Portobello Road, Paintings, St Pancras & The Papillon Club

Well the fun quota is about to reach maximum toleration levels this weekend.  Later today, I get on a train to London with Sarah, to go and meet Jennie Armato and Paul Clarke, for dinner. I’m interviewing Jennie for my new Money Gym book and then we are going to one of my favourite restaurants in London – Galicia in Portobello Road for aperitifs.  Real Spain and full of local spanish people especially early every evening.  Then onto Osteria Basilico – which is Italian LOL -  for dinner.

Then off very early on the Eurostar from St Pancras, which has the longest champagne bar in Europe, Judith tells me, and which opens at 7am I notice from the website.  We leave at 8.30 sharp so best not go there….

To Gard Du Nord in Paris where Heather is meeting us and taking us to our hotel – for some reason she doesn’t trust us to make it through Paris on our own.

Not sure if we are seeing “Carmen” on Friday or Sunday, but on Saturday we are going for dinner at a charming and apparently marvellously eccentric restaurant & rooms on an island on the Seine, described by the owner Odette thusly …

“Our medieval house, located on Ile de la cité, one of the best area of Paris, was built in 1512. It became a restaurant, as well as a guest house during the 18th century.  Odette et Georges welcome you in their french restaurant where all products come from french organics farm every week. You will discover the Odette’s specialities like “Hot Foie Gras”, “Mini Scallops”, “Duck breast with Orange sauce”…”

I have no idea what else is planned but I’m sure it will be great!  Our package included tickets to the Louvre, and as the last time I was in Paris was before the Triangle thingy was built, I will definately want to see that as well as revisit the Monet paintings.

We are staying at the Antin St Georges Hotel, which looks perfectly nice and is in the Bastille area, pretty funky from my recollections of previous visits, with lots of live music bars.  Very close to the Opera House which is essential so Heather can look after us LOL.

Don’t you just love the way you can look everything up on the internet nowadays?  I think it takes a lot of the fear out of travelling if you can visualise where you are going.  Well it does for me as I’m a bit of a worrywort (now there’s an old word for you Judith!).

I’m struggling to write this as I’ve hooked up on Facebook, with a dj who DOMINATED the South Coast in the 70’s and 80’s and funny enough, his name is Paul Clark too (see above for my dinner plans).  Paul use to play in every decent soul and jazz funk club in the South East and had a residency at both the Inn Place and the Papillon club.

The Inn Place is legendary and lasted through Soul, Jazz Funk, Punk, Hard Times & New Romantic, so you get a feel for how popular it was and how long it lasted. The loos opened out onto the lane behind, and the cistern was ALWAYS leaking, so it was very swamplike in the ladies.  You had to enter the club via a precipitous staircase that was practically vertical and felt more like a ladder, hell in high heels and they always were high in those days (unless they were silver sandals!)

Now, if I told you that Kim and I used to go to those clubs from Worthing, and that £1.50 got you a return train fare, and a coca cola AND get you into the Inn Place (35p as I recall), then you will realise we are talking about my teens here!

We used to go to jumble sales and buy mad stuff and rush home to put it through the washing machine and tumble dryer before wearing our amazing outfits that evening.  My dad used to wait at the bottom of the stairs to see what we were wearing this week and CRACK UP!

Good days, great clubs and the music was awesome.  Check out this page of their Top Tunes – it autoplays so just sit back and enjoy – I’m talking to you Peter Stanley!!

We are missing their first reunion event in Brighton on 6 August because we are off to Spain for August, but I will certainly be checking out the next one.

Have fun, we always do!

(But I don’t know how much more I can take LOL)

Nicola

p.s. RIP “Elias”, the huge but generally gentle doorman at the Inn Place and the Escape Club.

Physio, Ponds, Pigs, Pillows & Paris

My neck is better!  Yes, after 10 days of sheer & utter hell, it’s suddenly decided to stop hurting at night and I have had the first good night’s sleep for ages.  My physio lady says it must have been a trapped nerve as they often fix themselves suddenly like that.  Still a bit stiff round the shoulder area but today’s massage and acupuncture helped a lot with that.

