Week Twenty Three - Caffeine

A quick poignant point - this week marks six months of having left work!! Who can believe it but at the same time so many amazing things in such a short time. 

Having decided not to pursue my business idea in its current guise or at the current time I took a step back this week to focus on just enjoying my time off, enjoying the sunshine and some of what Scotland has to offer with friends old and new.

Tuesday saw me at the Linlithgow Marches with the McKellar family.  I love Linlithgow. Not only is it a really pretty town with a beautiful setting but it's also a place that continues to celebrate old traditions in ways other places have forgotten or time has left behind.  Marches day is the first Tuesday after the second Thursday in June (got that) and dates back more than 600 years. Historically it is about inspecting the boundaries of Linlithgow to ensure no-one has breached them and that all tolls etc have been paid.  In reality it is a great family day when everyone decorates their houses with bunting and there are numerous marches throughout the day which everyone congregates for.  The marches include bands, dignitaries, amazing floats, Deacons, horse drawn carriages and so it. It was a great day out and the weather pretty much held out.

Thursday saw me on a wee day oot doon the water to Helensburgh to catch up with my friend Gill who it was great to see after quite a while.  Helensburgh is pretty much being completely renovated at the moment and is starting to look amazing.  

I also took some time this week to explore Glasgows emerging specialist coffee culture - I don't mean any old coffee but that which tastes as amazing as the coffee I used to drink in Aus where the coffee is elegant and smooth and rich of flavour and perfectly combined with silky milk to provide an all round beautiful drinking experience - and where the cup size is a cup not a bucket because this is how such great things should be savoured. This is the best coffee beans ground to perfection and made to perfection by true baristas who are as obsessed about coffee as others are about wine. It's great to see there are some too quality places emerging and that one day we may be a city who enjoys the true taste of amazing coffee rather than what we drink today. If you want to know more then pop into one of the coffee spots near you some of which I checked out this week - It's All About The Coffee on Oswald St (behind the St Enoch car park), Laboratorio Espresso in West Nile St (behind Forever 21), Riverhill Cafe in Gordon St (and Helensburgh), Papercup, Veldt Deli and Artisan Roast all in the West End, Grace and Favour (Bearsden).  You'll realise it's worth the effort.

All About The Coffee

Laboratorio Espresso

Whilst out and about this week I also...

...HUNG OUT...at home reigniting my interest in crafts and started a project to up cycle some furniture (great fun though need the sun to stop shining to really focus on it!!)...

...WINED ON...nothing in particular for once - a quiet week on the old drinking front...

...DINED ON...a beautiful unordered dish at The Courtyard by Riverhill Cafe in Helensburgh.  Johnny the chef has just returned from a trip to Bruichladdich Distillery to learn more about The Botanist gin.  As part of that trip he was taken out foraging by a local expert and having been bitten by the big has been out and about foraging himself in Helensbirgh on his return.  He presented us with a rabbit pasta dish which included sticky willy (you know that weed you used to go around sticking to each other).  It was stunning and the sticky willy was like sweet wild garlic. Beautiful.

I also paid a visit to the new restaurant in town - Hutchesons on Ingram Street which has been completely restored to all it's former glory.  What an amazing interior and homage to the past.  The bar was excellent and able to cater to my whimsical order and the food from the restaurant was also lovely.  If there were one criticism which is merely down to it just being opened is that the staff were overly attentive - I think we knew the names of all 10 staff within the first five minutes as they came in quick succession with menus, water, drinks order, break, food order (not ready), more water, drinks, food order, food arrival, checking food ok. Slightly overwhelming but that will no doubt settle down and the food was lovely.

Until next time - have a good week.

Week Twenty Two - The Gambler and The Angels

Before I start I would just like to point out what a stunning stunning day it has been here in Glasgow - it's amazing how beautiful the place is when the sun is out and the birds are singing (well except when the locals insist on it meaning "taps aff" - "tops off" for those of you who are not locals).  Here's hoping it continues for the rest of the Queens Baton Relay wherever it is and for the 11 days of the Commonwealth Games which are now just around the corner - can't wait!!

