A Happy New Year to Everyone

I hope you all had a fantastic festive season now it’s over we must knuckle down and see what we can do to combat all the doom and gloom that we keep hearing in the media. Our buying team is out and about searching for bargains to save you money.

It was lovely to see all the children’s happy excited faces with Father Christmas and I hope all their wish lists came true. Just wait until this year we have got plenty of new tricks up our sleeves to make it even better, (remember ESK is where dreams come true)

I must apologise for promising the web site would be up and running. Unfortunately when you get the technical people involved they discover all sorts of problems. Our intentions are good and we are still working on it.  Please bear with us.

It won’t be long before the days get longer and we will be in our gardens. Our garden club starts again soon Green Fingered Fred will be dusting down his microphone and oiling his trainers and putting and   a smile on people’s faces again it’s going to be a special time this year.

We are about to start work on the textile and linen’s department in Eastbourne we have nearly changed the light’s and we have got the new flooring and we have some new stockists on board. So it is very positive to say the least.

On a sad note Luscious Lucy who I have mentioned before has decided to retire, her and Bootleg George were playing games in their garden. Luscious fell and damaged her arm. It is very sad she has been with us for 16 years and we will miss her badly. A very loyal worker and what a lap dancer!. Enjoy your retirement Luscious you deserve it, (although I have heard a rumour that she is thinking of going back to lap dancing!)

Once again, Happy

A Santa-stic Day!

Hi Again

We had a great day on Saturday. I have never seen queues like it to see Father Christmas. It was simply amazing to see all the kid’s faces. The queues were so big my son Bobby had to give the kids AND adults sweets!  The kid’s loved the reindeers and horse and cart and Our Father Christmas was amazing , he never stopped all day, didn't even have time for a pee, although maybe I should check the grotto to make sure! He treated the last four kids the same as the first four . He worked flat out from 11.45 to 4.45 smiling and talking to all the kids and I owe him and the three elves a huge big Thank you for all their hard work.

The list of people to thank is endless. We had the Eastbourne AM Rotary Club here along with others bag packing on the day who managed to raise over £600 pounds for charity. The charity was Breakaway- a weekend break for around young disabled people. Everyone  was amazing . The day was co-ordinated by Peter Lindsey who worked tirelessly to ensure that the day was a huge success. Thank You Peter. We had Rik Scott from Sovereign FM , The Mayoress of Eastbourne, Carolyn Heapes, Christina Ewbank president of Chamber of Commerce and Mercedes Benz from Eastbourne, Sue Mulvey from the Esperance Hospital, Stephen Lloyd our local MP, Councillor David Tutt, Beverley Thompson from Southern Water here all bag packing.  A BIG Thank you to you all and to all the Rotarians that also helped to raise money for such a worthy cause. I would also like to thank Hayley Scott who was a real trouper and the staff from the Eastbourne Herald who took photos on the day,  the face painters and magician  Al Plonko who worked non- stop to entertain the queues of people. I would like to thank all the staff and management. I am sorry if I have left anyone out.  THANK YOU TO YOU ALL.

You can see loads of great photos of the day by clicking HERE

Seasonal Greetings to you all.

Bob

Thanks to All of Our Customers

Hi Again.

I would love to say a big Thank You to everyone who supported us in our Halloween project this year. What a wonderful success after 10 years without doing Halloween. Most of the staff in Eastbourne dressed up and looked the part which was great. Watch out for next year we know what direction we are heading.

Don’t forget our Father Christmas will be arriving in store on Saturday the 26th of November with his REAL reindeer. Come and see him and the grand opening of our Christmas Grotto at 12.00 pm. Bring the children it’s only £3.00 .  They get to see Father Christmas and a present. Great value for money.

David (you may remember him from earlier posts, the one with the hat) has come up with a fantastic idea for the disabled. We will re-open on the 6^th of December after the store closes at 5.30. We will specially re-open the store at 6pm till 8pm for Blue Badge holders and their carers. They will receive nibbles and a drink and more importantly have the store to themselves for a couple of hours to browse and do any shopping. If you are interested in coming along ring the store and let us know .

We have a great announcement to make: By the end of November we will start operating online sales. We are still currently developing the site so please be patient but it is definitely a step in the right direction for all our customers. Just key in www.esk.co.uk.