So it’s back to Dunelm Mills with the memory foam pillow which was the wrong thing totally and swapped for a GOLD quilted throw just to “bling up me bedroom” a bit more.  And back to the supplier with the small contoured pillow so that I can order a bigger deeper one from the supplier recommended by the physio – that will involve a trip to the post office – gawd help us.  Our local post office is very old school and full of old ladies who don’t know the meaning of “hurry” bless them.

I met old friends Rona & Adrian for dinner last week before the Let’s Talk Money workshop, and a great evening in Tas by the Globe Theatre was had by all. How can you not see old friends for six years and then it’s like not a month has passed?

Their holiday home blog/website is coming along nicely, with an availability list and the news that the Volvo World Match Play Championship is going to be just up the road from the house in Casares, at the most luxurious Finca Cortesin, in October/November 2009.

Now, if you have a holiday cottage, or holiday home abroad, watch and learn how I’m doing it and we will see how long it takes to get their first booking from a standing start last week. It’s cost just £99 so far, for a domain name and hosting for two years (better for SEO than buying one year at a time).

Key elements are a great key word URL, a wordpress blog, SEO friendly plugins, a Twitter account @CasaresSpain, keyword rich content, key word labelling on the pictures, constantly updated with links to useful sites locally…..and when I get out there and take more photos and videos…rock ‘n’ roll.

If you do have a holiday cottage or home abroad, and you are not 80-100% let, why not have a look and see what you can improve about your marketing.  Did you know that agents in Spain, Portugal and Cyprus think they are doing well if they get you a 30-40% occupancy?

Talking of overseas, I’ve just spent a happy half hour deciding which micro-preneurs to invest in at Kiva.org.  Decided it was time to do a bit of systematic tithing (titheing?) and I have written in an outgoings line on my spreadsheet to make sure I do it.  I want to work up to tithing an amount based on profits in the previous month.  Then I’ll work up to tithing an amount based on revenue.  Easy does it though.

This is in addition to Money Gym coach Marion Ryan’s FANTASTIC idea to just leave a £1 coin per day somewhere where folks will find it and know it was left on purpose (what fun!) I wanted to do something where I could stay involved.

I was randomly following a tweet, about how the recession was making graduates more entrepreneurial in the dearth of jobs, and eventually ended up on Kiva.org, which I rembered that I had written about on our blog previously.

Kiva.org say “You choose who to lend to – whether a baker in Afghanistan, a goat herder in Uganda, a farmer in Peru, a restaurateur in Cambodia, or a tailor in Iraq – and as they repay their loan, you get your money back.  It’s a powerful and sustainable way to empower someone right now to lift themselves out of poverty”.  Cool!  why not check it out – you can invest as little as $25 in someone but that might make all the difference to someone trying to start a business in difficult circumstances.

I found myself drawn to the chicken farmers which will come as no surprise to my family as I love chickens.  Might have to keep some myself some day.

You can see my first investments here >>>

and if you want to join in the fun…I’ve created a Money Gym team, so that we can all lend individually but our loans get credited to the team.  There’s no financial benefit of doing that to us, but I thought it might be fun. My first loans were made before I made the team so they won’t show till I make next month’s loans.

http://www.kiva.org/team/themoneygym

And here is a picture of one of my investments, Thor in Cambodia, who has a business raising pigs.  And very happy they look too!  My $25 was the last on in the pot, so she’s raised her loan to buy more sows to grow her …..herd?

You can read more about the history of Kiva.org here and a follow up article here

And don’t be surprised if, instead of a Christmas Present, you get a gift certificate from me to invest in someone yourself!

