Life is changing

Life is changing and I really don’t like change, I am a control freak (so everyone tells me) and I prefer everything to stay just the way it is but life doesn’t work like that. I had Covid on Christmas Day, which wiped out Christmas and then in the New Year our beloved dog Teddi succumbed to cancer. She was my constant companion for 12 years and it is definitely hard at the moment without her, she isn’t there when I get up, she isn’t in her bed under my desk as I work and she isn’t there to cuddle in the evening. I’m sure lots of you will understand, dogs are a proper family member and they just don’t live long enough.

Anyway, enough doom and gloom, next weekend we (me & long suffering hubby) will be going to the SEAS show in Ashford and I will be doing a big restock for 2023. I have my long shopping list as usual and will be taking my now famous purple clip board. If you see me, do say hello J. I am really looking forward to it, we travel down the day before and have a meal with Chris and the super guys from the Invicta spider club in the evening. It is such a great show, well organised, fantastic venue, guaranteed good atmosphere and always plenty of exhibitors. Sadly, since Brexit the traders from Europe can no longer visit with their amazing array of tarantula species but the show will none the less be full to capacity of UK traders.

I am sticking with ‘the plan’ and will be looking at animals that can care for themselves for a few days. As I said in my last blog, I need to be sensible and not overload myself with beautiful bugs such as stick insects, praying mantis, grasshoppers and beetles (all of which I love but there is only one of me). I have a lot of other things going on in my life and different priorities from my younger days. Time is something that I never have enough of and I need to use it more effectively. My hubby is great but it isn’t fair on him when I am always in my bug room (even though I love it and it is beautifully warm J).

I am talking about restocking but honestly, I already have a large number of spiders, scorpions, millipedes, cockroaches, isopods etc. Not all are showing on my website, I love to breed my little creatures and need to keep many individuals to enable me to do this. I’m looking at the show, for the more sought after tarantulas, interesting scorpions, other arachnids, millipedes (that I don’t already have, I have a lot!) and anything else that fits with the plan. Business is going well, when there aren’t any postal strikes and the temperature isn’t too cold! I had a really busy autumn last year, long may it last.

I really appreciate so many people buying from me when there are many other sellers out there. I know that people appreciate the personal touch and I try to be available to chat on the phone whenever possible. I get a lot of emails but I prefer to talk. I don’t have the time to fully answer all the email enquiries that I receive these days but I try my best. I do try to post on Facebook and occasionally Instagram but I certainly don’t have the time (or the inclination) to go on the forums so I really appreciate those people who mention me in relevant topics.

I have presented several talks recently via the Ginny’s Jungle side of my business and this is something that I hope to expand on in 2023. I have lots of ideas, as you will know by now I am a ‘Eureka’ person, I get very excited but many of these ‘great’ ideas turn out to be rubbish in reality J I’m thinking of more home-based events such as phobia workshops, alternative get togethers for small groups of friends and just encouraging/bribing more customers to call and collect their orders. Although I have stopped my popular children’s parties (which had me working weekends and became impractical for many reasons), I do intend to start visiting care homes again soon.

Recently my hubby has added a video to the slide show that I use for my presentations ‘My life as the Bug Lady”.  It is very odd watching myself in my 20’s on “What’s My Line” with Eamonn Andrews from 1987! However, it has gone down very well at my WI talks and I think this may also work in a care home setting. Older people often enjoy reminiscing and many will remember the people on the panel in the show. My hubby is currently working on putting the TV videos that he has of me onto the computer. I think the Big Breakfast may be next!

I seem to have done quite a bit of reminiscing myself lately, I am determined to declutter our house. This is not an easy task as I am a bit of a hoarder (well quite a bit really, I hate throwing away anything with memories attached). I have been sorting out my huge filing cabinet. I came across some very old price lists, leaflets from butterfly houses and animal exhibitors and decided to do some Google searches. Most had long since gone but it was nice to see some still going today such as Tropiquaria in Somerset, although I think their entry prices might have gone up (I just checked, they have indeed, almost £10 more per adult – clearly a very old leaflet, no date on it). Horrifyingly, I did find that an animal entertainer, who I knew and had visited me, is now spending 16 years in prison! I don’t think I should say who or what for but it was a shock.

To end on something nice – it is only 56 days to Spring J

Hope to see some of you at the SEAS show.

Wrap up and keep warm.

It’s my birthday next week so I’m having a day off and we are going to the Destinations show at Olympia to dream about holidays and enter all the competitions. I do love my competitions, so far this year I have won a £250 Tesco gift card and £25 on the premium bonds but the big one may be just around the corner and you have got to be in it to win it! (I have won some amazing prizes over the years, including 3 cruises. I could do with another one of those to take me away from this cold). Hubby bought me a heated gillet for Christmas, it is amazing and yes, I am wearing it as I write this blog!