What a fantastic week it has been!   The week started with a smell of spring in the air, which put a huge smile on my face - and as the week went by the smile got bigger and bigger.  On Monday we were notified by 702 that we had been nominated by a customer of ours for the SBA.  We were required to complete a document and give them a short explanation of what we do.  I must confess that although I was thrilled, I repeated my learned behaviour of “Yeah right! Like we could ever win something like that”.  On Wednesday I emailed the documents back and thought that would be the end of that.  Late on Thursday afternoon I was doing some paper work - my least favourite job - when I received the call “Kindly hold the line for David O’Sullivan” my heart stopped, I blinked twice and the live interview was done.  We were finalists!

The days that followed have been crazy; the listenership of 702 is beyond amazing. I would go as far as to say there are fewer people who have heard the interview than have not.  The spinoff is multifaceted - from people who have driven past the shop on numerous occasions but never stopped, who came in to meet us, telephonic orders from new customers who heard the interview and tons of congratulations from friends of Country Flowers.  The most fun was a recipient's husband who I phoned to arrange a time of delivery for his wife’s birthday flowers arranged by her best friend, he recognised our company name straight away from our radio spot and asked to be added to our data base. Then there was the call from a girlfriend of my father’s who he hadn’t spoken to for 20 years. “It’s all about spreading the love Dad!”.

The competition will run for the next two weeks and on the 10^th September the finals will be held in the form of a “speed -dating event” which will help the judges determine the winner and runners up. The winner will be announced on the 11^th September at a gala evening held at the Michelangelo. Softline Pastel will award the winner and runners up with a laptop pre-loaded with Accounting, Payroll, HR and other software.  They will also receive a free Pastel training course or seminar of their choice as well as a year’s worth of software support. The winner will also be awarded R100 000 in airtime on 702 Talk Radio. How amazing would that be?

In closing, never again will I doubt what we are capable of, we work hard, are passionate and committed to our customers, our community and our industry. We are in it to win it!  Your comments on the 702 Small Business Awards page would be appreciated http://www.sba.702.co.za/Home/Profile/17.

Written by Jackie West-Evans owner of Country Flowers “Living My Dream”

Spring is coming

The truth of the matter is winter is getting ready to pack up and leave. It’s been a long four months for us, never before have I seen flower prices spike like they have this year. At times the roses have been more expensive than on Valentine’s Day, this is highly unusual. All our flowers are bought on auction so as the supply of flowers drops because of the cold weather the prices will rise as the demand remains fairly constant and wholesalers are willing to pay higher prices. What happened this year? Nobody seems to know, the quantity of flowers just wasn’t available and the variety very limited. This was also evident in the quality of flowers available, not the usual high standard for our flower market. This same principle of supply and demand is what drives flower prices up on Valentine’s Day, Spring Day, Secretaries Day and Mother’s Day.

Enough of economics 101, the good news is the change of season is here. Last week we bought Ranunculus, Freesias and Sweet peas … real spring flowers!  It’s so invigorating being able to create arrangements with bright colours and sweet fragrances, even the Chrysanthemums and Asters look so much better surrounded by their new friends.  As the weather warms up the market will be flooded with large quantities of wonderful  flowers and demand will drop after the first week of September,  we should be in for some great prices so save your “shekels “we’re about to have some fun again. 

  

Written by Jackie West-Evans owner of Country Flowers “living my dream”

Eid ul-Fitr, is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity", while Fiṭr means "breaking the fast". The holiday celebrates the conclusion of the 29 or 30 days of dawn-to-sunset fasting during the entire month of Ramadan. On the last day of Ramadan after sunset, people start sighting the crescent moon. As soon as the moon is spotted the celebrations for the Eid-ul-fitr begin for all the Muslims.  Eid-ul-Fitr is the time when Muslims send their warm wishes to their dear ones and offer gifts that can brighten their days and bring a smile to their faces.

In Cape Town, hundreds of Muslims will gather at Green Point in the evening of the last day of Ramadan each year for the sighting of the moon. The gathering brings together people from all walks of life, and everyone comes with something to share with others at the time of breaking the fast.  The Maghrib (sunset) prayer is then performed in congregation and the formal moon-sighting results are announced thereafter.

The festival of Eid ul-Fitr is celebrated by first attending the mosque in the morning for Eid prayer. This is followed by visiting relatives and neighbours. Children receive presents and money from elder members of the family, relatives and neighbours. Most people wear new clothes with bright colours, while biscuits, cakes, samoosas, pies and tarts are presented to visitors as treats. Lunch is usually served in large family groups.

The most common greeting is "Eid Mubarak" (Blessed Eid) so don’t forget to wish all your Muslim friends and colleagues, and maybe a good wish and an Eid gift will guarantee an invitation to an Eid celebration next year. I love the idea of all those bright colours, cakes and samoosas.

To our many Muslim clients and friends:

“May the choicest blessing of Allah fill your life with joy and prosperity.

EID MUBARAK”

written by Jackie West-Evans owner of Country Flowers " Living my Dream"