Festive Shepperton: From Big Tree Night to Christmas at the Courtyard

Gareth: 00:00:50

This time on the Sheppertonian

Jane: 00:00:51

We have a lovely grotto which we set up about two or three years ago. We started a special grotto down by the library. And Santa comes and graces this presence in the grotto.

Aidan: 00:01:01

And yeah, people in that, you know, take canal boats up river, would stop off for a cup of tea and a box, which is not far off what you can do now here, we do have the gym next door.

Gareth: 00:01:16

Hello and welcome to the first episode of the Sheppertonian. What's a Sheppertonian, I hear you ask? Well, simply put, it's what the people of Shepperton in Surrey in the UK call themselves.

So if you live in Shepperton and you're listening to this, you're a Sheppertonian. If you're from Shepperton in Australia, you know, with an A, you may have taken a wrong turn, but stay anyway because all are welcome.

By the way, did you know, here's a fascinating fact for you.

with the construction in, in: 1864

cer and composer for TV since: 2011

So I wanted to put my skills as an audio producer to work to highlight what it's like to live, work and play in this unique part of the world.

In each episode I'll be chatting with a local community group which could be something river based, it could be something musical, something high street based with a big tree in it, hint, hint. Or any of the amazing groups and societies we have here.

Plus, I'll be chatting with a Shepperton based business in each episode so you can get to know the people behind the scenes. And if you're a part of a community group or a Shepparton based business and would like to be featured on the show.

Obviously, at one a month, spaces are limited, but you can reach out to me via thesheppertonian.uk where you'll find contact details, you can listen to the podcast, you can sign up for The Sheppertonian companion email newsletter. Ooh. There are also options for advertising and sponsorship in both the podcast and the newsletter.

So let me know if that's something you'd be interested in and I can send you more details for that. Also on the website, there's a big red button to send a voice recording.

So if you want to give a Sheppertonian Shoutout to a person or a group or a business, please do. But keep it clean. It's a family friendly show. Without further ado, then, let's get started.

In this episode, you are going to hear from the organisers of Big Tree Night, which is happening next week on the 11th of December.

And you're going to be hearing from Aidan Hope of the Ferry Coffee Shop down by Shepperton Lock, with that wonderful space out the back there for other businesses. You're going to find out more about that.

First, though, I headed down to Shepperton High street to catch up with the organisers of Big Tree Night to find out what it is and how it's all going.

Gareth: 00:03:52

I'm standing at the top of Shepperton High street, you know, just by the co op, looking at a big tree. It's enormous. When I moved to Shepperton nearly a decade ago, I was impressed that there was such a massive tree right there on the high street.

In fact, the street was lined with trees and long may that continue. And I was even more surprised when it got to December and I heard

Gareth: 00:04:13

about this event called Big Tree Night.

Gareth: 00:04:16

The organisers wanted to celebrate the village and its inhabitants, its businesses and its groups. And that really resonated with me at the time, that there was this conscious effort to do something to foster a sense of community.

Big Tree Night is organised by a voluntary committee of dedicated local volunteers. It's a celebration of Shepparton and brings in visitors from far and wide.

ittee ahead of big tree night: 2024

Chantal: 00:04:52

Yes.

Gareth: 00:04:53

Welcome to the Sheppertonian. We're stood underneath the Big Tree for Big Tree Night. How are you feeling at this point?

Chantal: 00:04:59

It's lovely to be under the Big Tree. We're a bit apprehensive about sending the High street being interviewed, but it's worthwhile. Definitely, definitely.

Jane: 00:05:10

So we're getting quite excited about the event, but also a bit stressed because of all the paperwork we need to get through. You know, we get the go ahead to run it, so.

Gareth: 00:05:18

Yeah, absolutely. Well, let's talk about the event because.

Gareth: 00:05:20

This has been going a long time.

Chantal: 00:05:22

It has been going a long time. When I was a small child, it used to be carols under The Big Tree.

And then about 12, 13 years ago, the Shepperton district business community, the local traders, decided to make it slightly different event and put it on as more of a Christmas market. And since then it's grown and grown and obviously it's got bigger and bigger and now it's a huge Christmas market.

