Corfu Villas and Yacht Supplies

2011-05-06T15:50:00.003+03:00

Yes we're off and running with our first blog of the year, although Sally has branched out with her own thing called attheminute that you might like to look at. We have already done some yacht provisioning, earlier start than last year, but that's boring, isn't it?

What we really want to talk about is fun, parties and stuff like that. So, here is our Easter party in Hawaii.

That's Hawaii Pool Bar, Pelekas, Corfu. To celebrate Easter in fine Greek style Rodoula Konti and her family hosted the traditional lamb-fest on Easter Sunday, and what a great bash it was. Thirty assorted folk from near and far gathered at the hottest spot in town for Easter lunch, followed by a full on poolside dance party.

Everyone had a brilliant time including the 140 German tourists who "popped" by to enjoy the sun. A great big thank you to Rodoula and her family who gave us yet another memorable day.

Here's to a great season for all.

Cheers.

Nick & Sally

12,000 Steps & A Cool New Pool.

2010-09-06T13:04:00.020+03:00

Well, the end of August and beginning of September brought a few changes in the weather with some torrential rain for a couple of days. Although we are sorry for the holidaymakers I think that most of us "locals" rather welcomed it. It has been "scorchio" for a long time now and the rain has just freshened things up a bit. I'm very pleased to report that the sun has now returned and we have that wonderful September feel - hot in the day but not too hot, warm at night but not too warm and the bluest sky you will ever see. I know that the last post was ages ago (sorry) but we've actually not even had a Sunday off since then. So, when the sun burned away the rain yesterday morning it was time for walkies and swims again. Yippee!

We set off with some chums to do our favourite 3 village walk of about seven kilometres and it was perfect. Along the way we ate figs, apples and blackberries all picked from the abundant "harvest" that is in fact just left to rot - so why not? Katie "found" a bay tree for the garden and we were also rewarded with some close encounters with a couple of snakes - this one I believe is a juvenile "Four Lined Snake" which has yet to develop it's distinctive er, four - line pattern.

Great fun was also to be found in the village of Varipatades. We stopped for a swig of water and were immediately involved in the Sunday lunchtime performance. The local old boys were playing guitar and singing, just doing it for themselves, but were delighted to have an audience and the twinkle in the eyes of a couple of the chaps was not lost on Sally & Katie.

Suitably "refreshed" with ouzo supplied by one of the ladies of the village - well it would be rude not to - we continued on through Kalafationes (to avoid some vicious dogs) and finally to Kouramades. 12,000 steps in total and completely deserving of a visit to Pelekas' latest and greatest attraction, the stunning new swimming pool at the Hawaii Pool Bar & Restaurant. Although there is still a bit of work to do the Pool and Restaurant are fully open all day, every day. George & Rothoula and their family have put in an enormous amount of work on this project and it shows. Not just an ordinary square hole in the ground, it's a beautifully landscaped oasis of calm and serenity, as you can see. It really is a superb addition to the facilities available in Pelekas and yet another reason to visit our lovely friendly village. We'll see you there soon.

Provisions, Parties, Passed Out!

2010-06-18T13:31:00.015+03:00

Hello again. Yes we are still here and well into the season now. Fortunately, the weather has realised this and now resembles full-on summer with temperatures way above 30 C. Phew, what a scorcher! (© The Sun/Mirror/insert own Red Top) and I'm pretty sure it's hotter than the UK so yah boo sucks etc.

So, what news? I hear you ask. Well, despite the predictions of the worst season since the Dark Ages, things seem to be quite positive. Ok, there aren't the numbers of visitors of years gone by but it is by no means a disaster. There is no tumbleweed blowing down the streets of once bustling resorts and no mass suicides. Of course, the benefit of having fewer visitors than usual is that you can get served in restaurants and even find yourself a nice quiet spot on the beach. Add to that the pound fighting back against the euro giving better value for money and what more reason do you need? So, if you can grab a quick week - get on a flight.

As for ourselves, we're off and running and are very pleased with the way things are going. Villas and Yachts are being provisioned and we've also been providing a range of "other" services, some of which we didn't expect! (Can't say). One chap even took the trouble to email us to say that the fillet steaks we delivered to the yacht on Monday were completely delicious and fresh as a daisy at dinner last night in Kefalonia. Individually vac-packed you see.

In other news, at the top is a piccie taken at our recent official launch party. According to all who attended, a good little bash. Thanks to everyone who came, the gifts of plants make our office look even more like Kew Gardens.

As you are aware, it's all work and no play for us. However, we did sneak a day off on Sunday as we were invited for a days sailing on Simon and Katie's catamaran. A brilliant day out with only minimal amounts of work being accomplished. Thanks folks. As you can see from the pictures, Simon & Sally clearly enjoyed lunch and there was even time for a bit of silliness.

Suits me, don't you think?

Better on Miss Katie, 'though.

Right, back to work, shopping to be done.

See you soon.

Signs of Life

2010-05-07T16:12:00.008+03:00

Well, look here. Yes I know I should have been standing on a box (and I haven’t had time to photoshop it), but at least it shows that we are open for business and raring to go. This is good news as it is now the first official week of the season with charter flights arriving since Monday. True, there are not yet that many people getting off those flights but, with lovely warm weather and lighter nights, it's a pleasant relief from the horrible wet winter.

We've also "gone live" with the online shop. Phew! It's not finished yet but with almost 1,500 products available it's a good start. We'll continue to add as we go along but most of the essentials are there for now, including champagne. (Yes it is).

Went for a blissful walk one morning to de-stress and came across this lovely little chap, busy making gorgeous Corfu honey.

We also went to visit our local organic farm to chat about the coming season and all the lovely fresh organic produce that we can look forward to. The weather has been good for growing so far this season and Fergal & Kelly are promising even more choice than before. Below you can see some of the beautifully laid out beds using old roof tiles as edgings - organic recycling!

At the weekend we are visiting Corfu's microbrewery. They make a range of fresh, organically produced beers including a fabulous "Bitter" which satisfies the craving for that dark nectar that Heineken, however pleasant, can ever fulfill. The others are a Pilsner and a "Special" which are also exceptionally good. Anyone holidaying here this summer can sample these little beauties at Hawaii Bar in Pelekas and by Monday, they will be available in our online shop for villa/yacht delivery.

What? Oh please, this is product research we are doing here!

2010-03-27T15:43:00.005+02:00

A lot has happened since our last posting and I am delighted to report that some of it is good. Of course we continue to jump through hoops of fire as far as bureaucracy is concerned but in terms of actual progress, you no longer need time-lapse photography to detect movement. One look at the photo above will show that we have now got the office pretty much finished. That's Sally working away at our custom made table (Made by Mike - 693 886 6049) on the computer today.

Shockingly, we have now got a telephone line and broadband internet. This is thanks to Olga at the new OTE office in Kontokali (very good), and a phone call from a friend who knows someone, who knows the man at the.......... you know the rest, don't you. This means that we can now spend most of our days at the office getting ready for the season. We are still working on the On-line Shop which is starting to look really lovely and will be ready very soon.

Now that the weather has warmed up it's nice to see people out and about. Our business partners arrived last night and commented on how quickly the winter has gone by - well, it would if you spent it skiing. To us it seemed to last about 5 years, in slow motion. Still, it's great to have them and others over for Easter, let's hope the weather holds for everyone.

Scrubbing up well.

2010-02-10T11:25:00.010+02:00

Hurrah! After much chasing around we have the keys to the new offices and have been busy cleaning and doing repairs and decoration. After a couple of years of being closed up it was a pretty ugly prospect but we are now getting close to readiness. With the premises semi-divided into interior and exterior areas we are treating them differently. The inside is very much the office space (above), while outside, we are making it into an area with greenery and seating as you can begin to see below. We have services connected now and telephone and internet are on the way, so it's starting to feel like we are actually opening soon.

Just as well we are able to make progress as enquiries and orders have started coming in. This is very encouraging so early in the year and we are very pleased that the leads have come from our websites and other sites such as Trip Advisor. These little rays of sunshine have cheered up a miserable spell of weather, rain, cold and biting winds. Today is absolutely horrendous but I am assured that spring is on the way and we will soon be seeing this in the morning.

With Easter so early this year (4th April) it is noticeable that things are starting to happen. The shops are full of fancy dress and decorations for carnival, and the freezer cabinets are full of Calamari in preparation for the coming celebrations, when meat is off the menu. (For some!). Lots of friends will be here for Easter so let's hope we can be ready for a launch party around that time.

Meanwhile, for us, it's meetings with legal eagles and accountants to try and finalise the paperwork. Great. (No offence to lawyers & accountants).

'Tis the season to be jolly.

2009-12-30T10:33:00.030+02:00

'Tis also the season when not a lot gets done in terms of business. These days, Corfu, like everywhere else, seems to close for business from Christmas day until January the something. One can’t complain, everyone deserves a break, but it is frustrating when you are trying to crack on with launching a new business. Our most pressing need is to get into our new premises in Kontokali which is shown here. This is necessary mainly because we can’t actually form the business until we definitely have a business address. We did go to the property owners solicitor just before Christmas where everything was agreed, so we are not actually worried, but would like to get things sorted. Ho hum. Anyway, it appears we will be OK for mid January at the latest so it’s no disaster, but……

In the meantime we have not been idle. We’ve been busy updating our websites and getting the Shopping Cart online ordering sorted out. This is a lot of work and fortunately Jon from Truetype Web Solutions has been working over the holiday period so we have been able to meet several times and make progress. This is a learning curve for us and very interesting. We should have something ready soon so that will be an exciting development. Having decided on our product categories we are expecting to post twenty different categories from fresh fruit and veg to beauty products, probably around 2000 product lines to start with. Eventually we expect to have in excess of 5000 products online. Phew!

We are delighted to note that both our websites are now very high in the search engine rankings, largely thanks to hard work between ourselves and Jon. With the new summer season looming this is good news and we look forward to a successful year.

We did allow ourselves a day off on Christmas day and were invited to lunch with friends. This was a lovely surprise and many thanks to George & Rothoula (pictured) Kontis of Hawaii bar in Pelekas and their family who treated us like, well, family. (They always do). We had traditional beef stewed in red sauce, spaghetti and roast turkey. Oh, and lots of wine.

It was a lovely day and took our minds off the stress for the day. We also managed to speak with lots of friends and family around the world enjoying their Christmas, many on the piste! Lucky chaps, although you can keep the snow, thanks.

So, we hope you all had a lovely Christmas and that your new year celebrations are fun. We are hoping for the traditional firework display in the village here to bring in 2010, which we hope will be happy and prosperous for all.

Seasons greetings from Nick & Sally.

Sunday Morning Corfu Walk

2009-12-06T16:26:00.010+02:00

Today is my name day and as we woke up to searing blue skies and very warm sunshine, we decided to go for a country walk. Something that people might not realise is that Corfu is covered in hundreds of miles of agricultural tracks that offer absolutely beautiful walking for all abilities. Although it’s very hot in the summer months you can start early and enjoy a couple of hours in the country or along a coastal path and be back in time for a hearty (and well earned) breakfast, before a day at the pool or beach relaxing. In the springtime it’s much cooler and perfect for walking, with an absolute explosion of wildflowers and wildlife to see and hear and in September and October there are abundant fruits hanging from the trees and the changing colours of autumn.

Even in the winter months a day like today cries out for your walking boots. Today we saw two lakes and one snake, several lizards, glorious olive groves filled with birds and butterflies and only one other person, a lady collecting “horta” for lunch.

