Well, we have not dropped of the face of the earth but rather have been on a serious mission to find a Bed and Breakfast on the West Coast of Scotland. We left home on the 12th of March and spent a lovely couple of days with some friends in Biggar before heading north.
The car has been playing up and threatened to put paid to our plans but after several hours in garages in Wishaw and Fort William we finally started our quest on the 14th.
It is now Saturday the 17th and have seen 8 properties so far with a final one today at 11am. Generally it has been a disappointing experience. The weather has been grim as have many of the properties. The market is depressed as are the owners some of whom have been trying to sell for several years! Honestly, we have not seen anything we have fallen in love with with one exception and that is a little out of our price range and would involve a mortgage which we were trying to avoid.
We have pretty much realised that we won't get what we want for our budget and then it becomes a toss-up between borrowing to upgrade an existing business that we can afford, or borrowing to buy a business that is ready to walk into and start trading.
The search continues..................
Saturday, 17 March 2012
Sunday, 4 March 2012
Naga Chilli Vodka!
We have a had a great week since the last post! Capsaicinoia is coming together and we have done most of what we need to do before we leave it alone for a few weeks and then launch for real in April.
Although we were not expecting to make any sales in this trial period it would be nice to make just one!
Last Sunday evening we went to the Warwick Arts Centre to see Ruby Turner. She was truly amazing and it was a great night. Very talented, soulful and professional with an excellent backing band. She delivered a 2 hour programme of soul, rock and gospel including a moving version of "Stay With Me Baby" as a tribute to Amy Winehouse and Whitney Houston. She was down to earth and really engaged with the audience who initially appeared pretty staid and middle aged but by the end the whole place was rocking!
http://www.rubyturner.com/
http://www.warwickartscentre.co.uk/
On Thursday we had tickets to see Rebecca Ferguson that we bought some time ago and we decided to make a day of it - just because we can!
We headed into town for lunch at Asha's.
Asha’s Executive Lunch
£12.95 per person
Price includes a beer, glass of wine, soft drink or water
Starters
Please choose from one of the following
Kebab Platter
(Chicken Malai Kebab, Lamb Seekh Kebab, King Prawn Tikka)
or
Vegetarian Kebab Platter
(Paneer Ka Soola, Aloo Tikka, Papdi Chat)
Main Course - Served as soon as Starters are finished
Please choose form one of the following
Chicken Tikka Masala
Lamb Roganjosh
Panjim Fish Curry
Kadhai Paneer
Accompanied by
Pulao Rice
Vegetable Raita
Papadoms
Selection of Breads
Tea / Coffee
Great food, great location, good service, good value for money - what more could you want? Oh and the sun was shining!
http://www.ashasuk.co.uk/
We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering round town looking for potential products for Capsaicinoia. We found a few things including a great little cookbook by Dan May which we are definitely going to stock.
The highlight of the afternoon was a tasting session in Selfirdge's of the Master of Malt Naga Chilli Vodka. OH MY GOD! We tried a tiny taste initially on the end of a straw and after that a little sip. It nearly blew our heads off! The heat went on and on and on.......About 5 minutes afterwards we actually experienced physical effects like abdominal pain, sweating and lightheadedness. Try it if you dare!!!!
http://www.masterofmalt.com/vodka/100000-scovilles-naga-chilli-vodka/
We went to have a cold beer to cool our mouths and recover and found for the first time the delightful Post Office Vaults pub. Birmingham's newest free house selling the largest range of foreign bottled beers in the city as well as 8 perfectly kept real ales. I had a Kriek and Mike a Freedom Stout. Lovely! Definitely worth a visit.
http://www.postofficevaults.co.uk/
We ended the day at the Rebecca Ferguson concert in the Symphony Hall. She was supported by Jay James Picton who has just released his first single "Plat it by Heart" and was surprisingly good for a support act and got a good reaction from the audience. Apparently, five years ago he had never sung or played a note and now Booker T Jones, Roger Daltrey and John Legend are all admirers of his unique soulful voice.
http://www.jayjamespicton.com/
Rebecca was brilliant. She looked and sounded beautiful. Her voice is smooth and soulful, her songs are emotional and sincere, she engages with the audience with an endearing humility, ever grateful to the people who helped get her where she is today. On the downside she only performed for an hour and with retrospect still came across as a little shy and restrained at times. I'm sure with more experience and audience reactions like the one she got in Birmingham on Thursday night she will grow in confidence and develop a stronger stage presence and a longer repertoire. I'd definitely pay to see her again.
http://www.rebeccaofficial.com/gb/home
Although we were not expecting to make any sales in this trial period it would be nice to make just one!
