Here’s Little Story 1 of 13. Each considers (some of) why, I think, Old Post Office Riverside Holiday Cottages have spiking occupancy and 95% perfect 10/10 reviews.

1. Brown Paper Bags.

We buy little bags. Sized for, say, a quarter of Cola Cubes. 6p each.
We buy bigger bags. Sized to comfortably hold a favourite paperback. 12p each.
We seal both with a branded sticker. 6p each.

Both have a zig-zag, pinking sheared top edge. And each little bag, in its own little way, has shaped how guests (and their friends and family) think about, and talk about Old Post Office in Northumberland.

When guests arrive, the smaller brown bag awaits. Handwritten on this bag, is:

– 100% Arabica Coffee Beans
– 50g / 1 Cafetière (hand weighed)
– Mary, John and Ziggy
– Garden Cottage
– Thursday 5th November 2026
Good Morning! Want more? Just ask!

What this means (to them) is:

– Try something new!
– We’ve been arsed to weigh beans. For you. By hand.
– We know all your names. Dog(s) too.
– Your cottage (helps us remember who is where).
– They’re fresh. It’s dated the day of arrival.
– We’re generous.

The bigger brown bag makes an appearance on the final morning.

Each is hand ink-stamped with ‘Bye For Now Bag’ and our logo. It contains a bottle of water, a sweet snack and a savoury snack – one per guest. And a dog treat. It costs us £1 per guest. What this says (to them) is:

“This’d cost two of you £10+ at a service station. Don’t worry. We got you covered.”

ENDNOTE.

When we paid £8,000 for a new boiler to make heating instantaneous and showers gain new powers, nobody gave a shit. Not really. It’s expected in a luxury space.

In guest books and reviews, we have more written and verbal references to Bye for Now Bags and hand weighed coffee beans than just about anything else. Not because of what they are. But because of what they stand for.

Each little brown bag, in its own little way, has shaped how guests (and their friends and family) think about, and talk about Old Post Office Riverside Holiday Cottages in Northumberland.

I am not sure if this kind of thinking is called creativity. Or empathy. Or just… being bothered. But what I do know is that it is noticed, remembered, and spoken about.

Good for them.
Good for us.

Seriously though, if what we (you?) do matters – and I am asking people to spend the most important times of their lives, their downtime, with me, then this kind of thinking is – I think – a duty.

Go for it.

Here’s something a little different for 50odd.

A focussed series of short stories about Old Post Office. Our holiday cottages.

The cottages are doing OK. And when that happens, I try to think about why, then replicate it. So, in the next dozen or so stories I’ll try to pinpoint what (I think) is helping our Old Post Office Riverside Holiday Cottages business and, maybe, some of the thing I spotlight might help a business that you run or know.

Here goes.

…

I’m going to post 10 times throughout November 2026, about Old Post Office Riverside Holiday Cottages.

Because:

1. Occupancy percentages, and return visits, peaked in 2026. They’re both 30% higher than in 2025.
2. The first 30-odd reviews in 2026 were a perfect 10/10 or 5 stars. All of them.
3. 95% of ALL reviews (500+ historical) are now a perfect 10/10 or 5 stars.

Here’s a list, so I don’t forget, of the 10 things I’ll post about. These are some of the things that – I think – made the most difference for Old Post Office cottages in Northumberland, in 2026. Some are obvious, but many don’t do them. Some are weird. All are easy – if you can be bothered, of course.

I’m doing this so that, if you have holiday cottages, or want to have holiday cottages, there may be something for you to add your own twist to, in 2027. To help you.

The 10 things I’ll talk about and expand on in November 2026 are:

1. Brown paper bags.
2. Talking to dogs.
3. Making names up for things.
4. Being weird.
5. Removing worry.
6. Visual shorthand.
7. Speaking in ‘chunks’.
8. Redefining and undermining industry norms.
9. Being telepathic.
10. Knowing what not to charge for.
11. Merch (I know. That’s 11).
12. Speed (OK. I’ll stop now).

Thank you.
And Merry Christmas.

Mychael.