Week Nineteen: Finding My Inner Jaws

How my work life used to go....you plan a project, you deliver against your timelines, when problems emerge you work with your team to review the options then work with all involved to agree the best way forward so you stay on track. When a blockage gets in the way you do what it takes to remove it...reason with people, negotiate your position and when push comes to shove use your positional power to throw a few names about who you'll escalate to (one in particular used to work a treat) and before you know it that blockage is gone.  It's like swimming in a pool of stingray and sharks but it's ok cos whilst you're not a Great White you're up there like a Tiger Shark.

Move forward a few months, remove yourself from the workplace you've developed a good reputation in and have a certain power due to seniority. Put yourself into a much wider tidal ocean, build your own vision within that ocean which is minnow like in the big scheme of things and before you know it, like the small scale of your project (in absolute terms) you realise you've gone from being an influential shark to something which resembles Nemo!! Cute, colourful, full of personality but lost in a world where you're a tiny fish in a massive ocean.

Perhaps a bit dramatic but the point is your importance is apparently totally relative to the absolute value of what you're trying to do.  Forget the fact that a small business owner has to be more resourceful in finding a few thousand pounds than a player in the corporate world has to be in finding millions - if the absolute figure is small you seem to become insignificant. The fact that you are putting more on the line than any corporate player is completely overlooked.

The point of this? It's amazing how your loud voice becomes a whisper in this new frame of reference. How your deadlines are irrelevant for some (not all), how your threats of escalation mean nothing, and how shortsighted people are about who you may be and what you might achieve in the future (to quote another film do you remember when Julia Roberts was looked down on in the shop in Pretty Woman...."Big Mistake").

Then there are those who can see your vision, who are right behind you, who understand the importance of collaborative working, where it may lead and who pull out all the stops to help you (and ultimately them) achieve something amazing. 

So to those on the latter side of the equation thank you so much for your support and the importance and urgency you have placed on what I am trying to achieve.  May we have a long and fruitful future together where we swim as gracefully and as in sync as a school of fish.

To those who are the former you should know that the person you think is a wee Nemo swimming out her depth in a big ocean is in fact capable of being a bit of a shark if she has to be!!

FROM THIS

TO THIS

AND IF I HAVE TO I CAN TURN TO THIS..

Whilst being infuriated by people's lack of responsiveness I have...

...HUNG OUT AT...the Kelpies with Mum, Auntie and Norman.  What an amazing sculpture. Hard to believe that so much steel can be so mesmerising. To have achieved something in that scale which pulls together the mystical, the historic, the industrial heritage and the future is a true feat. I didn't realise that what I'd previously seen at the Helix were the small scale version so when Andy Scott (their designer and so much more) described them as something that may rival the Statue of Liberty I thought him a bit conceited. Now I've seen the full sized version I take it back. They absolutely do.

....WINED ON....an embarrassingly corked bottle of wine which I took to friends...a bit embarrassing when you're awaiting your Wine Society exam results...

...DINED ON...a beautiful extended family heat and eat supper with the Chesnutts and Potters on Saturday, and lovely Jamie's Italian with the Riccione Nine on Friday (even if we all did feel a bit old to be right at the heart of the Big weekend club night at Geo Square)....for those of you who don't know the Riccione Nine is made up of the Glasgoe Nomad Masters Swimmers and their support crew who went to Riccione two years ago to compete in the world masters swimming championship...needless to say the swimmers performed a lot better than their support crew!!! 

Until next week (and here's hoping the shark can stay at bay) ....

Week Eighteen: Choreography is Key said the Chicken to the Egg

Which comes first?  The chicken or the egg?  

Which comes first?  The business case or committing to making it happen?

Ah the age old question which has us all baffled and I assure you I definitely don't know the answer to though I'm starting to get the idea.

I have spent many many days and hours pulling together every aspect of the business case for my new venture but the decision to actually push the button is determined by bottoming out some key costs which you can't do until you have pushed the button - I think they call that point the leap of faith!!

