First Espresso Equipment Acquired

"How hard can it be to make coffee?", I thought back in November 2010.  I soon found out.  Jon Skinner, one of the judges at the UK Barista Championships, came to our flat in Wimbledon to give Jan and I one-to-one training in basic barista skills.  I think it was a real coup getting Jon to train us - his credentials is the industry are fantastic.



We soon learned that it's not just about pushing a button on a fancy espresso machine.  There are tons of variables, and if just one of those is not right then the drink is bad - weak/sour/bitter/watery/etc.  It turns out that ultimately the biggest factor in making a good coffee isn't the coffee itself, nor the machine, but the person making it.  I guess that's why they have the rather glamorous title of "Barista" rather than just '"coffee-maker-bloke".  And if you're thinking 'what a load of smoke and mirrors, machines can do everything automatically that a human could do', then that's completely natural.  You're right where I was before I began learning all this stuff.  But I was wrong.  (At least I hope I was!)

There was a fair bit to go through in the session, and strangely I'm more proud of my Basic Barista certificate than I am of my MBA Degree one! But really it was just enough to get us started.  We still have a long way to go.  (I say 'we' but I'm not sure how much further Jan will take it once she can make herself a skinny latte in the morning!)  I always remember reading of the actor John Turturro saying of Cafe Arriba in Portree "the reason I keep coming back is that it is the best espresso on Skye".  That's very inspiring.  I want my espresso to be the best wherever I am.

So to continue the training process I've bought (aah...ebay) the Gaggia Classic espresso machine and bean grinder that Jon recommended.  Apparently the machine's design is a lot like a commercial machine on a smaller scale, which makes it perfect for learning barista skills.  And there are plenty of forums out there with helpful coffee geeks happy to share their knowledge.  I've discovered that barista-ing (a word?) can be fairly techy too.  The coffee machine and grinder have already been in bits, and I'm going to do some modifications today.


 But the best news of all is that today I achieved my very first Latte Art.  Its a slightly blurry rosetta, and there are bubbles on top that shouldn't be there, but I think its a thing of beauty!

Some days you need to blog twice.

Just had to upload this picture, as I think its essential to give certain moments the credit they deserve.  One of the things I need to do this year is come up with a menu for the coffee shop, which also means I need to learn to cook/bake it all.  I hereby unveil my first batch of cupcakes!

Personally I think they're wonderful... soft, light, and spilling over the top of the paper cup thingy.  Pipe a bit of icing on the top and that's a hearty meal for a weary granny before getting back on the Scotland Tours bus.

Escape Quote Of The Day

"There are lots of ways of being miserable, but there's only one way of being comfortable, and that is to stop running round after happiness. If you make up your mind not to be happy there's no reason why you shouldn't have a fairly good time."  - Edith Wharton

I'm not unaware that the plans Jan and I have involve an element of "running round after happiness".  But, whilst I understand what Edith Wharton is trying to say, she really is talking total phlegm. I mean seriously, who on earth is about to decide not to be happy?

I'd like to counter this quote with a more appropriate one.

"You've got to have a dream.  If you don't have a dream, how you gonna have a dream come true?" - Rodgers & Hammerstein c/o Captain Sensible

Captain Sensible - Happy Talk

Still Alive After One Week

Made it through week 1 with only a few minor hiccups.  Jan's remote working has gone very well generally, apart from a problem accessing her network account.  Rule #1: when dealing with computers always assume it will not be as straightforward as it is meant to be! Unfortunately she now has to go to London at some point to get it sorted out, but luckily there's a booze-up she can go to, to make the trip really worthwhile.

She's very good - tends to shut herself away in the office/bedroom all day to get on with work. It doesn't seem to demand huge amounts of discipline, as you might expect when working from home.  But then again she worked remotely 2 days per week in London anyway, so she's used to it.  And her workload doesn't really leave any opportunity for 'bunking off'!

Meanwhile I'm spreading myself between lots of small tasks, which is a bit frustrating as at the end of each day I feel knackered but don't seem to have much tangible to show for it. Such is the life of a housewife/husband!!  But my priority is improving my understanding of HTML, CSS, Photoshop and Dreamweaver so I can start offering to build websites for local business.  I'll do it cheap for them at first, to get myself a portfolio and also expand my experience beyond the three sites I've done in the past. (www.baan-thai.co.uk is one - it badly needs updating, which I'll do soon.)  My goal is to win 9 clients (and do their websites) before the end of 2011, which at one per month is probably all I can manage alongside all the other stuff we'll have going on this year.

Damn - Jan needs to borrow this laptop right now so that's not a good way to kick off my web design business is it?! Talk soon.

Oof! Right In The Trossachs.

We have now officially Escaped To Scotland!

