greetings from a surprisingly warm Sheffield.
Last week I was telling you about the "Biggest we have ever seen" Calm down, it's not what you think.. it's a Shiva Lingam stone that arrived from India.. if you missed it you can read about it here.
It's all happening at once, almost Father's Day..on the 20th - so to all Fathers reading this - Happy Dad's Day.. this is your time.. nobody can stop you watching the footy..
On the 21st it's Solstice Day.. day of the hippies and druids.. longest day of the year.. and the day the sun stands still. It is the day when the sun reaches its northernmost position, before reversing its direction.
So it seems to me a good day to stand still, and think of all the stuff in our lives that need to start to change, and the day when those changes can start to be real.
Also it is the 1st day of Summer! Happy summer folks..
So this is a good time.. The time has finally come. It's been great being here, but now it is time to move on. So I must say goodbyes..
I'm leaving on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again..
Yes, by the time you read this I'm probably on the way to Spain, with a grand travel plan ahead. Being double jabbed definitely helps, but Brexit has made further hurdles to jump.. the 180/90 rule for third country nationals means I couldn't yet travel back to Spain as I have already burned up my 90 days.. But Mario, our man in Spain, managed to acquire me a visa of sorts - which I just hope Ryanair will recognise.. all being well I will be back in my house in La Cala de Mijas shortly.
The plan then is to spend two or three weeks working with Toni and the team at AW Artisan.. they have been rocking it recently, very busy.. so we need to make big plans to take them to the next level..
From there I will fly to Bratislava - to see the team at AW Gifts - last time I was there (heavens.. it was exactly two years ago) .. they had 8 employees, now there are 28 - so I have a lot of people to get to know. By then Tomas will be there, and we seriously need to make plans. Big plans. AW Gifts is Tomas's baby.. we are based in Trnova which is the hometown of Tomas.. It's certainly time to move to a new warehouse, so we will be checking out new locations.. our lease is coming to the end, and the warehouse now is stretched beyond capacity. So it should be really exciting and interesting..
Then the plan is.. all things being equal.. (pandemic permitting) - I'll fly from Vienna via Amsterdam via Singapore to Jakarta, Indonesia. I have a business visa, so should be able to access. In Jakarta will still need to self isolate for 5 days - then a domestic flight to the island of Bali.. where I'm sure our man in Indonesia; Ringo - will be waiting for me at arrivals. It will be just over a year since I was there..
Demand for Indonesian stock has skyrocketed.. we have orders in with Ringo for 20+ containers - so there will be a massive job of work gearing things up in our warehouse there to cope. Should be exciting..
I'm so looking forward to seeing Ringo and the team there..
My visa is for 60 days.. but can be extended.. so we will see what happens.. Hopefully at some point it will be possible to go to China and finally see Coco (my wife) who you will know runs our China warehouse and purchasing office. If not then maybe Coco can come to Bali.. we will have to see what is possible by then. I'd like to go to India and Nepal.. but it's not looking so good.. but as Coco would say.. "We will see what happen comes".
So I hope you can come along with me (in spirit) for the ride.. I will be updating you as always every Friday..
Lot's of projects that I would have liked to have seen completed have not quite happened yet.. These days there are always delays, but nevertheless the excellent team here in the UK can and will make STUFF happen.
Right now the joiners are banging away, making our new office space at Affinity Park come to life.. next time I hope to see it in operation.
Today is a tearful farewell - it's been an amazing time.. I have to go now, because I have lots of people to say goodbye to.
The Summer Solstice, day of change.. this travel blog.. will finally change and become an actual travel blog..
Take care, have a wonderful Father's Day weekend.