And that leap of faith really does require to be a thing of beauty - it may be a solo leap but detailed choreography to make it spectacular is still required.  At the core is the numbers stacking up.  To do this you need to get all the inputs right.  To do this you need to project input and costs.  To do this for the big costs you need to find your location and secure it but to do this you need confidence in the numbers.  And confidence in the numbers also means knowing your set up costs which means knowing what it costs to fit out the premises which you can't do til you know where the premises are.....you get the idea!! 

So with vim and vigour and an occasional sense of nausea its a case of nudging along all the component parts in the hope that they are at their best and completely in sync at the point at which that leap happens - I think rather than thinking of jumping off a cliff I'll draw the comparison to that leap in Dirty Dancing - you know the one!!  So much more a positive image than the cliff!

Anyway as you can tell I am going slightly mad!!  I know this is all cryptic at the moment but it is my sincere hope that within the next three weeks I can share what all of these ramblings are about and who knows you may also have a chance to get involved.  Intriguing.

Whilst going slightly mad I...

...HUNG OUT AT...the Normandy Hotel as a roadie to the very talented Master Tom Potter and his band Bad Jeff.  The event was in aid of the Neurological Department of the Southern General and the band were; as always; amazing.  Tom is a spectacular drummer with a big future in front of him - check out his drumming in the attached link  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAmE9CjS3I4

...WINED ON...very little cos I'm so focused at the moment - but I did do a formal tasting of Craig Francis wines - more on that in future blogs...

...DINED ON...mum's famous roast chicken Sunday dinner without the pavlova but with an apple pie.  Other than my family you'll not know that when we was growing up there was a standing joke that when we could smell a roast chicken dinner being cooked for Sunday roast then you knew mum was also making a pavlova for dessert.  One day she got so annoyed at Stuart, Dad and me winding her up that for years she refused to make pavlova. It took years and me learning how to make them before they made a reappearance!!  

Until next time...

Week Seventeen - You Are Always On My Mind

Clearly that's not me in the pictures but it is me in the words!!

This week has been full of meetings - my new accountant (if I achieve nothing else with this business at least I can say I had an accountant!!), industry experts, property consultants, potential suppliers....and just before each of these meetings the adrenalin kicks in, you wonder if you've taken a wee time-filling game too far or at least question exactly what it is that makes you think you've found a wee corner of a market that no-one else has exploited.  That's just for starters.  You then realise you know nothing about the ins and outs of what you're doing and that's when you really start to panic.

How do you cope? Well you pretend you are back in the professional world you know oh so well, pull on all those experiences, all the knowledge you've accumulated, and put on your confidence cloak to see you through.  And as soon as you're talking the confidence comes back, people can see what you're trying to do, like it and go out their way to help make it happen.

For every moment of doubt it just takes a conversation with those around you to make you realise you're on to something and you can make it work and there is no reason you can't be that entrepreneur who cracked it.  I can almost start writing the last blog now...."I had no idea how hard it would be but also how rewarding", "I've had many ups and downs, knock backs and set backs but it's all been worth it"......

It's a bit of a lonely game and sometimes you lose sight of how far you've come in just four weeks.  Not least when you have two businesses you're trying to get off the ground.  

And hence the title of the blog.  I think this experience is lining itself up to be the closest I have come to having children....you can't believe the state you've got yourself into, you feel sick a lot of the time, it will hurt like hell to get it out there and from the moment you conceive the idea your life is not your own...constantly thinking about it, worrying about it, trying to protect and nurture it and getting to the point of no return when you just have to go with it and know your life will never be the same again but so much richer for the experience..yes my new baby!!

So the pace is up again.  This week it's trips down South to suppliers, finalising the numbers with the experts, lawyers, market research, trademarks and so on.  Listen to me. And when I can finally share what I'm doing you could very much find yourself saying "is that it!!".  We'll see

Whilst freaking out this week I have...

