Easter was very hectic

Easter was very hectic. I bought in a very large number of spiders the week before and also some new millipedes. I finally managed to track down some Train millipedes, they have now almost sold out. All this new stock generated a rush of orders so I have been frantically trying to get everything packed and off this week. Bank holidays play havoc with my work, having last Friday and Monday as bank holidays severely reduced the amount of days that I could safely post livestock but I'm pleased to report that I have now caught up and had no problems with the post. I didn't make it to the bug show the weekend before Easter as I could not find petrol in my local area at that time. Just as I decided not to go, everything seemed to settle down, typical! I don't know how the Newark show went as nobody has mentioned it to me?

I have had a flurry of overseas orders this week, I assume it is due to the weather warming up. I'm not sure why but the main European country that I supply is Finland. Perhaps they have a reptile/bug forum where I am mentioned, whatever the reason I am very pleased with all these orders. I have also had some nice orders in the UK from various exhibitions and butterfly houses. I am already planning for next Winter, I cannot run things as I did for the last one. I spent every day caring for my menagerie with few orders and most of the orders were of low value. I am grateful for any orders but it was pretty difficult to keep going as the bugs kept multiplying and I was literally giving things away, just to keep on top of it all. My vague idea of running a 'phobia clinic' seems to have become a real possibility. I am amazed by the positive feedback that I have received from fellow bug keepers, friends, neighbours and even my doctor. I mentioned it to an acquaintance a few days ago and she said " Oh what a great idea, I turn 40 this year, I'm terrified of all bugs and I would love to have a phobia birthday party with my arachnophobic friends"! I am amazed to find as I ask around, that so many people are seriously scared of bugs, spiders and snakes (or is it just my friends & family?). Everyone seems to think that I am the right sort of person to help. I'm not sure what form of training I would need but I saw an interesting article in the current issue of Practical Reptile Keeping magazine. The article is written by a guy who helps people overcome snake and spider phobias, he uses hypnosis, which I am not planning on doing but it is interesting and I may contact him. I know that London zoo run a spider phobia course, or at least they used to, I'm hoping it's still going and perhaps I could pop along and see how they do it. Lots to think about, it may just be another great idea that goes nowhere but as I said before it's important to move with the times. With the economic climate as it is I have to explore what else I can do with my business. School visits are fun and well paid but they are only required during the spring and summer (my busy times). I could go into children's parties but it sounds like a lot of hard work and I would need all the equipment, insurance and police checks etc. If I did set myself up as a phobia counsellor I'm sure I would need insurance for that, just in case!

All the bugs are doing well, mating and reproducing at this time of year. I was actually delighted to find one of my tarantulas had matured into a male a couple of days ago. My adult female Trinidad Olive spider matured ages ago and I had my fingers crossed that one of the smaller spiders would mature into a male. I have bred this species before, they are quite small but very pretty. I didn't do so well with my Fishing spiders, my male matured but promptly got eaten by the female when I introduced them. I had another two females to introduce him to! Time will tell but I don't think they had time to mate. I could be wrong, I have had male tarantulas quickly eaten by their mate and they have gone on to produce egg sacs.

Easter was such a busy time that I have now set up a 'Quick Questions' page in the information box on my website. I was swamped with emails and many asking the usual questions (perhaps I should have called it 'the usual questions'). I hate to ignore emails, I try to reply to them all but it takes ages. I already had a cut and paste word document to answer these questions but now it is on my website so that I can just refer people to this page. It is so difficult to try and make my replies look polite. I certainly don't want to sound rude but all these questions are answered elsewhere on my website. I can moan to you because if you are reading this blog then I'm sure you have looked around my site and read my terms, FAQ etc. I did have some of the questions and answers shown on my home page but I realised they are actually all negative and I didn't really want them on there. Anyway I would appreciate some feedback on this new page, does it look ok? does it sound polite? If it doesn't look ok I may as well just delete the enquiries and save myself a lot of time! I haven't finished it yet, I have only put on the questions as I was asked them, there are several more to cut out of my word document. Perhaps I will get time today but I am off to collect some more spiders, stick insects, scorpions, beetles etc. Sadly I'm not off to the Jungle to collect them, just West London.

Finally I must mention my lovely customer Ivan and his long suffering wife. They have recently celebrated their Golden wedding anniversary and what did Ivan want as a present from his children? Yes, a new supply of pet bugs. I did of course put in a few extra bugs as a present from me. I have some super customers and although I am always moaning about the general downturn in sales, rest assured I will be going forever. I have just found out from a friend who turned 60 last week (a much older friend) that the government have put up the retirement age and I won't get a state pension until I am at least 66!