Sun, sea and shattered lol!

Well another week over and another great 7 days. The weather went a bit dodgy on Tues, Wed and Thur but its all back on track now but the night temps have dropped from the past couple of weeks so got both my outdoor heaters on full blast which is helping alot, no more loud chattering of teeth or jackets needed here haha.

Went to the pool for the first time today and boy was the water cold, all i needed was an Argentinian there to smack me in the face with a door to fall in to the water and it would have been like Winter Wipeout again. My muscles were in such a state of shock when i got out it made me look quite trim and ripped, shame the sun thawed me out LOL.

The Oceanic Rock Legend T-shirts are selling so well i can't believe it, up till today i've sold 20 in 11 days, the best sellers so far are The Beatles-John Lennon and Joy Division-Ian Curtis. Glad my customers like them, hopefully the trend will continue as my t-shirt printer Spiros is a very happy man at the moment. Ive added another design to the list, this is thanks to Ian or as most of us know him "splat" (ref May blog 2011)

So what can i say about my second week. Loving it, Loving it, Loving it. couldn't of asked for any more than i have had. Even with the odd bit of rain i've been having good nights. Look at all the happy cosy customers in the warm and dry.

The day after the rain they were so happy that they were waving and shouting as i took this pic, sorry about the blurred picture but a quad bike was just about to run me over as i was taking it, maybe thats why they were waving and shouting LOL, everybody chatting and having a laugh, theres no better sound than people in conversation and enjoying other peoples company.

The world famous actor Leighton Kyle is staying with me at the moment and brought the sacred CHAMBORD, my apartment is trashed with take away cartons but i am now going to stop with the late night fast food, Leighton can carry on but i'm going to make my body a temple, healthy only from now on, he's a bad food influence LOL.

Did i tell you i shaved my head before the season started. Well what little hair i had is back now but when i shaved it off it looked really good UNTIL i put my dark rimmed glasses on, and there staring back at me from the mirror was Harry Hill, NNNNNOOOOOOOOO! Even when i was walking down Alexander Roma i could see this reflection of a person in the shop windows and i'd turn to see who was next to me and it was me, i didn't even recognise myself LOL. Someone did comment that i looked like Heston Blumenthal but as you all know he is my arch enemy and nemesis haha.

On to the subject of food and this has to be the biggest rip off ever from Zakynthos town, i bought a small Calzone (folded pizza) it looked good, felt heavy and full, that was until i cut in to it at home and in the middle was this vast emptiness, the space was so big Bin Laden could have hidden in there for years and no one would have found him LOL.

I am expecting things to go quiet in the bar once the holiday prices start going up but its a real gamble this season, one night you could be packed out, the next empty. But i'm thankful for whatever the night brings.

Rumour is going around that Oceanic was broken in to, this is not true. Why the hell would anyone want to break in to my bar, i got bugger all worth stealing, the burglar if he broke in to my place would most probably think "The poor sod, lets leave him a TV" LOL

So heres to hopefully another good week but i'll take whatever it brings, so until next week, some shower gels smell so good you could eat it, DON'T, it tastes awful.

Seasons started with a woosh, bang, wallop! yippee!

Well the seasons here and don't i know it, knackered already haha. I opened on Thur 3/5/12 just to make sure everything was working and did some minor work, so while i was working i thought I'd allow people to come in for a drink, why not! Thur and Fri went really well, better than my opening night last season and then cause Liverpool was on Sat in the F.A.Cup i decided to close and open officially on the Sunday, wish i hadn't haha. Now being as its my 6th year with Oceanic there was no big opening night, no frills and offers just open at 7pm and if people come in that's great. On my first season i had the big opening but now i just take the chain off and see what happens.

Kappow! the season started with an amazing first night and hasn't stopped since. Wed 9/5/12 had my best ever night for May in the 6 years I've been here, the next day i beat that record by a third and fri beat it again. What the hell is going on LOL. Run out of seats at one point but its OK as got spares or as Peter Kay would Say "emergency chairs". Earliest I've closed since Sunday is 3am and past 3 nights been closing at 5am, if this is to continue i will need a body transplant to go along with my hair transplant haha.
Now in saying all that I'm very thankful to all who have visited so far but as I've said before I'm very realistic about my business and know this can't continue like this all season, nowhere on the whole of this island is that busy all season and i don't expect to be either but its been a really surprising start and I'm very thankful for it.

The new decor is really really liked by all who have visited and only just now are my regular customers arriving before that they were all fresh new victims, i mean tourists LOL.

Its been a really hot start to the season also, the days are very hot and the nights are also warm, not needed my outdoor heaters once or any need to put weather tents down. Many of the new visitors to the island have said to me they are already going to come back to the island next season which is great news and that is mainly due to the friendliness of the locals which should be applauded. I wish all the businesses on the island and in Kalamaki well and a good season. There is no need to be enemies with your neighbour as when the resort is in full swing there are enough tourists for everybody, all businesses should pull together to create a better resort.

Isn't it strange what stories you here when you chat to people. I was having a nice chat with a few people and i was told that they had been told by someone that I'm a cleaner for Tesco and that Oceanic isn't mine and none of the papers are in my name. Blimey, i didn't even know that, thanks for telling me LOL. So just to set the record straight i was a cleaner for Tesco in the winter of 07/08 but that's not a secret as its on  this blog also in the bar on my outside wall is my medical x-ray which i had to have done to get my licence and not only that my licence and music licence with my name on and picture are hanging on the wall inside bar for all to see. If this person who had told people these stories had actually come in to the bar at some point over the 6 years they may have seen it but hey there we go they now know.