...HUNG OUT...at home with my mum and nephews for a sleepover at my house full of treats, movies and midnight feasts and oh yes a 12:30am then 6am alarm call.  Parks are so beautiful so early in the morning!!...

...WINED ON...Craig Francis Sauvignon Blanc, Craig Francis Pinot Noir 2011 and Craig Francis Pinot Noir 2012...the stunning wine samples currently adorning my hall which I was writing tasting notes for ahead of sharing the delight of them with potential customers...more of that to follow but trust me, if you appreciate great wine you'll want to be in the know on these beautiful wines...

...DINED ON...spaghetti with my mum and nephews (if only every meal was so messy!) and of course roast lamb followed by pavlova (Tom Kitchin style) with dear friends on Sunday eve...well what else other than a kiwi classic combo to compliment Craig's stunning wine (the consensus view not just mine).  

Until next time...

And a wee extra.  Tonight I have lost some of my identity...Mr Stewart Taylor just for you.., after 4.66 years of unashamedly living in this house with no curtains or blinds, frightening the people in the sheltered housing across the way...tonight I have blinds on every window.  I don't know what shocks me more...the fact the windows are finally covered or the fact I've now been here for almost five years!!

Night night

Week Sixteen - Writers block...not really

Well here we are again and if anyone has noticed I'm a day late in writing my blog? Why is that I hear you ask? I know there's been a hole in your lives without it!!!

Well I've struggled a bit with what to write this week.  There has been huge progress in the last week in my business plans with the first draft of business number one complete (it's important to praise as well as push yourself!!).  A 25 page doco covering the proposal, philosophy, offering, market research, pricing strategy, full financial assessment, legal and regulatory requirements, risk identification and management strategy, competitor analysis, job specifications, next steps etc - all that you'd expect but which I never thought I'd write!!  

Alas the reason I'm struggling with what to write this week is twofold

1.  I am not in a position to widely share yet what I'm doing (god forbid someone else should have the capital to beat me to my desired market if I put it out there)

2.  I've spent a whole week inside my own head and sharing my thoughts (in the form of my business plans) with the computer therefore the thought of doing it again with the blog is somewhat challenging.

So this week is a bit short and sweet and goes something like this....

...business case one draft one is complete (there are three in total though there could be more...I have brilliant ideas everyday including buying the old original public toilets in Buchanan St and turning them into a tiny wine bar....no need for toilets just a big pile of 20 pences to use the new shiny public toilets at the front door!!!).  

...now is the time to share business plan one with the relevant advisers and take onboard the feedback and challenge....I'm preparing to be bashed and bruised by the end of next week as I share my idea, plan and most importantly financials with a number of key advisers including experts in the relevant field, accountants, property consultants, lawyers, Business Gateway, the council and maybe a bank or two.  I had the first of those meetings today and was so nervous cos you are literally putting yourself on the line when you talk openly about what you think is a good idea.  A great meeting though which I left with refinement to my idea and a spring in my step.  Thank you to the person involved....you know who you are.  They won't all be like that but then this is part the process to test and challenge not only the idea but your drive and commitment.  More next week on how those meetings go and the impact on my plans.

...business two is more organic and needs little investment but is gathering momentum and I hope to be able to share it in the next few weeks.

So that's it.  Doesn't sound like much but I've never worked with such focus, drive and discipline in my life.  I've met some of my old colleagues from the bank this week who ask if I'm missing it at all.  The reality is no I'm not except when I look at my bank balance!! 

So a big week next week....it's at times like these we do well to remember the wise words of a very dear friend of mine...."feedback is a gift"

I look forward to telling you what my "gifts" were like next week....the sort you love or the ones you have to feign being grateful for....you know THOSE gifts....

And lastly for this week I would like to apologise to all my friends I've caught up with this week.  I acknowledged last week I'm not good in my own head so anyone who has been in my company has had a full on barrage of chat without the need to draw breath!! I am aware, I will improve!

In a bid for a break or two this week I have...

