Making New Contacts
Moving a business from one part of the country to another can be daunting, with a thousand and one questions swirling in your head about the move.
We had booked a few days in Devon in mid October to help move our plans along, and by happy coincidence discovered that Devon Chamber of Commerce had a business show in Plymouth on the last day we were there. It’s funny how sometimes things just fall into place for you.
So, before the show we had a couple of very busy days exploring our new base, looking for business units, somewhere to live, and the all-important views that Alison will be painting for you.
We’re delighted to tell you we’ve found some temporary business units that will give us the flexibility we need when we first get down there. We can’t tell you exactly where they are until we’ve signed on the dotted line, but they are very conveniently located a few minutes from the M5.
Brixham Marina
Torquay Marina at night
Luckily, Devon has lots of lovely places for long walks to work off the pasties (whoever it was at Warren’s Bakery that came up with the Hog Roast Pasty needs a pay rise), and some of these locations will undoubtedly feature in paintings quite soon. We were also treated to a pair of seals playing in the water near Brixham Marina, but my photo of a faint black dot in a vast expanse of water really didn’t do them justice!
Devon Business Show
Our last day on this trip was definitely a day of two halves. A very productive and useful morning was spent at the Devon Business Show, meeting with marketeers, accountants, venue owners, support networks, and government agencies. It was a perfect introduction to our new business environment.
Then we tried to go home.
Being sensible, we’d had our van serviced a few days before the long journey to make sure it was ok. If only the engine undertray had been fitted back properly, it wouldn’t have fallen off, stranding us next to the A38 to wait 90 minutes for the RAC.
Back on our way with a bonus part safely in the boot, we thought the day’s stress was behind us, but the M5 had other ideas. We knew there was a lorry fire ahead, but reported delays were 15-20 minutes, so we decided to sit it out. We joined the queue just south of Exeter at 4pm. Less than 5 miles later we managed to escape the queue at 8:30pm and grabbed fish & chips at Greendale Farm Shop, before finally starting our journey back, getting home 12 long hours after leaving Plymouth 😒
