Cabbage, Counts and Christmas in July

 Greetings from Bali…

Yes, I have just arrived back on this magical island… although my body still seems to be somewhere between Helsinki, Shanghai and Bratislava. Last week I was writing from Slovakia, where I told you about that ill-advised boat trip in Spain—I was sick as a parrot. If you missed it you can catch up here.

After recovering, I managed to spend some time with our Slovakia team, although—as always—it was much too short.

Lunch Behind the Iron Curtain. One lunchtime, Tomas took me to what I can only describe as a proper old-fashioned communist workers’ café.

These places still exist in Slovakia. Although I guess slightly nicer decor than the old days. 

You queue with a tray, just like school dinners, and choose from wonderfully traditional Slovak food: cabbage, dumplings, soups, stews and large portions of meat. Nothing fancy, just good, honest food. I had more than I could possibly eat for around €8—and it was both healthy and very tasty. Then, when you have finished, you dutifully carry your empty plates, glasses and tray over to the washing racks yourself.

No hanging around waiting for the waiter. No service charge. No tiny artistic drizzle of sauce. Just eat, clear up and get back to work. See Bistro u Mäsiara

Dining Like a Count Then, on Sunday, we went completely to the other extreme. We visited Kaštieľ Voderady, a beautifully restored manor house that once belonged to the aristocratic Zichy family.

The story we were told is that when the Russians arrived in 1945, the family escaped to Brazil—and were never heard from again. It is a grand and atmospheric place, surrounded by beautiful grounds, with rooms that seem to hold centuries of secrets. We ate dinner in an ancient vaulted dining room. The food was elegant, artistic and extremely minimalist.

In fact, it cost roughly eight times as much as the workers’ lunch…and contained approximately one-eighth of the food. A few beautiful mouthfuls arranged carefully on a large plate.

So, in the space of a few days, I had eaten like a communist worker and dined like a count. Well!… I think the worker got the better lunch. Discover Kaštieľ Voderady

Bratislava to Bali—the Long Way Around

Then it was time to leave Slovakia and begin the long journey back to Bali. First came a Finnair flight to Helsinki, where I had a very tight connection and a great deal of stress getting through passport control.

Helsinki Airport looked fascinating. I spotted some really interesting shops—including shops selling Christmas decorations all year round. A shop permanently dedicated to Christmas! Ancient Wisdom grew up with Christmas markets more than 30 years ago, so naturally I had to stop and investigate. 

Wow it's Christmas in July! And the shops (several of them) were actually busy. I got totally sidetracked. I mean, how does that work? I'm in Finland where Santa lives right? So I had better buy Christmas stuff.  And then I suddenly realised -oh bugger - I was very short on time...  I made it to the gate with only minutes to spare and climbed aboard a Juneyao Air flight to Shanghai. Nine hours later, another rapid change of aircraft…and then another six-hour flight to Bali. By the time I landed, I had almost forgotten which country, time zone or economic system I belonged to. Thankfully, Bondhan—our man in Bali—was waiting for me. And it really is lovely to be back.

I have already caught up with the warehouse team, and yesterday I met Sefti, our new manager at the Bali marketing office. First impressions: very organised, very determined and ready to get things moving.

Exactly what we need.

I’m looking forward to working with her and seeing what fresh energy and ideas she brings to the Bali team. For the moment, though, I am spectacularly jet-lagged. My body wants breakfast at midnight, dinner at dawn and a long sleep in the middle of every meeting.

England Are Out… Almost 

Sadly, England’s World Cup dream is over after that heartbreaking semi-final defeat to Argentina. Of course, they still have the third-place match against France—but it isn’t quite the ending we were hoping for. Still, perhaps there is a small silver lining for Britain’s gift shops.

The dads who had planned to spend the weekend glued to the football may now be persuaded to take the family out instead.

A garden centre…a seaside town…a day trip…perhaps even a visit to a lovely independent gift shop. Every cloud…

And while England are out of the race for the trophy, Count Binface is still very much in the race in Clacton.

So it seems the summer can still get stranger. Communist cafés, vanished counts, Christmas shops in July, England heartbreak and an intergalactic space warrior standing for Parliament…

It’s all happening.

From our teams in Slovakia and Ukraine to the busy warehouses and workshops here in Bali, this week has reminded me just how wide and wonderfully varied the Ancient Wisdom world has become.

Different countries. Different histories. Different foods, cultures and ways of doing business. But underneath it all are people working hard, trying to build something better—and, hopefully, helping independent retailers like you to do the same. They have been working for the last year on a new backend system..   And...

Big News!

Yes the BIG news - and actually I hope you didn't notice - is that our main website AncientWisdom.biz - has migrated to a new system.. lots of things will be better.. we was up all night in Bali fixing the links, tweeking the layout, checking the flow.. Hope you like - if you have any feedback, please don't hold back :) 

Our July Holi-Daze promotions are moving up a notch or two.. 

I hope you are busy, well and finding plenty of reasons to feel optimistic. Now, please excuse me while I try to work out what time it is.

Have a wonderful weekend.