...HUNG OUT in Aberfoyle in the glorious sunshine with Hazel, supported Scotland at the Rugby 7s (great effort) and had a brilliant family day yesterday at Blair Drummond Safari Park with mum, Stuart, Jane and my beautiful nephews...

...WINED ON....too much (again).  Standout though was the Godello at Cafe Gandolfi supplied by Judith Hardy and drunk /recommended by Jancis Robinson after her visit to Cafe G last weekend...

...DINED ON...beautiful hake with Parmesan crust, roasted Mediterranean veg and basil oil at Ian Browns Food and Drink....way too long between visits....mind you I have been away.  Always a delight to catch up with Mr, Mrs and Master Brown.  A stunning dinner as always.

Until next week....

Week Fifteen: I have the ideas but is that enough?

Well here we are at the start of week two of business planning and already the lessons are flooding in...

1.  It is important to know your strengths (and weaknesses) - the first thing I need to do is test the viability of the ideas I've had for Snowden Enterprises Ltd (not the real name of the company(ies).  To do that the initial bit involves sitting in front of the computer and writing a business plan.  Articulating the vision of what you're trying to achieve, validating whether the opportunity really does exist, working out the costs involved and then reworking your vision to make the profit stack up.  All of this requires you to really know what your strengths and weaknesses are and to work with them.  I know I am disciplined - I set a goal of having the first of the businesses documented in an initial business plan by the end of this week and it shall be done because that goal was set and I will meet it.  I know I like research so sitting in front of the computer finding stuff out appeals to me.  I know I can question my own thinking which has already changed aspects of the plan (location of the business, physical set up of the business - all changing when you actually force yourself to think about customer and price/profit etc).  On the converse though, I'm not very good in my own head.  As some of you will well remember from your long periods of working with me, I tend to think out loud (not something you do from your own study when you know your next door neighbour will hear you) so that makes working on my own in these initial stages quite challenging.  I also can have the tendency to over analyse and doubt what I'm doing.  Twice today already, as I've started to really look at the numbers, I've started considering a "proper job" again - its so much easier!!  Especially when you're looking at businesses which you have no experience in.  Which takes me to my last personality trait which could be a hindrance - I'm a control freak so instead of recognising my skill set as the business of business and relying on others to get into the "product", I like to learn it, understand it, do it and control it all for myself….could be an interesting few months and years ahead there then!!

2.  Don't get distracted!!  I came back to Glasgow last week with a clear idea that all of this business planning would start on Tuesday.  It didn't.  Tuesday became about stemming my outgoing finances (no not by stopping going out - well that will come now) by focusing on getting the house on the holiday rental market.  Wednesday was spent at the Glasgow Science Centre with Glenda and her son Blair (a brilliant day out but not a business plan in sight).  Thursday again became about the house and so Friday was the day when all this was due to start.  So here is how Friday went…a late return from saying bye to the crew from NZ who had been visiting (not that I would have had it any other way), a realisation that I needed some things at the shop, an impromptu visit from the plumber about a problem in the house swiftly followed by the arrival of my dear mother for a coffee.  What time did we actually start doing anything….well that would have been 12:45pm and I had to leave the house at 5:30!!….I totally empathise with my friends who for years have been telling me how a day can just disappear when you are on maternity leave.

3.  By falling fowl of point 2 and picking up on point 1, I found myself almost giving up before I started (well from a comedy perspective anyway).  At the Glasgow Science Centre you can take an online survey which tells you what your work traits are and the sort of environment its best for you to work in etc.  Bearing in mind the context of trying to set up a business, the survey told me that I was fairly conventional and best suited to office life (though with an artistic tendency best suited to an unstructured environment!!).  As well as being artistic and conventional, I display a bent towards being social and scored least well on being enterprising, investigative or realistic.  So there we have it, by my own fair answers I am doomed!!!!!