Interviewed Martin Avis today, asking some searching questions about how he got started in internet marketing, and what one or two things made the difference to him, taking him from someone making $200 a month online, to someone who makes a VERY nice living online.  Nice man, and he has a lovely pond too which I’m very envious of (see below)

So this weekend is a biggie at Money Gym Towers, there is a big poker game tomorrow night, and next week  it’s a whole weekend of X-Factor, where they are changing the format to have live audiences for the auditions, like they do on Britain’s Got Talent. Andy Harrington has just let me know by Facebook that he’s going to the Live Show on Thursday so I’m deeply jealous, or would be if I were not trying to fix up a dinner with Jennie Armato and her partner Paul, who are in London for Mark Anastasi’s Traffic Generation Summit.  Claim your free Money Gym tickets for that here

My next speaking gig is for Triumphant Events, at the Topher Morrison “Inner Game of Money” weekend at the beginning of July.  There are some great preview evenings coming up for that and you can book your seat at one of them here and also Daniel Priestley, who knows a thing or two about Social Media & Affiliate Marketing is doing a lovely evening on just that topic on Thursday 17th July – if you are not going to the X-Factor live show, that is!  Get your seat for that here

Daniel Priestley…………Simon Cowell…………….Daniel Priestley………….Simon Cowell………………difficult one!

LOL

And Sunday I’m going to clear out the pond and sort my rockery out.  Gardening is the new rock’n'roll remember?  I like a nice job of a weekend away from the ‘puter and I have a little gardening sidekick to help…haven’t I, Sarah?

Then I’ll be twittering from Paris next weekend where we have a private box, dress circle for “Carmen”.  The pictures Heather’s been posting on Facebook from behind the scenes look AMAZING….I just can’t wait.

Have fun, we always do!

Nicola

Bonjour Mon Ami! Free Traffic Generation Seminar tickets – déplacer vos fesses rapidement!

Bonjour Mon Ami, Here’s something good but you have todéplacer vos fesses rapidement!

But first……did you know I have an Opera Singer sister?  Her name is Heather and I’m very proud of her.

So why am I telling you this?

And why am I testing my school girl French to the max?  Some might even say “painfully”.

Because my family loyalty was put to the test this week….Bigtime!

I had to choose between going to see singing sister Heather sing at the Paris Opera House in “Carmen”, one of my favourite operas of all time…..and going for a long weekend in Paris with Sarah……

OR…….

Going to see some of my very favourite people speak at what looks like one of the biggest and the best seminars of the year.

People like Alan Forrest Smith, Jennie Armato, Guy Levine (who taught me so much back in the day), Mark Vurnum and our very own Mark Anastasi.

O yes!

Since going to the “Break Free Seminar” recently, Mark has shot into my Top 10 Speakers list.

Worldwide.

Also featured at the Summit is a little known (so far) chap called Gareth Owen who taught me one little trick that has EXPLODED my Google Adwords results. Alan Forrest Smith says Gareth is his secret traffic weapon.

Well, I was chatting with Mark Anastasi the other day, as I want to interview him to find out some of his secrets, and he mentioned his upcoming Summit.

Oh, I was so disappointed not to be able to go!  But Heather and Sarah would never speak to me again if I cancelled this trip.

Mark was cool though and he did something very special for me, even though I can’t go.

Today Mark allocated me 20 tickets to “The Traffic Generation Summit” worth £97 each to GIVE AWAY to my clients.

(each ticket comes with £1,582.00 in bonuses, by the way)

He said, “Nicola, don’t worry, get some of your very favourite clients to come along, and I’m sure they will share everything they learn with you!”

The man’s a genius!

Of course you will.

So here goes with the info…..and remember, you have to share!

===================================
Claim Your Ticket And Your Bonuses Here:
http://www.trafficgenerationsummit.com/moneygym
===================================

Attend this special Wealth Creation seminar and discover…

* How To Produce a Steady Flow Of Buyers To Your Online Business And Break Free From The Rat Race

* How To Get a Tsunami of Traffic Through a Website To Take Over a Million Dollars

* How To Attract Hundreds of Thousands of New List Subscribers in Days

* How To Generate Hordes of Brand New Visitors Eager and Hungry To Buy Your Products

* How To Get On Page One of Google, Yahoo, and MSN

… and much, MUCH more.