Don’t forget  we are still regularly updating our book section. Paperback fiction novels are £1.99 each or 3 for £5.00. We also have a great selection of coffee table book’s, autobiographies and children’s books all at great prices. Just in time for Christmas.

We have had Peter the poppy seller in store with his table of goodie’s. He sits there for 14 days on the trot voluntarily.  He does a grand job for a good cause. One year we tried him as Father Christmas but because of his shape we had to stuff him with cushions! Yes you’ve guessed it his trousers fell down, so I am sure you agree it’s best he sticks to selling poppy’s.

When it comes to this time of year it takes me back to when I used to work on the fairground’s in the summer I would be scratching around trying to earn a living which I did by selling Xmas paper on the street’s. I had a friend who had a café, his name was Jonny Mouser who we knew by the name of Micky. I would look after his café when he went on holiday. He was a really funny fellow and one day he asked me to help him down the stairs from his flat to the ground floor with a piano. We got out of the door and along to the landing OK until we came to a set of stairs. This chap came out to give us a hand and unfortunately we dropped the piano on him. We were horrified. He kept making these funny noises and we thought his was messing around and the more we laughed the more we squashed him. Little did we know at the time that he was deaf and dumb! I bet he has kept away from piano’s ever since. We got the piano down to the ground floor in the end and he saw the funny side and was a smashing bloke.  

Anyway, Thank’s once again for your support and hope to see you soon.

Bob

Bob & His Team Get Set for the New Season

Hi Again

Sorry we are running a bit late but we have been very busy. We have laid a new floor in our promotional area where we have also built a massive house for our Xmas products which everybody loves. We have also built a new Halloween Department at the back of our store with unique Scream Machine products it looks fantastic and is very very scary, the feedback from people has been amazing . We have really gone to town this year with Halloween after not running it for 10 years we decided to do it again in style. There is something for everyone at very good prices.

The Massive Halloween Display at our Eastbourne Store

We have started to put our Fireworks out also in store . Again the new range is absolutely amazing. We have big packs of Giant Rockets, Roman Candles, Barages, Mammoth Sparklers, Cake Fountains, Catherine Wheels, Pyro-Mesh Rockets etc etc. This Year we have a giant tv showing the impressive fireworks on sell.   On Saturday the 26^th of November we have got our very own Father Christmas visiting the store at 9.30 with a horse and cart to ride around the town a few times playing Christmas carols and waving to all the children It will arrive back at ESK for 11.30 for him to feed his reindeers. At 12 o clock we will have the grand opening of our Christmas Grotto where the children can visit Father Christmas and get a present. Tickets will be on sell for £3.00 at customer services beforehand. We will have our two face painters and resident majician Al Plonko performing free of charge too.

On Tuesday the 6^th of December we are opening the store between the hours of 6pm – 8pm for Blue Badge Holders and their carers . It would be helpful if this is of interest to you if you could email us to let us know if you are coming so as we know roughly how many people to cater for.

Getting Crafty!

Hi again.

Well we have had a busy summer, we have almost built the front to our Christmas Grotto and we are well underway with our firework department. This year I am pleased to say that we have our largest ever selection of fireworks where they will be displayed for all to see on a television. We are also getting ready for Halloween where we have a very impressive display for all to see and great competitive prices and choice available. We also have our brand new range of Windsor and Newton artists products available in store due to popular demand with all our lovely customers. Come and see our very impressive products.

Dave and Vanessa have been away on a buying trip to Holland and sent us back a picture:

A Nice Pair of...

                  ...Dave is the one on the right wearing the hat!

They were supposed to be working!!?

Well what do you think of all the riots and looters. We had a tip off that they were going to mob Hastings so we cleared the shop windows and filled them with security guards with baseball bats. You should have seen their faces they didn’t want to play. They didn’t need to be wearing hoodies when they looked in our windows one quick glance and they were off! We didn’t need to worry as the police did a fabulous job and kept them moving, so well done Old Bill. I heard a couple got put in prison for four years they should do the same as China. They don’t get fed until their families come and pay. It certainly isn’t like a holiday camp over there. I remember a few years ago three English guys went skint and stuffed a Chinese firm for a few quid and four years later they stupidly returned to buy again and got recognised and put in jail (not a nice place) and were not released until their families sold their homes and paid the debt. If you get shot in prison the first thing they send you the bill for is the bullet!