4.  Who do you know who?  I never understood that statement when my old boss used to use it years ago in the Bank but I get it now.  I have never appreciated how well connected I am until I started to turn my attention to something new.  In sharing my ideas with my family and friends it has astounded me the knowledge they have on the subject (well they could all be customers after all), or that they know of someone who can help on at least one or more aspects of what I'm trying to do.  It has been pretty amazing and as soon as these plans are more structured I will be out there making the most of the connections you have shared with me so far.  Most of all I would summarise "who do I know who…" by saying I know a great number of friends and family who are being very supportive even in these early stages and I thank you all for that.

So having wobbled a bit this afternoon and clicked on a couple of corporate opportunities, I now find myself sitting here a lot clearer on what one of my businesses needs to look like.  The rest of this week is about getting crystal clear, getting it on paper, sharing it and getting meetings set up for next week to try to take this forward.  I have clarity on the parameters with which this can happen (which I guess will help with one of my other weaknesses - having a position of strength when facing into dreaded negotiations).

I promise as soon as I can I will share what it is I'm up to.

In the meantime, this week whilst in Glasgow I…

…HUNG OUT WITH…lots of my friends who I haven't seen this year (and to those I haven't seen yet I can't wait).  Its made for a busy old week with everything from the Glasgow Science Centre to the Glasgow Warriors v Edinburgh 1872 game with the Potter Clan (who I am very grateful to for their hospitality) but it is so great to see everyone and catch up on all that is going on.  

…WINED ON…many beautiful wines with Gary, Hans and Marion on Friday night - way too many to remember (from the champagne to the Grenache, the Ribera and the Chateauneuf-de-Pape).  Thank you to Marion for hosting us all in her beautiful home.  

…DINED ON…a multitude of lovely meals out courtesy of Marion, the Cleggs, the Kergons, the Potters, and Cafe Gandolfi with Glenda.  By far and away the restaurant meal of the week however has to go to The Fish People Cafe at Shields Road underground.  I have been meaning to dine here for years now and this was my first visit.  The cafe is decorated beautifully with a real statement bar, the staff were great, the menu and the wines beautiful.  All at a reasonable price and given its fish; not feeling overly full at the end!!

Until next time, have a great week.

Week Fourteen - Home Is Where The Heart Is...

...it may be a diseased heart (the East End of Glasgow has the shortest life expectancy of anywhere in the UK we' ve been told this week)...

...it may be a cruel heart (apparently Glasgow is also the murder capital of Europe with 71 murders last year)...

...but Glasgow has a HUGE heart and that's why; after thirteen weeks away; I can confirm that I'm proud to call it home.

Those of you who know me know that I've spent many years travelling for extended periods to Aus and NZ.  I always used to dread that sense of coming back, the point at which you hear the broad Glaswegian accents as you start your flight from Dubai to Glasgow, the feeling that anything exciting and exotic was leaving your life every mile you travelled back.

That is not how it is now.  I've always loved my country and my city but it almost gets more deeply ingrained every time you come home.  The older you get the more you appreciate different things in life...coming home to your family and gorgeous nephews...

...seeing all your friends and family again and reconnecting with the people who are part of your life on a day to day basis and who truly are your family, my own bed, my dressing gown, my Nespresso machine, my mums much loved marmalade (£3.50 a jar if anyone wants some let me know....only joking mum?!?!).  Not only that but the city feels like it's buzzing at the moment in what is a big year for Scotland.  The weather is unusually stunning, everyone is relaxed for Easter, there appears to be a sense of optimism in the business community with an amazing number of retail outlets up and running again since I've left.  The people are as vibrant as ever.  I love this city.

I have had a ball whilst I've been away, I have learned masses about wine and so much more, I've re calibrated my life to be about more than a corporate job, I'm very grateful to those who have been so hospitable to me and who made my trip so amazing...but I'm loving being home.  I haven't sat still since I got back....the boxes are yet to be unpacked, the mail is yet to be trawled through, the small jobs around the house are yet to be fixed...because I've prioritised catching up with all of those who are important to me and to getting out and seeing my city and country with a slightly different perspective and with a desire to be as mesmerised by it as I have been by New Zealand.

