Virginia Cheeseman - Latest News Blog
I regularly post to my news blog when the number of readers hits a certain target and I get the time to do so :) I have been writing my blog for many years now and some of my posts have been read over 3,000 times! Feel free to check back every now and again to see what's happening at VirginiaCheeseman.co.uk
Bugs everywhere!
Bugs everywhere! The bug show in Newark last weekend was great, really friendly, not as large as some of the shows but more intimate and it was certainly packed with visitors from far and wide (see my Facebook page for photos). I got to see old friends from ‘up north’ who I haven’t seen for ages which was really nice. Well done to Warren Davis for organising the event.
I’m back!
I’m back! Well I haven’t actually been anywhere but I haven’t written a blog for a couple of weeks and to be honest it was touch and go today. Bank holidays really do create problems when it comes to posting out orders. I was paranoid about not having anything held up in the post before Easter as the Friday and Monday were both bank holidays so I ended up with a big backlog of orders to get off this week. Thankfully my ‘able assistant’ Georgie wasn’t working this week due to the school holidays so she has been helping out and together we have ‘almost’ got on top of everything.
No Blog This Week
Sorry, off up north to visit elderly relatives this weekend, next week is Good Friday so my blog will return the following Friday 6th April. Happy Easter everyone.
Spring has sprung
Spring has sprung, well it will be springing in just a few days. Bliss, I keep hearing talk of the “Beast from the east” returning but I just close my ears and carry on in my lovely warm bug room. It’s been an amazingly busy week but good fun. I actually had two Ginny’s Jungle events booked in one day this week, that’s a first. I have several bookings now and on top of that, orders are coming in thick and fast and just as things are going out, more animals are coming in. Thankfully my back is a great deal better ‘almost’ back to normal.
Snow-joke!
Snow-joke! Honestly after all the snow and disruption last week, this week has been a nightmare for another reason. Last Friday I injured my back in a new gym class and ended up in excruciating pain, the weekend was a medication and agony induced blur, after seeing my doctor on Monday she confirmed that my back was indeed in spasm (you’re not joking). I could not believe the timing of it as I cannot recall ever having such a back-log of orders. Monday and Tuesday were very tough days as I just had to get all the orders packed and sent out. My family were great, especially my daughter, I honestly couldn’t have done it without her. The physical pain was awful but any mental anguish was all down to me as I’m delighted to say that all my customers, without exception were patient and polite. Obviously, people wanted to know when their animals would be arriving but nobody was pushing me and I was really grateful for this. Believe me I am my toughest critic and I was certainly pushing myself! Thankfully over the last couple of days my back has started to ease up. I know I need to be careful so I haven’t been back to the gym yet but I have to get to yoga on Sunday as my daughter is coming with me as a Mother’s Day present! (she is also cooking me Moussaka, my favourite meal)
Horrible white stuff
Horrible white stuff, oh how I hate snow! This whole week has been dominated by the weather. I said last week that I was incredibly busy and this week has been no different, other than I have not been able to send out orders. I posted a few orders on Monday and everything was fine, it was cold at that time but there was no snow here. Since Monday the snow has just kept coming and going, not enough snow to stop me getting out of the village but enough snow to worry that my customers may not receive their animals the next day. It is so difficult to assess how other parts of the country are doing, they may be clear or knee deep in ‘the horrible white stuff’ so I decided it just wasn’t worth the risk to the animals. Snow or no snow, it has certainly been cold, cold, cold. I was hoping to post a few orders yesterday but I’m glad I didn’t because late-morning I received an email from Royal Mail saying that they had suspended the Special Delivery next day service due to the bad weather.
Deceit and lies…
Deceit and lies… That’s the title this week but you will have to read on to find out why because first of all I want to say thanks to everyone for giving me such a good start to the year. I’m really hoping that 2018 will be a great year and make up in part for the awful time my family have suffered over the last 18 months of doom, gloom, death, divorce and illness. I have been so busy this week that I have posted orders on every single day. Last year sales were so low that I thought I would have to pack up and get a ‘proper job’.
Love is in the air
Love is in the air, that’s the way it seems this Valentine’s week. Spring is just around the corner (only 32 days away now but who’s counting? Me!). This week’s photo is of the gorgeous Tail-less Whip scorpion that recently gave birth in my bug room. Mum and babies are doing well and I don’t think it will be long until the babies leave their mother’s back.
Too many hats!
Too many hats! (Dictionary definition: To wear too many hats - To hold too many responsibilities or assume too many roles at the same time) That’s it, me to a tee but I’m getting there, I’m feeling calmer and more in control. I had a lovely birthday weekend, thanks for all your best wishes and thanks also for all your orders, it has been a great week.
The exhibition was great
The exhibition was great last weekend but “oops, I did it again”. My bug room is now heaving at the seams. I picked up some amazing creatures, tarantulas, true spiders, scorpions, Vinegaroons, Tail-less Whip scorpions, stick insects, cockroaches, millipedes and more. We also had a lovely weekend with the guys from the Invicta spider club who run the event. We went for a meal the night before, when we got back to the hotel I said I wanted a nice cup of tea but was persuaded to have another rum and coke (ok, I didn’t need a lot of persuading) but I really didn’t want to get up the next morning. I needed to get up nice and early to suss out what was there. I did stick to my now famous shopping list and for the first time ever, my scribbled notes of everything that I bought tallied with the money I had spent. Maths is not my strong point and I generally get side tracked and forget to write things down but this time I was spot on!