So what tales from the last week?  Well first and foremost it's all about the infamous lines from the Kenny Rodgers classic The Gambler...

"You've got to know when to hold'em,

Know when to fold'em

Know when to walk away

Know when to run..."

Yes you guessed it. Having now completed a full business case (it has been commented by many that it is extremely thorough, detailed, balanced and planned - something which my uni friends inform me they would always expect!!) and reviewed all the pluses and minuses, I have chosen to be very mature and business like and not pursue my plans AT THIS TIME or in their current format. Unfortunately the risks outweighed the benefits enough to tip even me (the extremely hard working, focused, passionate person) onto the side of the answer being no.

The great thing though is that I have gained a huge amount of knowledge in the last couple of months; met and reconnected with a vast number of people who are so keen to help in any way they can; learned how slowly business can actually work and how best to deal with challenges; know that whilst everyone is keen to help it is still ultimately all on you and therefore realise I can be grown up enough to know my limits and not to breach them.

So I have a great business plan sitting on the shelf awaiting the right time and the right place - and even the right partners.

In the meantime it's back to the drawing board - well once the sun stops shining and the Games are over!!

Whilst coming to these conclusions I...

...HUNGOUT WITH...Tom Potter, Mr & Mrs Potter and Mrs Chesnutt on a very unexpected trip to Belfast as guests at the Robbie Williams Swings Both Ways concert.  

Those of you who follow this blog regularly know that Tom was a finalist in the UK Young Drummer of the Year competition.  One of the judges was the super talented Karl Brazil who is Robbies drummer.  Tom clearly made such an impression that he invited Tom to the gig on Saturday night.  It was fantastic - Robbie at his best and viewed from an amazing vantage point (with Phil The Power Taylor sitting right in front of us).  

Tom had a blast and I swear could have taken over at any point that night given how much air drumming he was doing!! To watch someone so young with such talent be so inspired by the people who they aspire to be is a truly amazing thing. And I'm sure it won't be long before it's Toms turn!!!

Thanks to Robbie for an amazing show (swing really is your thing though clearly the night wasn't complete without some of the old classics and the big finale of Angels - it never fails to get everyone to their feet and the karaoke from the audience started), Karl for taking an interest and giving Tom this opportunity but most of all to Tom for having the talent, passion and confidence to be the amazing drummer he is (if you haven't watched him before you'll find him under TomPotterDrums on YouTube)...

...WINED ON...way too many gorgeous wines at the annual wine list change event at Cafe Gandolfi. There were a couple of stand outs but beyond remembering one of them was Swiss red and the other Greek White I can't remember anything else about them - a lot of development work on decorum, note taking and retaining your notes to be done before I can call myself a professional of the wine industry me thinks...

...COCKTAILED ON...special mention this week for the three gin cocktails we sampled in Flame in Belfast on Saturday (also known as World Gin Day so it would have been rude not to).  The standout for me was the Elderflower Giblet which was just stunning - gin, elderflower and lime with just a dash of soda....

...DINED ON...not enough at the Cafe Gandolfi event and pretty much just crisps in Belfast which might explain a lot.  One really must grow up...

...until next week - have a great one

Week Twenty One: And The Results Are In...

A wee break from the business chat this week...

...cast your minds back to April this year - the week I undertook what I described as the most intense period of study I had ever undertaken when attending the five day intensive Wine Society Education Trust Level 3 Wine and Spirits course. You know the one...where by day five the brain power to remember all I could about sparkling and fortified wines meant that I kind of forgot where France was let alone Burgundy, Côte d'Or, Côte de Beaune or Cote de Nuits.

Well the results are in and I'm delighted to say I passed with merit!!  And as if I worry people won't believe me (especially given some of the shonky wine choices in the last couple of months in a bid to try new things), here is the photo to prove it...

