, affordable sports facilities that will be available for 52 weeks of the year.
Norwich City councillor Adam Giles, cabinet member for community wellbeing said: “The city council is proud of its record for improving facilities for our residents and investing in our much-loved parks. These courts, along with others across the city, form part of the council priorities to improve health and wellbeing, which has become even more important since the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s been quite a journey to get to this point and a lot of hard work in the face of some tough obstacles to deliver these fantastic affordable community facilities.”
Martin Jones from Norwich is a keen amateur photographer who over the past few months has been taking his camera out with him when going for a walk along a small part of the River Wensum in Norwich.
We are so glad that Martin took the time to share these wonderful selection of photographs with us which we are sure you will enjoy and just demonstrates what we can all see if we take a moment to just stop and observe the environment around us .
We are, of course, also very lucky to either live in or be able to visit the fine City of Norwich which the Sunday Times recently named Norwich the best place to live in the East of England in 2022.
Chantry Place has unveiled the dinosaurs that have stomped into the Centre this summer for GoGoDiscover 2022 as it hosts six large T.rex sculptures and 30 Breakasaurus T.rex sculptures from now until 10th September 2022.
As well as the return of Afternoon Tea-Rex, the T.rex that Chantry Place has sponsored, and the amazing T-Wrecks, new dinosaurs for 2022 include Sirdavidsaurus Rex, T-RAFFE, The Golden King and Paintosaurus.
Chantry Place is a presenting partner of GoGoDiscover 2022 and also plays host to 30 mini Breakasaurus T.rex as part of the GoGoDiscover Learning & Community Programme with packs found on the dining terrace, in House of Fraser and in Langleys window at the Centre. The large sculptures can be found on each floor of the Centre, as well as on Chantry Square.
Tireless fundraisers from a historic family business are celebrating two landmark achievements – including raising an eye-watering £25,000 for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH).
The CT Baker Group pledged to raise the gigantic sum throughout 2020 to coincide with its 250th anniversary. COVID forced staff to put their fundraising on hold but the firm eventually exceeded its target and managed to donate £25,700.
Team members from across the group took part in a range of activities such as raffles, sponsored beard shaves and even a grueling 30-mile walk across North Norfolk.
Bakers & Larners of Holt, which is part of the group, offered a special range of 250-themed products, including anniversary mugs, and teamed up with local distillery Black Shuck to create a limited-edition gin, where a percentage of each sale contributed to the impressive target.
Norwich City legend Grant Holt conquered his fears and plunged 13,000 feet for a daredevil skydive in aid of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH).
The Canaries hero took on the adrenaline-charged fundraiser at Beccles Airfield on Friday morning, along with ARC Group Managing Director Chris Ford. Grant is an ambassador for the company, which has chosen EACH to be its charity partner in 2022.
“I’m petrified of heights but when I woke up and even when I arrived I was surprisingly calm and looking forward to it,” said the former striker, who helped Norwich to back-to-back promotions and was named player-of-the-year three times at Carrow Road. I wasn’t too bad in the plane, either, and it was only when the door opened that I thought ‘oh wow, here we go’. After that, I loved the feeling of being in freefall and the adrenaline when you’re floating towards the ground was absolutely unreal. It’s addictive and I think I might do it again one day!”
Grant and Chris have so far raised nearly £3,000 from their skydive, which was postponed because of the weather conditions shortly before Christmas.