Jane: 00:05:51

We've got about 5,000 people coming through, I think, on the night, if not more. Yes, definitely.

Chantal: 00:05:56

But we have people not just from Shepperton anymore, from further afield.

Gareth: 00:06:01

You mentioned market stalls there. What can visitors expect to see and experience at Big Tree Night?

Chantal: 00:06:07

We are really fortunate that we have quite a varied stall list this year. So we've got wonderful food stalls, anything from hot dogs to burgers to crepes. To crepes and donuts.

Gareth: 00:06:21

Great.

Chantal: 00:06:22

We've got German sausage, we've got loaded fries, there's a bit of a variety. And we also have other craft stalls, we have fairground rides, we have steam engines for the children to look at.

Jane: 00:06:37

Charity stalls as well.

Chantal: 00:06:38

Charity stalls. So working alongside Chapter. And obviously the main man himself comes with his reindeer for the children.

Gareth: 00:06:47

So I hear there's a very special appearance.

Chantal: 00:06:49

Yes.

Gareth: 00:06:50

Offering.

Chantal: 00:06:50

Yeah, we have to book him well in advance and he makes it.

Jane: 00:06:54

Fits us into a schedule.

Chantal: 00:06:55

He does. And his elf. We're very fortunate. And the reindeer, Real, real live reindeer.

Jane: 00:07:02

Yes, yes. We have a lovely grotto which we set up about two or three years ago. We started a special grotto down by the library for. And.

And Santa comes and graces us with his presence in the grotto and. Yeah, it's lovely.

Chantal: 00:07:13

It's magical, isn't it?

Gareth: 00:07:14

So you mentioned. I mean, clearly loads of businesses turn up for this event and you have independent shops on the high street as well.

Why is it so important for the businesses, do you think?

Chantal: 00:07:25

I think especially for the independent traders. You know, sometimes business is slow on the lead up to Christmas. The weather is a bit against them, so.

So this, on Big Tree Night, they all stay open, you know, thousands, thousands of people and it gets them involved with the community event, but also generates business for them and sales, doesn't it? Their doors stay open.

Gareth: 00:07:49

Absolutely. And people coming perhaps from not Shepperton will know what's on the high street and find businesses and shops that they.

Gareth: 00:07:55

Didn'T know were there previously and they keep coming back.

Jane: 00:07:58

Keep coming back.

Chantal: 00:07:58

Yes, that's the idea.

Gareth: 00:08:00

You have a committee of people who volunteer. How do the sponsorships and donations work to keep Big Pre night alive? Because you guys work very hard.

Chantal: 00:08:11

We do. And as you can imagine with such a huge event, it costs a lot of money, so we have to generate an income to pay all the bills, basically.

So we do rely on sponsorship. We're very fortunate with Surrey County Council and Shepperton Studios. But what we also do is we print a programme.

So we have lots of businesses that support us and they replace an advert in our programme and that generates an income for us.

And we have about 4,000 copies printed and it goes to Shepperton and all the surrounding areas, so that we really rely on the adverts to help fund the evening as well. And it's great, isn't it, that the businesses support us.

Gareth: 00:09:00

And there's something in the businesses too, to advertise in your programme, because it's going out to all those people and it.

Chantal: 00:09:05

And it also goes toward the local schools, you know, doctor surgeries, garden centers. So it is, you know, showcasing what we do in Shepperton.

Gareth: 00:09:17

And you mentioned one of the schools helps with collections on the night.

Chantal: 00:09:20

Yes. So obviously we're a non profit organisation, so we want to work with local charities and schools and raise money for them.

So we work alongside Moanor Mead School and on the evening they man the queue to see Father Christmas, which is a huge responsibility, as you can probably imagine. Yeah. And whilst they're doing that, they are collecting money for their charity. So it works, doesn't it?

Gareth: 00:09:50

This event is running pretty much on fresh air and the generosity of the volunteers. Looking to the future, then next year. How can Sheppartonians get involved in this?

Jane: 00:10:01

Well, there's a number of ways.

If someone's really keen and has time on their hands, they'd be more than welcome to join our committee and help us with organising the events throughout the whole year. Because we actually start planning in January. The real stuff starts August, September. But we do meet throughout the year to plan the event.

