She lifted her head out of the clear blue water and immediately heard the rasp of cicadas and children's cries of joy as they ran in and out of the shallow waves. Dipping her head under again, she felt her hair fan out like so much seaweed while the blissful silence returned and she moved gently up and down with the swell. The sun was warm on her face and she knew that, if she opened her eyes she would see the Taygetos Mountains standing guard over the little village and the sea she … [Read more...]
Thank Heavens For Jamie Oliver!
Thank god for Jamie Oliver. Really, when’s he going to get his OBE (or whatever they give chefs for being bloomin’ everywhere with their brand)? If it were not for his coffee shop in North Terminal Gatwick this would be a very bleak 5 hour wait indeed for the 05.35 EasyJet flight to Kalamata. I left Phoebe earlier at Shoreham Station, where she had helped me with my two suitcases and one piece of hand luggage, 100% full of tech stuff. That was hard, I nearly cried, she’s so sweet and I love … [Read more...]
The Russian Doll
Nobody tells you that you will have to start again one day. That’s one big fat dirty secret everyone older than you seems to keep to themselves. Standing invisible, looking around at the typical shopper in Tescos in Shoreham on a Saturday afternoon, you would hardly imagine that the 50% of them or so, quite obviously in the right age group, are feeling the pangs of whatever this is. Adding to your sense of isolation, you can’t really believe that they are all currently starting again … [Read more...]
Making An Entrepreneur | 001 | A Helicopter Overview
Dear Phoebe and Nelson, in the light of Steve's sudden demise, I wanted to start to write my memoirs, to tell you more about my entrepreneurial journey so far. Why would I want to do that? Especially as you don't really like to read yet, and may never actually read this at all? I believe that, by telling you my story, but also, more importantly by sharing the books, tools and techniques that changed MY life, you can improve your lives too, maybe by becoming a full-blown entrepreneur or … [Read more...]
Steve Watson Remembered | One Year On
Dear Steve, I can't believe it's been a year. I would say "already" but boy, has it been a long one! The last 24 hours have been the longest of all, remembering each painful hour what we were doing only a year ago. Wondering if I could have done anything differently? Wondering if I could have somehow saved you? If only I could have stopped you going out for that walk... If only you had come back to my house instead of staying at your flat.... If only, if only.... The pressure eased … [Read more...]
A Trip To The Post Office
Kardamili Town Hall (Not The Post Office!) My first vlogging camera arrived at Katerina's Supermarket - you can watch me unboxing it here if you are into that - and it was totally wrong which makes the video quite funny. I ordered a second camera immediately expecting it to take the full three weeks the first took to arrive but it came within two weeks so the delay must have been sheer weight of packages before Christmas. The second Unboxing video is here - along with a lot of laughter and … [Read more...]
Clicks & Leads Vzine | 001 | No Money? No Excuse!
This week Nicola's talking about how having no money is no excuse for not getting a business started online. Episode 001 of a weekly video ezine (Vzine) by entrepreneur, author, podcaster, speaker, Nicola Cairncross. All production, music & drone credits can be found on YouTube, just click the video above to view credits and live links. … [Read more...]
Is It Working Yet?
Judith and I have just recorded the Christmas and New Year edition of the "Own It!" podcast. We recorded them back to back and used the Christmas edition to look back over 2016 and the New Year edition to look forwards, both from a business perspective. As we move towards Christmas, that commercially fabricated day that really only means anything to people with young children or big families who all like to get together in one house each year, it’s worth a bit of a personal review I … [Read more...]
Neck Deep In Tech & Hanging My Arse Out
It’s been a busy old week, this week and I don’t mean socially, although we did go out to Dionysius Taverna on Sunday to meet a friend of Stella’s for dinner. Excellent bean soup and chicken fillet on the grill and a very lively evening it turned out to be! This week I’ve been neck deep in all the technology for my new course, The Pivot Point. Each stage of the marketing requires a bit of tech or two and while they all do integrate together, you have to know HOW they all fit before you can … [Read more...]
It’s A Little Fresh This Week!
It’s so cold! I knew it would get colder as December / January approached as I’ve read "100 Days Of Solitude" by Daphne Kapsali. (By the way, you can get that most excellent book on Kindle during December for just £1 / $1 so go and treat yourself) Daphne lives on the tiny island of Sifnos, dividing her time between London and Greece. Sifnos is slightly further away from the equator than Stoupa (but not much). After reading Daphne's book, I checked before we came so I was part … [Read more...]