I am also very excited by what lies ahead and hope that you're all still up for coming on the journey with me.  So what does lie ahead?  There have been three approaches for corporate contractor positions in the last week and I've said no to them all because for the last fifteen years I've wanted to own my own business and if it's not now then it's never.  So tomorrow I am back to work...a discipline I need to make sure I make as I start the transition to a successful business owner.  The next few weeks are all about testing the viability of three different business ideas with a view to getting them all up and running in the next year or so.  One is an absolute priority to bring some income in, one is a labour of love and one may not even get off the ground.  I'm not sharing them widely at the moment until I've done my homework and put some business plans on paper.  So you'll have to watch this space to find out more.  The next ten days is about getting the business plan for the first documented and also getting my house set up to start letting out for holiday lets....if anyone knows of anyone looking for accomodation for the Commonwealth Games, Ryder Cup, Independence Referendum or any other reason then please let me know as it will soon be available to rent!!  

So here's to adventures that take us far afield and ultimately refresh our energy and love of the places we call home (even if they are allegedly scary and unhealthy!!)

Whilst in London and Glasgow I...

...HUNG OUT AT...Finlaystone with Ev on Friday and today at the Falkirk to Linlithgow leg of the brand new John Muir Path, a new west to east coast long distance walk, with Mrs Potter.  What a stunning day, stunning scenery and good bit of exercise (10 mile walk)...

Finlaystone 

...WINED ON...Denbies wines.  Whilst in London I couldn't miss the opportunity to go and visit one of England's vineyards and wineries.  So it was Denbies at Box Hill (Dorking), Surrey, right next to the main road to London (quite a contrast to the rural settings of Marlborough.  It was great to see the vines at the start of the season round about when the bud burst starts and leaves and shoots start to appear (I'd been too late to see that in NZ so it completed the circle).  

The way the wine tastings were run left quite a bit to be desired (this was more like a big garden centre with a small corner dedicated to wines).  The wine samples were served in the tiny little plastic shot glasses and the person running it was splitting their time between pouring and processing the sales from the gift shop. Somewhat wrongly focused business for a vineyard and winery??  The wines were reasonable but I wouldn't recommend many.  Instead here are the recommendations from last weeks course that I promised you....

1.  Vigneti del Vulture Aglianico del Vulture 'Pipolo' 2020, Liberty Wines, £10.99

2. Abadia De San Campio Albariño, Cave de Pyrenne, £13.99

3. Alvaro Palacios Camins del Priorat 2012, Fields Morris & Verdin, £13.49

4. Tabali Reserva Carmenere, Boutinot, £9.99

5. Colome Torrontes, Liberty Wines, £10.99

If you'd like to know more about these let me know.

...DINED ON...a beautiful extended family affair of a three course lunch at my house on Easter Sunday.  Thanks to all for your contributions....it may have been bedlam but the food was beautiful and the kids had a ball.  PS I've held back on the photos to protect those sitting outside in the sun with a huge blanket over them (you know who you are). Also as always the Italian tapas and hospitality at Wee Cucina, Giffnock was stunning.  

So I hope you've all had a great weekend off and look forward to shifting the focus of this blog to be about the trials and tribulations of getting a business or two up and running...I hope you're interested to keep following me.  Let me know.

Have a great week

G

Week Thirteen...unlike the glass, my brain is full...

...this week was all about my Advanced level Wine And Spirits qualification at the Wine Society Education Trust school in London.

And when I say all about I mean ALL about.  9-5 in the classroom, straight home and studying from 6-11ish every night then from 5-8 the next morning before class started.  I signed up to do it this way knowing that it was going to be super intense and with a realistic expectation that it may be too much and I may fail the exam.  Before the course started I was ok with this.  Learn at the school (I wouldn't want to do it at a distance), make good contacts and accept the fact that I might need to then do a degree of self study ahead of resitting a failed exam.  

