It's Been a Hard Day's Night

Hey all

Before we start I suggest you start loading the videos below so that when you get to them they will play immediately for you. Off you go now – scroll down and press play a couple of times.

Well here I am a week after opening the new Hatfield Factory store. We completed a full 3 day induction which I did with the help of the store manager of Swindon and a few guys from Niketown as well. We held it at a very swanky leisure centre on the site of the old London Airport. Inside the hangers where the jumbo’s used to park are now filled with indoor tennis courts and swimming pools. That all went smoothly and it’s funny how quickly you can pinpoint the troublemakers. Unfortunately my new store manager decided to resign the Friday before induction started so I was left high and dry with only an assistant store manager who was promoted from Niketown. Luckily I also had a footwear manager and his partner who I got from the Mitzgen factory store in Germany who applied for positions in store.



After a week of load-in and several 12 hour days (luckily this was the area manager’s job and I was able to go back to work and catch up on work and sleep) the day before opening we organized the grand opening party to be held at a restaurant. The food and drink flowed until we all realised we had to be at the store in a few hours so headed back to the ‘poor’ Quality Hotel which we were put up in. The day of the grand opening I put together a PowerPoint presentation that lead from day 1 to opening and then a few words from the management team which began the champagne flowing – at 8am in the morning. 150 people were waiting at the front doors and once the doors opened it was all out of my hands and sat back and watched. Luckily that day I interviewed a possible store manager with the GM of the factory stores and he was perfect so this week I have him being trained up in our Essex store and then straight into Hatfield.
I will have the email that was sent around the UK announcing the opening when I get back to work.

I hope everyone had a good Easter. Mine was spent in West Sussex which is in the English countryside pretty much right above Brighton. Helen and I went down the Friday morning and immediately headed out for a walk through the rolling hills. It was supposed to me a miserable day but we managed to find the dry patches of the day when we were outside. After the walk we headed back to our Hotel and then to Helen’s parent’s holiday flat (just across the road) for some bubbly and then off to Arundel – the UK version which has its own castle. We had dinner at a place that never disappoints – unlike some of the places we have had to review for Helen’s magazine.

The next morning we headed to the seaside town of Ferring – I think that’s how it’s spelt – to have a walk on the beach. Now I have been to the beach plenty of times but this was the first time I was in cargo pants, T, thermal jumper and waterproof jacket. So while I was down on the waters edge where people swim in summer, it started SNOWING! We then headed to the Fish Factory for exactly that where I had a taste of mushy peas with the fish and chips – not good but not bad. And doing what we do best, 4 hours later we were back in West Sussex for dinner at a pub before heading home to London.

On Sunday we met up with Heidi who was off for a 27 day trip around Europe – going all the way down to Greece and back up again. That will open here eyes to things she didn’t expect to do while over here. She is backing London for 3-4days before she is off on another trip for 2 weeks around the UK.

In the Time Off magazine over here there is a competition which Helen and I are doing to win a few prizes. I will have to get some of you to fill in the answers for us so we get as many entries into the draw as possible. It is a treasure hunt around London where you collect clues and then submit them online. If you can then great – if not then just don’t then…

On Thursday there was the official opening for the movie The Orphanage which had both the director and producer – Guirillimo Del Toro (who also did Pan’s Labyrinth – a definite must see). The screening was sold out a week in advance but that wasn’t going to stop me. I waited and waited and as the movie started 4 spare tickets went on sale and I got one and ducked into the packed cinema. Hard enough to find a seat in the dark of a cinema let alone one with only 4 spare seats… When it opens in Aus it will be a must see. Best not to read anything about it before seeing it. It might be at the Art centre or something as it is Spanish with subtitles but worth searching for. Unfortunately Del Toro was sick and the Q&A afterwards was only with the director but was great anyway.

I have a hot tip for you over there. If you are now a fan of The Office – not counting you mum – then I have found a gem that will probably not get a release in Aus so I have put a link here so you can watch the first episode then watch the rest on youtube. Do yourself a favour and stick with it. Like the office there are so many great lines but it will take a few watching’s to pin them all down.

THE THICK OF IT







Last night we went to see a small band playing in the UK for the first time – The Panics – from Perth. They went down really well and are apparently trying to break into the market so will be back a few times this year.

Heading to our first Hotel review on Sunday but have to pick up a car and drive it into London on Saturday as they are closed on Sunday. Will probably have a brain explosion trying to find my way back in.

I think anyone watching TV in he 80/90’s will be looking forward to this. Check it out….



Another hot tip for a movie a little way off that is going to be coming out about August. It is a comedy called TROPIC THUNDER. Any movie that has Robert Downey Jr playing a white man playing a black man – who is such a method actor that he stays in his black persona until he finishes doing the commentary for the DVD is champagne comedy in my books.



I got to see The Presets playing a small gig in London Uni last week too. Coming up in the next couple of weeks is another Hotel stay in the Cotswolds and then seeing Longwave – a band that supported Something For Kate a few years ago in Byron Bay – who are playing at the Camden Barfly, Cut Copy who are doing a medium sized gig, Pete Doherty solo paying the biggest gig of his life at Royal Albert Hall in front of 6000 people, Dirty Pretty Things playing their gig launch, Love Music Hate Racism free concert in East London where Babyshambles are playing, Black Kids (get on board if you are not already – next big things) and then the International Rugby 7’s being played at Twickenham.