===================================
To find out more visit
http://www.trafficgenerationsummit.com/moneygym
===================================

If you want to create multiple streams of income on the Internet, you really do not want to miss this unique, one-off event.

Hurry though, as there are only 20 tickets available.

And I mean TOUT SUITE!!

To Your Success & Au Revoir!

Nicola Cairncross

===================================
Claim Your Ticket And Your Bonuses Here:
http://www.trafficgenerationsummit.com/moneygym
===================================

Carmen, Casares and Camping Out

While taking delivery of a Marks & Spencers online clothes shop, I was reminded how sometimes tiny little things can make you feel happy, grateful and wealthy.  These are just a few of the things that have made me feel good this week.

1. A pile of 10 x soft new M&S t-shirts to wear (piles of new socks are great too!)
2. Being able to pay to book in immediately for emergency physio/acupuncture to relieve your cricked neck pain
3. Wearing your favourite perfume all day, every day
4. Getting a book recommendation from Michael at Triumphant Events, and buying that immediately, plus a Michael Masterson you want to read
5. Buying a whole new set of GOLD and pearl beaded bed bed linen on a whim, plus a bedside table – room truly looking fit for a princess now!  I know, I’m giving away my inner chav here but it was 15% off all bed linen at Dunelm Mills (love that place!).

On the speaking / live appearances front, Ambar Hamid’s Wealth Thing seminar was been moved to the weekend I’m in Paris with Sister Sarah, visiting Sister Heather who is rehearsing for Carmen at the Paris Opera House (Bastille) – she’s posting great “behind the scenes” pics from the set.

I got a Tweet from one of my Ecademy Blackstar maties to say his wife is on the same production and did I want to meet up for a coffee, as he’s out there on baby patrol?  Twitter really is great!

It’s our Money Gym Let’s Talk Money day this weekend which is sold out and which I’m looking forward to a lot.

I’m having dinner with my old friends from Spain, Rona & Adrian, the night before the workshop.  You may remember I talk about them in my book a lot, and we are swapping a three week stay in their beautiful house in Casares for a website to help them promote it for rental, now they are back in England.

You can see where me, Sarah & the kids are going to be spending August at http://www.HolidayRentalCasaresSpain.com.  When I dreamed of becoming financially free, it was travel I wanted most a la Tim Ferris’s “4 Hour Work Week” and I’m doing a fair old job of it the next couple of months.  Paris, Greece then Spain – lovely!

I’m still working on the website for Casares, but it’s coming along nicely.  Wait till I add little videos of the place and surrounding areas – those bluey-green weeks won’t stay unbooked for long!

We have firmed up the dates for the September start of the next Silver Elite programme

The current pilot of the programme is getting rave reviews and if I just had a bit more time I could get them on the bloomin’ page! The main thrust seems to be that you can join Silver and get all the information, but in order to actually take action, you need to feel accountable and that only happens in a group or 1:2:1 coaching environment.  If you like the sound of that for September, you can secure your place at a £500 discount if you are already a Silver member.

Our vision for The Money Gym has never been clearer and we are planning all sorts of exciting developments for 2010.  For 2009, We are racing against time to get all our projects finished so that I can start on renewing my current book then writing the next one.  It’s fun, it’s fast and it’s furious but the good news is, as ever, that we do the work once and the products are there for the foreseeable future.

It’s the main Beach Dreams weekend coming up, with two days of live bands, organic food, cider in the tent and lots of enjoyment all round.  Phoebe has SOMEHOW talked me into letting her put up a 12-man tent in the garden and cramming a load of teenagers into it for the night.  Well, I would rather they were here and safe, than hanging about the tent / beach on Saturday night.  It does mean a bit of a dash from London after our workshop but hey, it’ll be a laugh!

In the meantime, I’m reading “How To Get Rich” by Felix Dennis and it’s jolly good!  One of Britain’s wealthiest self made entrepreneurs, it’s described by the Independent On Sunday as “startlingly frank and very funny” and so it is.

Have fun, we always do (bad neck notwithstanding!)

Nicola