Don’t forget we have a free demo day in Craft on the 1^st of October from 10.30 till 3.30. Gaynor , Mandy and Ann will be demonstrating our new products and giving you the chance to shop for those hard to find materials and learn new things obtaining professional advice  remember  it is  a great day, free parking  with  free advice from Gaynor and her team.  Gaynor’s team have also offered their brilliant services to demonstrate at the 65^th birthday celebrations at Help The Aged store in Eastbourne town  from 10.30am till 3.30pm on Thursday the 13th of October. Esk helping the community again.

Don’t forget any of your Football Clubs and Sports Clubs if you are trying to raise money for new kits or funds  you are welcome to a day bag packing . Phone Linda or Scott on 01323 435500  to book a place.

Frites and Frights

Hi Again

I am having a break in France which is good as it gives me idea’s to improve the business and make it interesting.  One night in France we went to a street market and put out long benches and French and English people all mixed together with music and street entertainers. A bowl of mussels and chips for  8 euros and a bottle of wine  for 6 euros. It was a lovely family night with no yobs ruining things. Let me know your thoughts on us having a Thursday Moule and Frites night at the Craft and Gardeners Club.

 We are on the drawing board for our Halloween . We will be stocking approximately 160 items at great prices with a large range of £1.00 lines. You will love it!  Our store manager Scott Ellis is getting  measured for his mask and bat man outfit as we speak. Harry Potter has got nothing on us. The products will be on the website soon for you to view so let us know your thoughts we will have one of the best ranges in town. Don’t forget our large selection of Fireworks on sale all year round and our new Party and Tableware section  and our great selection of books which are updated regularly. 

We also have a vast range of Artists' products coming in soon  to run alongside our busy Craft Department. We will be stocking many lines from Winsor and Newton, all great quality for all you budding artist’s out there. We will catering for people on all levels. 

Have you noticed our advert for our range of Bordeux Furniture it is so good we have even been selling it to our French customers. Bloody Amazing. If you haven’t  seen it yet pop and see, its great value for money.

I feel like all my Christmases have come at once as the roadworks have stopped and the road is now open …. so no more delays in getting here and no more watching the work men leaning on their shovels, I mean digging up the road. Thank you for your patience.

Come and visit us, don’t forget we have a huge free car park, where you can even get your car cleaned at the same time.

Once again I would like to thank everyone who has emailed me and I am very grateful for all your interest and support.

Thanks Again

Bob

Whether the Weather...?

Hello All,                  


Well what’s happened to the weather? It’s shocking -we don’t know whether to stock flip flops or wellies!

I tell you what we are selling in  large volumes  - BOOKS - and  just in time for the summer holidays. At the back of our  Eastbourne store we have a large selection of paperbacks  priced at £1.99. There is also a great selection of authors such as Linda La Plante, Maeve Binchy, Susan Lewis, Lesley Pearce . We also have a large selection of children’s  and cookery books all at very competitive prices.

Don’t forget we stock the biggest party range for miles, to suit all your summer party and bbg needs.  We have a great range of grass skirts  and Hawaiian products  too and we’re are  licensed to sell fireworks all year round.

 Ozzie should be smiling at last, now he has stopped giving away free teas and coffees. To look at his face anybody would think we had asked him to give £10 notes away with each free drink. Poor chap!  If you visit our store I bet you can’t make him smile.

Last week we sponsored a Human Table Football Fest with Beachy Head Rotary Club, which was held on the seafront’s Western Lawns. The wind was so strong it blew one tent away and broke the pole on the main marquee. The only good thing  was my wife Marie was going to do face painting. She practised on past president Ray Groves.- what an improvement!

Before I go I must thank all you lovely people who have emailed me. It is lovely to receive your comments and support.

On a sadder note we brought some trees to plant on the boundary which looked very nice.  On Sunday night some yobs broke them. I can only assume they got pleasure out of it. (bring back the stock’s, that’s what I say!)  I do wonder what’s happening to the world sometimes …….

Regards

Bob