Characters of the Cut Alice Griffin meets the free spirits on board ‘The Hippie Boat’.
THE world is in a strange place right now and I think it’s fair to say that while we ride out this coronavirus storm, many of us will be thinking about how we can live differently, and perhaps better, afterwards.
So when I hear the terms ‘happy’, ‘non-judgmental’ and ‘striving for world peace’ I start to wonder if this is what the world needs more of: hippies!
Peter and Julia Arman are owners of ‘The Hippie Boat’, a 2005 57ft traditional stern named Molly from which they sell Fair Trade, ethically sourced handmade clothing, accessories and gifts as they continuously cruise the waterways.
Molly, their third boat, owned since March 2017, was bought when space started to become an issue: “We had reached a point where the stock kept on board was in desperate need of a room of its own as Pete could no longer stretch his legs out!” And so, with two bedrooms, Molly was the perfect answer.
Despite having no real link to the canals before moving afloat, Pete and Jules were already in possession of wandering spirits, having travelled across France, Spain and Portugal in an old Iveco bus in 2005/2006. This journey lit the fire for further adventures so when Pete’s job came to an end in 2009 and with some money left to them by family, Jules suggested a year out living on a narrowboat.
“Our first boat was The King Of Clubs but as we really knew nothing about narrowboats our first weeks were definitely a baptism of fire, but we loved all of it!” they told me.
It’s been quite a journey for Pete and Jules following that first foray into boating life, which included moving off the water for a while to do up their house for sale so they could make a life on the cut full-time.
“We realised that all good things come to an end and if we wanted to stay living afloat, then plans needed to be made.”
Once their house was sold they bought their second boat, Tkal Kah ONel , but work commitments meant their cruising pattern was restricted and itchy feet set in so they began to explore ways to travel and work aboard. Jules explained: “The possibility of becoming roving traders led to us spending the summer of 2015 doing a recce.”
Untying their mooring ropes, they travelled the length and breadth of the UK catching boat shows, festivals and events along the way and exploring what their niche might be. “We both love festival-style fashion and care a lot about ethical trade and as we didn’t see anyone else doing this, it seemed a perfect fit for us.”
In spring 2016 Pete and Jules’s new life really began when they set off on what would become a 1000-mile journey. “We were finally, truly, free spirits,” they told me and that’s what they love most about full-time life on the cut.
“It’s the freedom to roam slowly in our own home among some of the most beautiful countryside, to moor up in complete isolation or in the centre of a bustling city as the mood or need takes us. It’s also about being close to nature and living our lives outdoors as much as weather permits and being part of a vibrant, diverse and supportive community.”
Passionate about promoting Fair Trade, Pete and Jules see their business as a way to realise their own values by consciously supporting responsible companies, workers and their families, thus reducing poverty, helping to eradicate child labour, providing a fair living and humane working conditions, and supporting environmentally friendly production methods.
“It makes us happy to know something about the journey of our products and to share this with customers,” they said.
Later this year they hope to be able to do that after Jules overcame her flying phobia for a dream trip to India. “We wanted to connect with and create relationships with supply partners and we were keen to see if we could perhaps get some of our own designs made up.
“It was a very successful trip and we are really happy and excited to have formed ongoing, mutually beneficial relationships and friendships with entrepreneurs who share our ethics.”
Hopefully the issues we are currently facing in the world will not dampen events on the waterways too much this summer, because I know that seeing The Hippie Boat set up on the towpath would certainly be a hopeful and uplifting sight for us all!
“A hippie is a person who is comfortable enough with themselves that they do not hold judgments about anyone else. They are usually happy people and try to spread their happiness everywhere they go. A true hippie does not always categorise themselves by the way they dress, rather by the way they act. To be a hippie is to be part of peaceful activism, striving for world peace.”