The final week of the Year of the Monkey. A crazy week that was…

… nerve wracking

when we got a call from Radio 4 on Wednesday asking for comment for the 6 o’clock news on Chinese arrivals to the UK over this Chinese New Year. With 30 minutes to gather estimated arrival stats and a view on the market. Tick.

Listen to the Radio 4 news item here.

… manic

when China Central Television rang (at around the same time) to ask if we had any good stories about Brighton to encourage them to forego two other (marginally more famous!) university towns to film their annual news slot about Chinese travellers over Chinese New Year here. With an audience of 1.2 billion viewers across Asia, that sort of opportunity doesn’t come along every day!

… exciting

when we heard our pitch about Chinoiserie at the Royal Pavilion and eating habits in Brighton’s seafood restaurants had won. Followed by more mania arranging two interviews and a two day filming schedule for the next morning. Which, thanks to our amazing clients at VisitBrighton, we did.

… hilarious

watching the traditional Lion Dance switch to ‘Gangnam Style’ at Brighton’s CNY celebrations at the Clarendon Centre at the weekend.

Ready for a laugh?

… proud

as we celebrated winning a fantastic new client, The Roman Baths, Bath. That’s our second prestigious heritage attraction alongside the wonderful Royal Museums Greenwich and we couldn’t be happier.

… nostalgic

as we graduated from the Entrepreneurial Spark Business Accelerator, now we’re ready to go it alone. What a wonderful experience that has been and we will miss all the fantastic entrepreneurs we have met along that journey. If you are interested in starting your own business, I can’t recommend it enough.

The Year of the Rooster has 13 lunar months. Unlucky for some. But I have a feeling it’s going to be a blast.

Happy New Year everyone! I’m off to IKEA for a rest…