The resort is picking up slowly and everywhere is now open. Great to see familiar businesses open and even better seeing new businesses open, for the established businesses its a bit easier to open up so lets hope the new businesses have as much success as the established ones, a resort full of businesses is brilliant to see, no one wants to go to a resort with lots of empty buildings.

The Oceanic Rock Legend T-shirts are flying out, only been open 7 days and now sold 8 which is good going trust me, i know from Tropicana how many t-shirts usually get sold over a season. I don't sell the T-shirts with any profit added the customer just pays what the printing shop charges, that's it. I just want people to enjoy wearing them at home and while here.

New cocktails are popular, Light my fire, Electric Ice Tea and Oceanic Rock Legend just need to get some more Chambord black raspberry liqueur, if anyone would like to bring me a bottle i will gladly pay them for it when they arrive, also black pudding and crumpets, Joe white pudding LOL.

Well not much more to say and no pics as not been out and about but i promise i will take some this week for you all.

A big welcome to the 4 people reading my blog in Canada, welcome to my madness LOL

So until next Sunday, Never use a hairdryer while sat in the bath!

Thank god for that, bars finished and open in time!

"Its about bloody time" i here you say. Yes, yes, yes, don't go on, you wouldn't believe how manic, stressed and busy i've been getting the bar sorted. I had to paint it from top to floor, i had to re-wire all the electrics from scratch from the building to the front and get rid of all the roof tiles from old roof and bricks from the old plant pots by hand as didn't have a wheel barrow. Moved over 150 roof tiles 5 at a time from front of bar to behind apartments and same for the bricks over 100 and 4 at a time, lets just say i was cursing alot haha.

But on with the show, so as my followers know (i don't mean followers as in a cult sense of the word) i always try to do a little refurb every year but this year everything has changed inside and out so let the tour begin.

So as you can see from this daytime pic i now have a roof that has been extended to the outside edge of bar and extended a little further to the front, gone are the old brick square plant pots and just left the Greek pots, 4 new trees added and a easy access ramp, all my own work may i add.



A night time pic from same angle shows the new trees all lit up and lights on front of roof, that parts not finished yet as may be putting lettering over lights but not 100% sure, still deciding.

I opened on Thurs 3/5/12 for a few trial nights just to make sure that everything worked ok without the electrics tripping out and to see how it looked all lit up at night, official opening tonight Sun 6/5/12. The pic below is of second night open Fri 4/5/12 and as you can see doing very good trade already, better than expected as there is nobody here at the moment.

The bar wasn't fully finished in the picture above as i had made light boxes for coloured bottles to stand on but i was still waiting on the glass for them but then on Sat 5/5/12 the glass was ready (only been waiting 5 days LOL) and now the bar is finished so i've taken a few pics from different angles after i closed last night so you could see the changes i have made in all its glory.

These are the light boxes i made for the coloured bottles to stand on which then gives off a nice coloured glow effect. Very Lawrence Llwewllyn Bowen changing rooms style don't you think haha.

So i was going to buy new sofas and then thought, why spend all that money when the sofas i have a still in good condition, why don't i just refurb them (and i'm tight LOL).

Inside the bar. Gone are the dark tour posters and i gave the walls a fresh coat of paint, realigned the pictures and added Alan's cult movie paintings which look amazing and already creating interest from my customers. Sofas are getting a refurb like the others. The toilets are now all white (big thank you to Helen) and moved my paintings of rock artists on the walls of the corridor. No need for pics of toilets i think LOL

So that's your new and improved Oceanic without any outside help just little old me, its not perfect but as i always say "If you've got perfection you can't improve on it"


Now on to other news of the day. While i was moving all the crap, roof tiles and bricks from the front of the bar i pick up a brick and this little fellow was underneath it, now I'm not scared of much but frogs aren't good looking things are they. Short, fat, squat, no hair, puffy eyes, sounds like me at the moment LOL. So i decided to see how far he could jump by stamping behind him, he was rubbish. So i got him on a spade and flung him in to the field, i flung him gently by the way, not catapult him.


A frog went a-courtin' and he did ride, M-hm, M-hm.

Now as most of you know in Zakynthos town you usually get double parking, sometimes triple parking but this guy just thought, agh, sod it, i can't be arsed to parallel park I'll just park up on pavement, either that or he was trying to commit suicide by driving in to the port water but ran out of petrol.

I took a ride over to Aghios Sostis to look at a hotel for a member on Tripadvisor and decided to sit and have a coffee, there was no one about, just me and the staff of the restaurant, no one on the beach, no one walking around, no cars, nothing, it was bliss and decided to take this pic while sat there at a restaurant called "Maestro". I like days like this but would have been better if Helen was there. Don't you dare think I'm going soft in my old age. i still got a nasty bite LOL.

So that's the bar finished, Drinks chilled, and time for me to have a little relax but after the first two nights I've had don't think I'll get much time for that. Most of my prices are the same as last year, only 1 drink has had to be put up but a few have also come down in price so even better value this season. Until next week I'm going to leave you with a little bit of Wales to watch, Newport, where the European team won the Ryder Cup. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eijc2tGe-zM&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAzFWObtJQ4