I spent last week in Spain with my friend Angie. We don’t see each other as often as we’d like because she’s lived on a sheep farm in Ireland for the past 14 years – but she’s the queen of the Costa Blanca.
We had such fun. She’s very poular and knows everyone so we were never short of company. I am not a big drinker – one glass of sparkling rose at a networking event is usually enough. So was a bit of a shock to my system to get through an evening on a strawberry daiquiri, pina colada, half a bottle of Cava, baby Guinness (which isn’t that at all – it’s a delicious creamy mix of tia maria and baileys) – then a final caramel vodka back at the ranch.
Angie claims I shouldn’t list these drinks as it paints her as a bad influence. Especially as I previously named her as my 11 year old partner in crime for bunking off school to traipse around Carnaby Street. There was a reason for that… She wanted to visit her mum’s friend Hillary who worked in the music business. Hillary now manages Cheryl Fernandez Versini – whose assistant is the daughter of someone I taught to use Twitter for business. Six degrees of separation!! I love that.
On my first night in Spain we were invited to the opening of a new bar in Villamartin. As well as the delight of eating frazzles again (remember them?) the singer delivered a stream of songs that took us back to our shared childhood.
Surprisingly, the bar had no wifi! So no one could tweet that they were there or post on Facebook to encourage local friends to pop down for a welcome drink and a frazzle!! And of course, no wifi meant no facility to check in on Facebook. It was bad planning; any new business should be properly set up for its launch and it was such a shame that this one missed out.
I’m not a jealous person, but I do remember a day in 1973 when Angie was taken to see the Bay City Rollers playing at Wembley and I wasn’t allowed to go. Her dad sold Rollers’ tartan scarves outside the venue – scarves which my nana ran up on her sewing machine. I hadn’t forgotten about this: my memory is sharp, but I’d long since tucked this recollection away. It leapt back to the fore though, in that shiny marbled bar in España, when the singer unexpectedly belted out Shang-a-Lang, a laughingly joyous (!!) Bay City Rollers’ song. Not what you expect these days, but the dance floor was packed – despite most people there being too young to remember the original version.
This was the first week I’ve been away without my laptop, so thanks to my dream team for keeping the business running. I resisted the temptation to tweet photos of my paella and sunburnt skin – so it was a real holiday.
I’m back in the office now; 846 emails to sift through – 800 nonsense and a handful of relevant ones to deal with this morning. Guess what will be playing on Spotify while I’m working…?
Couldn’t find the credits for this, but I can still picture the boys as they were, smiling down on me from the posters on my purple walls. “Give a little love, take a little love. Be prepared to forsake a little love. And when the sun comes shining through… we’ll know what to do.”
Be prepared and know what to do: good advice in most situations. Don’t be like the newly-opened bar in Villamartin. Whether you’re launching a new business, a product or a concept, make sure your on-line presence is fired-up and ready to go. Call me if you need help or advice… or ask me here: @WeekendWitch.
(Thanks for a lovely week, Angie! xx)
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