As I write this from the comfort of the sofa in our cosy little cottage (rented), I glance to the left and see the sun beginning to set over Queen Elizabeth Forest Park through our kitchen window.  To the right, westward, the blue sky still hovers over a line of tall fir trees surrounding the garden. The newly-lit fire is putting up a valiant fight but in the end I shall vanquish and we shall have roaring flames. Is that the squealing siren of a police car I hear outside? Aah no, my mistake, it's just a bird tweating its goodevenings.  I really am sorry if any of this sounds smug, but if you have ever dreamed of something for several years, worked to achieve it, and then finally got there, then you'll understand why I can't keep the smile off my face.  Mind you, this is not the end of the journey by any means. We still need to find a permanent home and start a business. But for now its time to enjoy 'the now'.

We moved out of London on Tuesday in our self-drive hired van.  Boy, was that a squeeze - even though it was 7 metres long. With the help of the brilliant "Jan, Man With Van", a czech guy we paid for 4 hours of grunt work, no gap was left unfilled.  (Could have got confusing, what with my wife being called Jan too.) I reckon we had over 4 tonnes in that 3.5 tonne van - the back end was worryingly close to the road!  What a dog it was to drive too.  Getting the thing moving was like that event on The World's Strongest Man, where the contestant has to pull an HGV from a standstill. Infact, after 2 hours of 1st gear traffic jams on London's North Circular, the poor van eventually gave up the ghost!!  The clutch must have overheated or something, because when I put my foot down the van refused to move.  I had to pull over onto the hard shoulder.  Imagine my horror.... three of us had just spent 6 hours loading it with 4 tonnes of stuff, and now I was faced with the prospect of having to move everything to a new van!  After a few frantic phone calls I decided to just wait 15 minutes to let things cool down, then tried again. Hurrah!! It worked - and now the traffic was lighter and I could get into sixth gear.  Just as well, with 10+ hours of driving ahead of me and a top speed of 60mph.

We broke the journey into two parts, stopping over at Jan's (i.e. my wife's, not the czech guy's) parents place at Newcastle. Arrived there at around 1am, absolutely exhausted and beginning to wish we'd just paid someone to do the removals!  Next day I followed Jan up to Scotland, she in the car.  We agreed to stay close to each other, but despite my telling her that the van had the accelleration capability of a block of flats, the brakes of an ice hockey puck, and the wing-mirror visibility of a one-eyed mole, she drove ahead of me through the centre of Glasgow like she was a test pilot for a new ultra nippy model of pizza delivery scooter. 

We arrived at 3pm on Wednesday.  The cottage we are renting is already furnished, so we have had to somehow squeeze in a second house-load of furniture.  It was stressful at first, but by Friday night we had managed to get our own bed put together and made the living room comfortable enough for a couple of bottles of red wine.  What a lovely night - our first chance to take a breath for about two weeks, we worked out. Today, our first Saturday, we explored the area and picked up a LARGE stash of leaflets and maps from the Tourist Info Centre at Aberfoyle.  Let the new life commence!

Escape Quote Of The Day

"The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat." - Lily Tomlin

Monumental Progress!

Something happened today that gave us a mammoth leap forward in realising our dream.

WE HAVE EXCHANGED CONTRACTS ON THE SALE OF OUR LONDON FLAT!!

This is quite simply awesome, as it means we have a committed buyer who has paid a deposit on the place, so now we can commit to all kinds of things such as the lease on the cottage in Scotland, hiring a van to move out of Wimbledon, and... to Jan's delight... we can retrieve our puddy tats from our parents in the North East.  They've been on their holidays with all four 'grandparents' for about two months now and Jan is pining badly! Every now and then she'll let out a wimper and I'll look up to see her surfing pictures of cute cats on her laptop, as a way to get her fix.  We've also received the occasional photo of their antics, but its a poor substitute for the real Biggins and Lulu.  Granny and Gramps will miss them terribly once their gone, I think.  They do get under your skin!

 So now I have a checklist of things to be getting on with and people to notify of our move:

1. Council Tax

2. Doctor, Dentist, Vet

3. Royal Mail Redirection

4. Utilities.

5. Comms. BT, Sky, TV Licencing.

6. Driving License and Vehicle Reg docs

7. Electoral Register

8. Accountants

9. Banks

10. Insurance!!!

11. Mobile Phone

If anyone thinks of any more, let me know!

It has actually been quite a nightmare getting a removal van.  We had quotes of around £1800 for professional movers, so we've plumbed for the self-drive option.... but getting a one-way large van hire is like hunting for snow in Las Vegas.  In the end I'm going to have to drive to Scotland with the contents of our flat, then drive the empty van back to East Sheen in Surrey, then get a flight from Heathrow to Glasgow and ask Jan to do the 2 hour pickup journey from the cottage!  Call me tight, but the £1300 it saves us will pay for a fantastic shower once we buy our new place.  Its exciting to be thinking in those terms now!  I just hope the van is big enough - hence this plan >>>>>> !

We're due to complete the sale of the flat in a week's time, but are moving out before then.  I suspect there will be some very picturesque photos on this blog soon!!