So where are we now?
Capsaicinoia did our first Chilli Festival at Eastnor Castle in Ledbury on the 6th and 7th of May and had a fantastic time. It was busy, fun and overall a great success! We made lots of sales and got great feedback on both the products and the overall concept. We learnt a lot too and came back with a list of things to do to ensure that the next one is even better. The next one is the Somerset Chilli Festival
at Bath Racecourse on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th of June. I can't be there as I finally am getting my new shoulder on the 25th of May but Matt is going to help Mike out.
What else have we been up to...
Mike had a birthday on the 25th April and to celebrate we went to see the Cirque du Soleil at the NIA with Ellana and then had a meal at Bank in Brindley Place. He is now officially retired!
I saw the surgeon on the 23rd April and its all steam ahead for the 25th May......
We have met up with a few ex-colleagues through the month and the more we hear about how things are for them the happier we are to be where we are and doing what we are doing. No regrets for sure....
We actually have a life now - we have had friends to visits and been to visit others to an extent that was never possible before. Life is good! When I flicked back through the diary to work out just what we have been doing since the last post most of it has been socialising!
Pre Eastnor - We had lunch in Leicester one day with one of Mike's ex colleagues, I had dinner out with my BF one night, we watched the Man U Man City match with some friends over a curry and went out for another curry another night with our neighbours. We had an American friend who lives in Belgium who we met in Vietnam to stay for a day or two and we took her on the grand tour of Birmingham including the Mailbox and our favourite Sushi place (Shogun Teppanyaki), Brindley Place and the Canals, the ICC and the new Library, a quick look at the Staffordshire Hoard, a beer in the Post Office Vaults, Selfridges and the Bull Ring. Phew....
Post Eastnor - We had a fellow ex-sales manager and her family over for a West Indian Sunday lunch including my own recipe Rum Punch Ice Cream! Finally, last weekend was spent with an ex member of my team and her wonderful family who spoiled us rotten with some wonderful Indian cooking.
Its surprising we have had any time left for work but throughout it all we have been slowly but surely expanding the business. We are still trying to engage a good accountant and we have been gradually building up the product range and stock levels and are on track for 100 products by the end of the summer. We have just started to develop our range of Hampers Hampers and Gift Boxes.
While things are going well with the business, the house sale is not really progressing at all. We have had a few viewings but so far no offers. To be honest we are very much going with the flow now and pretty philosophical about it. What will be will be.....or as the Scots say...what's for yae will nae go past yae......
Oh, and we have joined Costco on the strength of Capsaicinoia and bought a garage full of loo rolls and cleaning products a couple of weeks ago!
So that's us pretty much up to date! We went up to Yorkshire for a family funeral yesterday and are catching up with ourselves before my op on Friday - I don't suppose I'll be typing for a wee while after that but hopefully I'll manage a one finger left handed effort soon....