But actually, if someone just wants to give us an hour on the night or in the afternoon to man a barrier or distribute programs or carrel sheets, that would be absolutely fantastic.

Gareth: 00:10:29

So it's a massive range of how people can get involved.

Jane: 00:10:32

Absolutely, yes.

Gareth: 00:10:33

Just helping out on the night to helping all year round.

Jane: 00:10:35

Exactly. And, you know, anybody could do it.

Chantal: 00:10:38

Not one particular skill set. We can utilise everyone's skills and, you know, work as a team. So we do need support, don't we? Because it's a small core committee at the moment.

Gareth: 00:10:50

And what's the best way for people who would like to volunteer to get in touch?

Chantal: 00:10:53

They could go onto our website and they could email us because, as Jane said, even an hour on the day would make a huge help.

Gareth: 00:11:02

Yes.

Gareth: 00:11:03

I'll include contact details in the show notes and in the newsletter as well, but for now, Jane, Chantelle, thank you so much for joining me on the Sheppertonian.

Chantal: 00:11:11

Oh, thank you so much for having us. Thank you. Thank you.

Gareth: 00:12:04

In the last few years, Ferry Point down at Shepperton Lock has expanded into a coffee shop and a hub for independent businesses. It's owned by Chris and Carol.

Aidan and Lottie have the Ferry Coffee Shop and there's also the Ferry Point site manager James feels like a lovely and welcoming corner of Shefferton, both in the coffee shop and in the courtyard out the back. I caught up with Aidan Hope in the coffee shop to hear all about the history of the place and what Ferry Point has done there.

Gareth: 00:12:31

So I'm sitting in the corner of the Ferry Coffee Shop down at Shepperton Lock in a lovely armchair, which is nice. It's morning, so it's nice and quiet. So we chose a morning for a recording. I'm sitting here with Aidan Hope, the owner of the Ferry Coffee Shop.

Aidan, welcome to the Sheppertonian.

Aidan: 00:12:49

Well, thank you. Thank you for coming in as well.

Gareth: 00:12:51

It's such a scenic location, isn't it? Quite an historic location.

Aidan: 00:12:57

It's been here for a long, long time. The bit that where we're sitting now was Dunton's Boatyard. And, you know, I think it was around 100 years ago. There used to be a tea room here, Mrs Dunton's Tea Room. And obviously we have the gym next to us now. And 100 years ago, there used to be a boxing gym there.

Gareth: 00:13:13

Well I never.

Aidan: 00:13:14

And I believe people in, you know, taking canal boats upriver would stop off for a cup of tea and a box, which is not far off. What you can do now here, we do have the gym next door, but, yeah, they. I believe that's the.

Gareth: 00:13:30

That's amazing.

Aidan: 00:13:31

The historical story. Yeah.

Gareth: 00:13:33

Good grief. So when I moved to the area nearly 10 years ago, this was. It was just a little shop, really.

It went back, but it didn't have the width of the coffee shop. So tell me a bit about how it all expanded.

Aidan: 00:13:46

So when I took over in at the end of lockdown, it was a nautical shop selling bells and whistles and gifts and things like that. And they had recently put a coffee machine in to try and pull sales into the shop to bring the shop sales up.

And when I took over, it sort of went the opposite way and we started taking the Gift shop out and the bells and whistles out and more chairs and tables in until we, you know, we, we have it the completely opposite way. We have four shelves in the window with. Yeah. Stuff on and I think it's over 90 chairs that you can sit now within the coffee shop.

Gareth: 00:14:24

And it's regularly full as well, isn't it?

Aidan: 00:14:26

It can be a lunch, lunch periods. It is very full obviously half nine in the morning. We have three customers in here at the minute. Yeah.

We've got a lot to get ready for the, the lunchtime rush.

Gareth: 00:14:38

I see you've kept a lot of memorabilia here. Is that from the shop?

Aidan: 00:14:44

My partner's Grandad started, Nauticalia. And a lot of the stuff is things that he picked up in auction or you know, found in his life.

And there's also bits from my grandad's here, his things from his life that we sort of show and display and things that we've picked up.