Last Sunday evening we went to the Warwick Arts Centre to see Ruby Turner. She was truly amazing and it was a great night. Very talented, soulful and professional with an excellent backing band. She delivered a 2 hour programme of soul, rock and gospel including a moving version of "Stay With Me Baby" as a tribute to Amy Winehouse and Whitney Houston. She was down to earth and really engaged with the audience who initially appeared pretty staid and middle aged but by the end the whole place was rocking!
http://www.rubyturner.com/
http://www.warwickartscentre.co.uk/
On Thursday we had tickets to see Rebecca Ferguson that we bought some time ago and we decided to make a day of it - just because we can!
We headed into town for lunch at Asha's.
Asha’s Executive Lunch
£12.95 per person
Price includes a beer, glass of wine, soft drink or water
Starters
Please choose from one of the following
Kebab Platter
(Chicken Malai Kebab, Lamb Seekh Kebab, King Prawn Tikka)
or
Vegetarian Kebab Platter
(Paneer Ka Soola, Aloo Tikka, Papdi Chat)
Main Course - Served as soon as Starters are finished
Please choose form one of the following
Chicken Tikka Masala
Lamb Roganjosh
Panjim Fish Curry
Kadhai Paneer
Accompanied by
Pulao Rice
Vegetable Raita
Papadoms
Selection of Breads
Tea / Coffee
Great food, great location, good service, good value for money - what more could you want? Oh and the sun was shining!
http://www.ashasuk.co.uk/
We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering round town looking for potential products for Capsaicinoia. We found a few things including a great little cookbook by Dan May which we are definitely going to stock.
The highlight of the afternoon was a tasting session in Selfirdge's of the Master of Malt Naga Chilli Vodka. OH MY GOD! We tried a tiny taste initially on the end of a straw and after that a little sip. It nearly blew our heads off! The heat went on and on and on.......About 5 minutes afterwards we actually experienced physical effects like abdominal pain, sweating and lightheadedness. Try it if you dare!!!!
http://www.masterofmalt.com/vodka/100000-scovilles-naga-chilli-vodka/
We went to have a cold beer to cool our mouths and recover and found for the first time the delightful Post Office Vaults pub. Birmingham's newest free house selling the largest range of foreign bottled beers in the city as well as 8 perfectly kept real ales. I had a Kriek and Mike a Freedom Stout. Lovely! Definitely worth a visit.
http://www.postofficevaults.co.uk/
We ended the day at the Rebecca Ferguson concert in the Symphony Hall. She was supported by Jay James Picton who has just released his first single "Plat it by Heart" and was surprisingly good for a support act and got a good reaction from the audience. Apparently, five years ago he had never sung or played a note and now Booker T Jones, Roger Daltrey and John Legend are all admirers of his unique soulful voice.
http://www.jayjamespicton.com/
Rebecca was brilliant. She looked and sounded beautiful. Her voice is smooth and soulful, her songs are emotional and sincere, she engages with the audience with an endearing humility, ever grateful to the people who helped get her where she is today. On the downside she only performed for an hour and with retrospect still came across as a little shy and restrained at times. I'm sure with more experience and audience reactions like the one she got in Birmingham on Thursday night she will grow in confidence and develop a stronger stage presence and a longer repertoire. I'd definitely pay to see her again.
http://www.rebeccaofficial.com/gb/home
Watch Mike's Beard Grow.
Well the beard growing episode has come to a sudden end. We did make 4 weeks and this was indeed the minimum requirement but a sudden bit of news about the application for Barbadian Citizenship has necessitated and emergency shave. Basically 3 passport photos were urgently required. So feast your eyes on the final images of Mike with hair - probably a sight that will never be seen again!
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