Tribute to Gary Speed

The world of football is in mourning over the death of the national manager Gary Speed at the age of 42. Goose Island sends its thoughts and prayers to his friends, families and colleagues.

He was a true professional and well liked throughout football. He was an outstanding player with a consistently high performance throughout over 500 premier league appearances and over 80 caps for Wales.

We were all shocked by the news yesterday and would like to praise all of the players and media that did him proud by soldering on through a tough day yesterday.

Another point for the swans was well deserved and I know that he had high hopes for the swans this year and with the Welsh national team coming of age and form we are all devastated by the news.

Gary Speed a true footballing legend!

Karl Hutchings

Commercial Director

Goose Island

Christmas with Goose Island...

Hi everyone, Looks like the Christmas run is underway! Our new look Retail website is bustling with orders. Our shop in Cowbridge is stocked with goodies and bargains for all of the Christmas shoppers enjoying the lights and festivities in this beautiful picturesque town. It was very busy yesterday with the Cowbridge Reindeer Parade, it’s always guarantees to draw a good crowd.

Claire form our sales department is also working at the Royal Welsh Winter fair today and tomorrow. We have a Goose Island stall there packed with a stunning collection of ladies clothing, jewellery and giftware. Why not pop over and say hello if you’re lucky enough to be there 28^th-29^th Nov 2011. So enjoy Christmas with Goose Island this year...

 Stuart

Goose Island

Greetings from Bali the Island of the Gods.

Greetings from Bali the Island of the Gods.

It’s been a long journey to get here as our connecting flight from Bangkok was cancelled so we had to spend a night in Bangkok which was great as it really broke up the journey.  However yesterday was another long day of travelling starting at 5.00am – we finally reached our villa around 3.30 in the afternoon.  The weather in Bali is sweltering! The temperature is in the high eighties and the humidity is very high.  Last night we gathered enough strength to go out to get a sim card for our Bali phone only to find that the main road out of Seminyak was closed off due to a Balinese Ceremony taking place.  The driver dropped us off and we had no option but to walk through the road and right through the middle of the ceremony – which is completely normal in Bali – nobody is bothered.  We don’t know what the ceremony was for but there were approximately 200 Balinese people all dressed in white and gold  with the ladies carrying offerings of baskets of fruit on their heads - there were musicians playing gamelan, Indonesian instruments which include gongs, chimes and  drums.  It was all quite dramatic but very much part of everyday life in Bali.  This will be the first of many ceremonies that we’ll see over the next few weeks.

Karen & Pete

Directors

Goose Island

Hi, it may be raining and grey outside today here at Goose Island Swansea but I’m in a Spring Summer moodJ. I have the pleasure of photographing our NEW Spring Summer 2012 collection. There are some rich & vibrant colours in exciting designs as well as some cool soft whites. Don’t want to give too much away just yet ;-) I'll treat you to some previews in my next blog... So far the camera loves them and I’m sure you will too...

 Stuart

IT / Graphics
Goose Island

Wear your poncho with pride...

Hi all,

I too can take in the beautiful vista of Fendrod Lake from my desk here at Goose Island, the mist has risen from the waters, the breeze gently blowing through the trees, hues of reds, oranges and golden browns surround the lake. The last of the leaves falling to the ground reveal the distant landscape of the rolling hills and dips of the Swansea Valley completing the scene.

Perfect weather for taking a stroll wrapped up in one of our gorgeous Goose Island ponchos, they too come in wonderful hues of Autumn., Must go now the phone is ringing again….. Must be someone wanting to place another order!

Bye :-)

Jane

Sales Team

Goose Island

Hi

It is a beautiful sunny day here at Goose Island. We are very lucky to be situated next to a lake on the Swansea Enterprise Park and I have a fantastic view from my desk. Looking through the trees I can see swans swimming on the water. It is one of my favourite places for a walk with Ollie and Benji our gorgeous Goose Island mascots.

Sharon
Sales Department
Goose Island

Tomorrow is Beaujolais Day here in Swansea...

Today I am full of anticipation as tomorrow in Swansea, where Goose Island is based, it is Beaujolais Day

To give some background to the history of this special day, the Beaujolais district of France had always made a ‘vin de l’anee’ to celebrate the end of harvest.  In the early days it was only for local consumption where it was sold after 15^th December.  The rules were relaxed in the 1950s and the new date for release was 15^th November, where it was then christened Beaujolais Nouveau! 

Later the potential was seen to market Beaujolais Nouveau as it was an excuse to clear lots of ‘vin ordinaire’ at a good profit, and selling wine within weeks after harvest was great for cashflow.  Hence the idea was born of a race to Paris carrying the first bottles of the new vintage; this attracted lots of media coverage and by the 1970s it had become a national event and in 1985 the date was changed to the 3^rd Thursday in November.  

I personally have been celebrating Beaujolais Day for over 20 years, it has been an excuse to dress up and meet old friends.  In the early years we used to look forward to tasting the Beaujolais Nouveau to see whether it was good or not; the bottles had arrived in Swansea on the day, they were chilled, and truthfully, they were not very good.  As the years have moved on, I have to admit that I would not consider drinking the Beaujolais as a good rioja or perhaps a bottle of Australian Cabernet Sauvignon hits the right notes for me, this year though I might make an exception and sample a glass, or two, if its good!!     

Beaujolais day is now celebrated across Europe, but, within the UK, I believe it is only Swansea, Cardiff and London who celebrate the day!! 

Tomorrow, Swansea and the surrounding areas will be filled with people enjoying the day, with people travelling from far and wide to celebrate the occasion and the atmosphere!!

Claire

Customer Services Department
Goose Island

In six day’s time I will be on my way to Bali...

In six day’s time I will be on my way to Bali with my husband Peter for our regular buying trip. As the buyer for Goose Island my job is to source and develop new products for our Wholesale Company and also our retail shops and website. Around 60% of our products are sourced from Bali with 40% coming from India. We work with small family run businesses and have worked with some of them for over 15 years! One of the factories we work with started with just 3 sewing machines in their home and now they have 2 large factories employing approx 80 staff and 90% of their work is for Goose Island. We regularly visit all the factories we deal with to ensure that the staff have good working conditions and we are very pleased to see all the workers are extremely happy! This makes us at Goose Island happy too!
 

Karen

Director
Goose Island

Wishing the Swans all the best for Saturday!

Hi,

It's Monday morning here at Goose Island in Swansea but today there seems to be a buzz of excitement around the office as this coming Saturday we welcome to the city the premier league champions and world famous Manchester United. We have waited a long time to be in this position because the opportunities brought to this area by the success of Swansea City are amazing. Goose Island staff all support the Swans and our 4 season tickets are being fought over for this game.

Wishing the Swans all the best for Saturday!

Pete Hutchings

Director

Goose Island