There are a number of online guides and books available including “The Corfu Trail” which you can read up on before you arrive and decide which walks are best for you.

Do get in touch for more information if you are coming next year.

Ship Ahoy!

2009-12-04T14:50:00.002+02:00

Out of the blue we had a phone call last night from a chap called Morat who was on a cargo vessel anchored 3 miles off Ipsos on the east coast of Corfu. (That dot in the distance is the ship). They were on their way to Venice and had run out of some provisions, could we help?

Of course we could. So, off we went early this morning to round up their requirements. Bread, chicken, vegetables and rice were loaded onto a boat and we motored out to meet them in Ipsos bay.

The crew were all waiting to meet us and looked delighted to see us. Actually, we think they were delighted to see the provisions! It was great fun and everything was done ahead of schedule. What’s more, despite it being December 4th, it was really warm out on the boat and the sea was calm – glad we didn’t have to do it on Monday when there was a major gale blowing.

Kalo taxithi guys, see you again, enjoy Venice.

Keep smiling.

Christmas is coming

2009-11-28T21:07:00.000+02:00

Oh yes it is. I know this because this weekend is the annual Christmas Craft Fair. People from all over the island meet to exhibit their crafts whether Christmas based or not. Sally is there with her greetings cards and chutneys and it was a good first day yesterday with an excellent turnout. If you fancy going along to have a look it’s open today from 10.00 until 21.00 and tomorrow from 10.00 until 17.00 at Viros Community Centre, next to the primary school.

On other matters, our optimism about the new premises, while not completely dashed, is somewhat subdued. Unfortunately, our Greek is not fantastic, which is a black mark against us, but dealing with Spyros on the phone is really difficult. So, after todays conversation, we are none the wiser whether it’s good or bad. We will have to go visit on Monday morning to have a face to face and hopefully resolve the matter but, I have to admit, we are worried. Why is nothing ever straightforward?

Suppliers also seem to think that it’s far too early to be thinking about next year. Not so easy when we have an online ordering system to put together and not a lot of time to do it. We’ve known for a decade that everything gets done at the last minute but that cannot be the case this time. We hope.

Normally by this time of year we will have arrived in India or Thailand for our winter holiday (we do work all summer). We just missed the Mumbai bombings last year but would dearly love to be back there now. Too much to do this year so, sadly, no holiday. Never mind, we love rain.

Hopefully we can give you good news about the shop on Monday, if not, has anyone got a tent?

In the beginning.........

2009-11-24T11:39:00.002+02:00

Our first job after getting agreement from our backers to go ahead was to sort out the websites for our new business. It’s only one company but we decided to split the websites for villas and yachts. More work and expense, but it allows us to offer specific services to each sector. After 450 meetings with Jon from Truetype Web Solutions (it only seems like it) we managed to get both sites up and running and although not the finished articles, we are very pleased with the results.

Finally able to get on with some other things we turned our attention to premises. We wanted to be in Kontokali and had identified a disused shop that would do the job. We had agreed the rent with the owner and when, on Wednesday last week, we went to view it for a final time before signing on the dotted lines, we were a bit surprised to be told “sorry, it’s been let to someone else”.

Great. Now, we are not the type of ex-pats constantly moaning about Greeks. We choose to live here and have to accept a few annoyances occasionally, it’s a small price to pay, but losing our chosen premises at such short notice was hard to stomach. We knew that someone had offered more money and when we suggested that this was the case we got the usual shrug.

‘Nuff said.

Annoyed but not downhearted we set off and immediately found alternative accommodation. In a better location and in better condition, it turned out for the best in the end. Sometimes these things are meant to be. Better owner too who is happy to tie up the details this week so we can get down to business.

We're off this afternoon for another meeting to dot the "T's" and cross the "I's". Let's hope there are no more shrugs in store.

Stay tuned.