So yes, some of it is from the shop, some of it is from our grandparents lives and there are other bits like the hood over here was given to us by one of our customers and the same that the boat on the wall there was given to us by a customer.

Gareth: 00:15:16

Oh lovely.

Aidan: 00:15:17

The very inconvenient things. If you live in a flat and you've inherited these big boats.

Gareth: 00:15:21

Yeah.

Aidan: 00:15:22

But they're very nice that they, you know, you can leave them here and enjoy them.

Gareth: 00:15:25

And someone's obviously spent so much time building it as well.

Aidan: 00:15:29

Yeah. So they both built the, the people that donated and built them themselves and they're wonderful models. Yeah, yeah.

Gareth: 00:15:36

And you also have the ferry out the front here, don't you?

Aidan: 00:15:39

Yes, yeah. So we. The ferry is currently closed because the river conditions aren't the best they've been and we've decided just to close it for the time being.

We'll open it again in March. But we tried to keep it open all year round. It's been open for 550 years.

Gareth: 00:15:56

Wow.

Aidan: 00:15:57

I think it closed for about four years before my partner's grandad bought the site and he decided to reopen it. And it's been running since then.

Gareth: 00:16:07

Yeah, yeah. And it's a lovely feature of the area, isn't it?

Aidan: 00:16:11

Well that's right, yeah. And we wouldn't be called the Ferry Coffee Shop without it. Well, we wouldn't be quite so nautical without it as well, I don't think.

Gareth: 00:16:18

Yeah. But it's not just the, the coffee shop, is it? Because.

Because you've got a whole courtyard out the back Here you had your first festive fair which went really well. And there's another one coming up. Tell me a bit about the courtyard and the businesses and all that side of things.

Aidan: 00:16:37

So when I took over coming out of COVID that area was container storage, scrap metal and car parks.

It was very run down area and it was I believe Carol's idea to transform into something that it is now and it's there to help smaller businesses get a step into their journey.

Gareth: 00:17:00

I suppose you have so many different types of businesses. What kinds of businesses could people expect if they walked into the courtyard at the back of the coffee shop?

Aidan: 00:17:10

Okay, so the courtyard's laid out in a way where the left hand side is more retail units. So the people that do clothing, modern vintage homewares.

And if you walk to the right, you obviously you have the right hand side where the gym and the cookery school is. From the left there's a little alley that's called Beauty Alley on the left and there you'll get your haircut, a massage or beauty alley.

Gareth: 00:17:35

That's lovely. Little sign on the side.

Aidan: 00:17:39

Yeah, so just a beauty alley and then at the tip there is the florist. So it's laid out in a way, you know, the Beauty alley is a little bit more private so people aren't groping in whilst you're getting your hair cut.

And obviously upstairs there's numerous small businesses up there as well. There's a lot of people here. Yeah, a lot of people.

Gareth: 00:18:00

I spoke to Krista the other day and she used the words hidden gem, which I think is a really nice thing because you know, it's not obvious from Shepperton High street that these businesses are here, but it's almost a destination in itself or has become that way, isn't it?

Aidan: 00:18:16

Yeah, yeah, that's right there. And I say it has slowly evolved out there.

It started off with one of those units and it just got built around the first unit opened before any of the metal construction roof was out there.

Before the flooring was done, it was just an motor dust track out to the first unit and then we built around that one to make it what it is now and carried on building those units down.

Gareth: 00:18:43

Is that as far as it'll go? Do you have plans for expansion?

Aidan: 00:18:45

For the time being? For the time being we need more car park space to be able to put any more anything else in.

We can't carry on putting units there for businesses to thrive unless we have the spaces for those businesses and their customers to park.

Gareth: 00:19:03

Yeah. So I suppose a side effect of offering those out to independent businesses is the sense of community that it's fostered around it.

Do you find that with the owners of the businesses?

Aidan: 00:19:15

Definitely.

It is like living in a cul de sac and everyone gets on, everyone will spend time together, everyone will help each other out and everyone will come up with ideas to make it work, to make it busier and keep people coming in to see them.

Gareth: 00:19:32

So with the location right here, are there any kind of initiatives that you're involved with to promote sustainability or protect the local environment?