So what does that mean? Well who knows but maybe one of these days I'll find a great opportunity to apply my new found knowledge to a great role in the wine industry where I can learn so much more and work at something I'm passionate about.

To celebrate I...

...am en route to HANG OUT AT Cafe Gandolfi's annual wine list tasting - purely to make professional contacts and apply my learning a in a practical rather than theoretical way (wink wink)...

...DINED ON (first this week)...Tuscan Sausage stew (courtesy of Mrs Potters repertoire)...

...WINED ON...two of the great wines from my favourite team at Corney and Barrow (even if neither of them were there)...Delamotte Champagne (one of the nicest, creamiest, flavoursome I've come across) and a beautiful Tuscan Campo di Sasso Bibbona Insoglio del Cinghiale 2011....blackcurrants, leafiness, pepper and vanilla all the way - the perfect match to Mrs P's stew.

Goal for tonight...try, don't get carried away, wake up full of the joys of summer tomorrow. Chances?? Will let you know next week.

G xx

Week Twenty: can you kick it...

...your own butt that is?

It's been a frustrating and challenging week in Snowden Enterprises but also a great week.

I'll not bore you with the ins and outs of it all but let's just say that the danger you run when out there for yourself is that it just takes one blockage to stop you in your tracks. That's bad enough but being stopped in your tracks even for a little while let's the seeds of doubt about what you're doing creep in and like many weeds they take hold way too quickly and become a massive blot on your landscape.

So what do you do? Well the thing that works best for me is a mental health day - a term I first learned when working in New Zealand and Australia...once in a while you just had to stop, opt out of life, watch TV all day and forget everything. It really works. You regroup, refocus and re-energise.

So today has been my mental health day. After a morning of meetings and lack of enthusiasm I came home, went a big walk in the sun, did some domestic stuff and watched TV (there may have been a wee snooze in there too).  

Where am I now at?  Well, back, focused, determined...and a few lessons / reminders of lessons better off:

1.  Focus on your goals and how to achieve them...when blockages appear then work round them rather than running into them.  You'll save so much energy.

2. Be positive and engaging even when you don't feel like it - it makes people want to get behind you and help you even when it's not their job to do so (I won't name names but they'll get a big thank you when the time comes).

3. When you're having a mental health day fess up to it - friends will send you lots of encouragement and reinforcement

4.  Recognise you're being self indulgent - allow yourself to have your mental health day but recognise beforehand it's only a day and commit that by the end of it you'll be refocused, re-energised and ready to get on with it cos if it's worth it then it's not going to come easy.

5.  Get some perspective. You're in a very fortunate place if all you're concerned about is getting everything on an exciting project to line up.  Other people in your life and beyond have genuine issues and tragedies going on in their lives.  

6.  Get even more perspective.  Acknowledge when you've made amazing progress, when you've shared you're ideas and people are behind you, when you've engaged professionals in the field and they congratulate you for the extensive thought you've put into what you're doing, when you've made new connections and pushed forward other aspects of your project.

So the "to do" list has been written for tomorrow morning and we'll be back on top of the world because if you don't strive for your dreams then who else is going to?

Whilst kicking my own butt I have...

...HUNG OUT AT...Govanhill Trinity Church to hear (and marginally take part in) an amazing community event in memory of the church organist and in aid of the Prince and Princess Of Wales Hospice Brick by Brick appeal.  Mr Tom Potter was playing drums amazingly as usual but as part of his jazz band The Williams Quartet.  They also played with the Conservatoire Saxophony Quartet.  An amazing night of young talent, community, fundraising and rememberance. Check out The Williams Quartet on Facebook...

...WINED ON...a lovely Argentinian Malbec at Alston Bar and Beef. Having been there the Friday previous I was even more impressed that the manager and members of staff remembered me (and I mean that in a "good service by them" way rather than "bad behaviour by me" way...

...DINED ON...a lovely seafish platter at the newly renovated and reinvented Hyndland Fox (previously Peckhams) on Clarence Drive.  A beautiful setting and lovely food.

Until next week...