And now try to guess what they are doing test shots for here….



No sleep for the wicked.

Until next time, back up the tree I go.

First Factory Store Opening

Well - Hatfield - My first Nike Factory store opening is about to happen. Employee induction happened last week for 3 long days and now we are expecting to have a soft opening today for a few hours and then the grand opening will happen tomorrow morning at 10am.

Everyone involved is heading up to Hatfield tonight for the store opening party which will happen at a restaurant and then who know were it will lead...

As you probably can see - this is not a blog that I could do up myself. As Eduardo is over here at the moment I got him to set this up for me. So what I will do now is send this out whenever I get the chance to update it.

So a big shout out to the Man - Ed. Hopefully once he has a break in his jaunts around Eyrope he will free up some scheule to do some travelling with me. It seems like he is doing more travelling than working at the moment.

In the near future because Helen is an editor at Food&Travel Magazine, we are being sent to 2 hotels over the next couple of weeks to review them. Life is hard at the top.

I will have updates on how these went once I get back. One is in Wales and the other is in the Cotswolds.

March 30th - April 1stTwo nights here http://www.peterstone-court.com/ with dinners, breakfasts and hopefully a spa treatment - yippee!

April 18thOne night here with dinner and breakfasthttp://www.dialhousehotel.com/

Amsterdam

Hello,

Well first day back at work. Lots to do… off to Braintree for interviews tomorrow then CC will be here on Fri, on Sat is mothers day so going to Helens parents for the night then on Sunday there is a small festival we are going to.

Amsterdam was AMAZING. I think we really did all we could in the 3 days. We got up Saturday morn at 4am and went to the train station to find there were no trains running so had to dash to another station.. The trip is quicker than flying GC to Sydney. We arrived and they had a good train system to get to Amsterdam. We stayed at a place called the True Love Guesthouse. It was right on a canal and was split level. Very nice and central – you will see once I load the photos.

Of course we needed to eat so we went to a long walk around the city to a market where there was a huge Turkish restaurant in an old mosque. I ordered a chicken kebab pita and when it arrived it was the biggest thing I had seen. I thought I would only eat half but finished it so quickly Helen was only ˝ way through her lunch. I picked up some cherries at the market too. After the lunch we walked a bit more and came across a very camp cake shop where we had dessert. It was really nice but very pink. On the walk we went passed the Heineken brewery and Anne Frank’s House but it was too long a line so didn’t go in. Maybe next time…



Later that after day we went to visit one of Helen’s friends who lived a bit out of town in Utrecht. Caught the train out and went for a drink in the small town centre then went to an underground cavern for dinner. Great little town and – I can say this about everyone I met in Holland – so friendly. Finished up there at about 11 and came back to the city.

The next morning we were up early and off to find the best pancake place in Amsterdam. It was really good. Crepes just how mum likes them – with lemon and sugar. It was so good we went back the next day for another one.

After a bite we decided to do as the locals and go and hire bikes to travel on. What a great idea – so easy to get around and cover long distances which would have killed the legs. We had to go to a restaurant which was all paid for so we could review it for Helen’s magazine – which will be out in Aus in March (Food & Travel Magazine http://www.foodandtravel.com/) we got lost but a lovely man and lady did their best to point out the right direction. When we found it was a new restaurant balancing on an old railway bridge that swivels over the river – you will get it when you see the pictures.

Once again I was hungry so we tracked down the best croquets in the city. It was in an old bar which gave memories of Spain’s small bars where the make everything in front of you while in butcher jackets. This was a much better option than the fast food which is famous here. There are vending machines which you get hotdogs/hamburgers etc from when you pump in a few Euros. The authentic place had the most simple buns and toppings but I didn’t go as far as having the tartar bun with onion – raw mince with onion sprinkled on top. I kept ordering one by one and would have kept going had we not had a free dinner coming up which was organised by the tourism department I tried to get a photo but they were not having it. Reminded me a bit of Royston Vesey in the Gentlemen series.

After lunch we checked out a few more sights and visited a ‘coffeehouse’ which is something I had not encountered before. Amazing how liberal they were. We hit a few bars and then and got ready for dinner. Can’t say that I have ever travelled to a fancy restaurant on a bike before let alone Helen all in a dinner dress and on bicycle.



Unfortunately the place was very new and the staff didn’t have much of a clue so there were more problems than praise. And then at the end we walked out and they asked us to pay some of the bill as they got a different email from the tourist office – but we got out of paying as we had out email on us. How rude… after dinner we headed into the red light district – that was something different. I can tell you there were some wrong-uns there. And not able to take any photos either.

On the last day we visited the tulip museum and went to a few other markets around the town before heading for pancakes and visiting another place that cooks all their sandwiches and meat on site – very rare in these parts. After biking and drinking the town we took the bikes back and had a big meal before heading back to the airport.