Aidan: 00:19:42

James is our site manager and he's in charge of the sustainability effect. He's mentioned here that everything he does now is one eye on sustainability and how he can reduce the carbon footprint.

When we refurbish a new area, we use auto, turn off LED lighting, efficient heating, improve insulation, install double glazing and anything else you can find just to help the sustainability of the environment.

Gareth: 00:20:06

Yeah, yeah. So that's constantly having one eye on the carbon footprint as it expands.

Aidan: 00:20:11

I suppose that's right. You'll find that if we're constantly doing one section of the place up at a time, obviously it's a very old building.

Gareth: 00:20:20

It has seemed that way over the last few years. It's just little expansion, little expansion. Then you turn the counter around and, you know, everything's just getting a little bit bigger. Yeah.

So what would you say makes the Ferry point, this area around here, a unique place to visit? And why should people come here, do you think?

Aidan: 00:20:40

I mean, this area here, there's no. There's nowhere else like this area. You can't take a walk anywhere else in Shepperton or locally. It's quite the same, really.

What it is is the people. It's bustling down here on a nice day, people are walking by, it feels nice, the view is nice, the air is clean.

There's a gentleman that walks around every day on the towpath and litter picks it.

Gareth: 00:21:07

There's a tree just around the corner by the lock that has the perfect shade on a hot day. So you can get a coffee from here and just go and sit under the tree and watch the boats going in and out of the loch.

It's really special like that, isn't it?

Aidan: 00:21:20

Yeah. There is also another coffee shop at the Lock and she does very good. She opens on nice days because there isn't any inside seating.

And there's a tree on that side of the lock where you can sit in the shade and watch the boats come through. And, you know, people think that it affects one or the other, you know, but we help. We shove her out.

She's only open when the sun's out and we struggle to cope with the people that come down here when the sun's out. So she take the business away from us to some extent, but we'll also bring more business to her when we're open. And so it works in everyone's favour.

Gareth: 00:21:55

If you pardon the pun. It's kind of all ships rise, isn't it? We'll help each other.

Aidan: 00:21:59

And there's another coffee shop that opened up on D'Oyly Carte Island.

Gareth: 00:22:04

There is.

Aidan: 00:22:04

Everyone was asking me how they're going to take the customers away from us and it's really not been the case. They're very busy because the area is so nice. They're very busy.

People are struggling to get in there on a sunny day and so they get the ferry over and they'll either come to us or the tea lady at the lock.

Gareth: 00:22:22

Yeah.

Aidan: 00:22:23

And so there is no competition. It's. No one's struggling because the other people are here. It's. The area needs to accommodate the amount of people coming down on these days.

And it does. Yeah, yeah.

Gareth: 00:22:34

Lovely. So get yourselves down here on Saturday.

So if you're listening to this before December 7th, there's another event called Christmas in the Courtyard on coming Saturday. It's a lovely atmosphere, isn't it? And if you're after those unique presents that you want to give, those unique gifts, it's a lovely place to be.

And just to mill around and have chats with the shop owners. It's fantastic. Aidan, Hope, thank you so much for your time.

Aidan: 00:23:02

Thank you.

Jane: 00:23:02

And hopefully we'll see everybody on Saturday.

Aidan: 00:23:05

Yeah, I'll see you then.

Gareth: 00:23:11

What's going on in Shepperton?

Gareth: 00:23:14

Sponsored by Shepperton Matters. As you've heard in this episode, the next Christmas at the Courtyard is happening on Saturday.

That's the 7th of December behind the Ferry Coffee Shop. The last one was great. From 10 till 4pm there's music, shopping, food and drink and generally a lovely atmosphere.

Here's Krista who runs a couple of shops in the courtyard to tell you more.

Krista: 00:23:34

Many people don't know about the courtyard in Shepperton, but when they do find it, they say that it's a little hidden gem. It's such a special little place that's hidden in Shepperton behind a lovely coffee shop.

So you can go for lunch, have a nice coffee, walk along the river and then have a little mooch around the local businesses.

Come on down on the 7th of December, 10 till 4, you've got all the businesses that are here throughout the year open and other small businesses coming for the day.