Then I got there and my natural instincts kicked in...fail?  Not if I've got anything to do with it and certainly not without knowing I had done all I possibly could to get through it.  That's not to say I'm overly dogmatic...I had come into this wanting a pass with distinction (80%) and very quickly realised success would be redefined as a pass (55%)!!

So the head got buried in the books for the full week.  And one of the biggest lessons....the brain truly is a muscle.  It needs exercised and thrives on it but if you overdo it then it gets to saturation point, is over stretched and stops working!  By Thursday night I had stopped taking information in.  By Friday mornings classes it was a case of every bit of information that went in, another one or two left.  I may have been understanding how to make fortified wine but I'd forgotten where France is!  Even functioning to get the train or my coffee made me feel somewhat spangled.    What's been even more fascinating is how that muscle called my brain has recovered.  There was no brain strenuous work this weekend just friends, good times, magazines and films.  Saturday I was apparently still suffering from brain overuse...conversations stopped as the words wouldn't come and the point of the conversation left me...Sunday was just tired.  But here we are on Monday with a full recovery leaving me fitter than I was when I started....my brain is now full of everything I learned last week, I can recall lots of stuff I couldn't last week.  Not only that but it is sparking full of how I take my new business ideas forward and raring to go (more on that after Easter).  So my summary of last week....it was like a brain boot camp but so worth it.

So what did I learn?  Tonnes and I won't go into it all now....if you like wine and want to know more about wines from certain places or the style of a wine / grape from different parts of the world, or how it goes with food or to go and explore some wine regions of the world then again watch this space.  In the meantime I will say this...it is a simple but complex industry...from the choice of vineyard sites, to how you grow and manage the grapes, how you decide when to pick them, to press the grapes or not press the grapes, carbonic maceration (get me) or not, fermenting it, additions, extractions, age in oak or not, how long to age in oak, lees stirring, age in the bottle, making sure it tastes the same every year even though the grapes won't, distribution, tax, marketing....so on and so forth.  Not only that but it can make it to our shelves for anything from £5 (£2.50 of which is tax and distribution costs).  There are amazing bargains out there but I have a newfound appreciation for what I am paying for when I spend a reasonable amount of money on a bottle of wine and will enjoy it so much more from this point on and intend to help you do the same.

So the course is done, the exam was completed (the quickest three hours of my life) and the results are between eight and ten weeks away...I'm quietly confident I'll have done well enough to pass but we'll wait and see.  That doesn't mean the learning is over...it's more like it has just begun.  I need to consolidate everything I've learned and use that as the basis for building wine tasting workshops for you all to enjoy.  It's also not put me off doing more, in fact the prospectus for the Diploma is in my bag!

I also met and spent the week with some wonderful new friends who shared the pain with me.  Isabella, Arthur, Sachin, Vas and Keri thank you so much for your company and support in getting through.  I look forward to staying in touch with you all and celebrate our success when the results come in.

Whilst in London with my head in the books I...

...HUNG OUT...with my text books in the school, on the train, in the dining room, in my bed!!  Not only that but there was a pretty embarrassing train journey home when I got talking to the girl next to me who seemed somewhat focused on my mouth as I spoke.  I put it down to the accent and needing to focus on what I was saying...turns out (as I discovered when I got home) it was due to the black lips, teeth and tongue; the result of a day of studying Spain, Portugal and Italy and all their big red wines.  With hindsight I probably smelled of wine too...not a good look and pretty hard to explain!

...WINED ON...eighty different reds, whites, roses, sparkling, fortified wines and spirits (12yo Chivas Regal at 9:10am on Thursday was almost a step too far).  There were a couple of real good value standouts I'll share with you but my notes are now boxed up awaiting the courier to arrive and take them north so you'll need to wait until next week.

...DINED ON...a lovely homemade Chicken Tikka followed by Lemon Syllabub made by Lindsey's fair hand and shared with her lovely neighbours Yvonne and Gareth.

Next week....Finally returning to Glasgow!!!

Have an amazing week and will finally see you soon.