Gareth: 00:24:01

It's Big Tree Night next week, so wrap up warm and come and sample the festive delights that await on the High street that runs from 5 until 8:30pm but do be aware that the High street will be closed from 2pm There's Christmas wreath Making evening at Shepperton Preschool on Saturday 7th December at 7pm and the Charlton Village Christmas Fair is happening on Sunday 8th December from midday until 4pm Santa's Grotto is free for children. That's at Ashford Scout Hut, Ashford Road. Don't miss Santa's grand arrival midday. He's getting around Shepperton this year, isn't he?

Not an event as such, but worth a mention.

Carly Ward of Ashford is gathering items for hampers for frontline workers at Staines Police Station, Chertsey Ambulance Station and Fordbridge Fire Station. You can drop off in Sunbury, Staines, Ashford and Laleham. And I've included a link in the show notes to Carly's Instagram story with all the details.

Also in Ashford, there's a Christmas Market on Church Road there on Wednesday 4th December from 5 till 8pm that's tomorrow as this episode goes out with features like arts, craft, crafts, food and yes, you've guessed it, Santa, Staines Brass and Staines Lammas Band are playing all over the place in December, including Ashford, Stanwell, Two Rivers, Chertsey Goose Fair and Twickenham. A link to their Facebook page is in the email newsletter.

And finally, our lovely neighbours over in Lower Sunbury are holding the Sunbury Christmas market on Thursday 5th December from 5 till 8pm it's like a mini Big Tree night. It's on Avenue Parade in Lower Sunbury outside the shops.

The road is closed off and There are around 35 stores stalls with food, gifts, Mead (Mead!?) tombola and children's rides. The Salvation army will be there as well to get everyone into the Christmas

Gareth: 00:25:43

spirit with seasonal music.

Gareth: 00:25:45

And the window of Van Wonderen Flowers, which hosts the lovely Christmas Window will be unveiled on the evening of the market. It's such a draw for the little ones. Like I said, it's running from 5 till 8pm on Thursday December 5th. Oh, and also this from Jackie.

Jackie: 00:25:59

The Lower Sunbury business community announces the Christmas Market Elf Trail. It coincides with the Sunbury Christmas Market which is on the 5th of December.

Dennis the real Elf on the Shelf has left letters for Santa's reindeer's names all over the place.

In Sunbury, children need to walk around the local shops and places of interest to find the clues and add them to an entry form and bring it to Avenue Opticians on Avenue Parade before the end of the market. Following a draw, one lucky winner will receive a lovely prize. Picture clues and entry forms are on the Sunbury Life Facebook page.

Gareth: 00:26:31

Thank you, Jackie.

There are links in the show notes for all all of those events and if you have an event coming up in the Shepperton area for January and would like it to be included, head to the sheppertonian.uk to let me know and I'll do my best to include it.

And if you'd like these events to arrive in your email inbox each month, head to the website, follow the link to subscribe to the companion newsletter. Right, here's a fun thing. The Sheppertonian Shoutout Please leave your Sheppertonian Shoutout after the beep.

I'd like to shout out to all of the excellent forest schools that we have in the area. My daughter's gone to a few of them. We've enjoyed all of them.

There's a Bushy Tail tribe in Line, Willow's Forest School in various places, and Whitle & Spark, which operates down Docket Eddy Lane in Shepperton.

Josh: 00:27:21

Hello fellow Sheppertonians. I'm just here to give a big shout out to the Smokey Boys in

Josh: 00:27:26

Shepperton for doing the best burger I've

Josh: 00:27:28

ever had in my life.

Dani: 00:27:30

Gotta give a shout out to Sisu and Glow. They are just fabulous.

I've been going to them since they first opened and it was just after lockdown and they fitted me in and I've never looked back. And now Katie and Jade are just doing a wonderful job. So does Carrie with all of her beauty. So I just wanted to give them a shout out.

I would be lost and very ugly without them.

Gareth: 00:27:52

And that's all for this episode of the Sheppertonian. A small request if you've enjoyed this episode, spread the joy and let someone know about it until January have a happy and safe time over the festive period. See you around.