So I guess I’m supposed to talk about me… I haven’t done this before, well, not in written form anyway, but here goes…
Hi, I’m George, and currently I own and operate a little coffee business in the middle of England that I built during one of the many Covid Lockdowns.
I never thought that at 35 years old I would be waking up in the morning to take my converted horsebox to a car park by the canal in hopes of selling someone a coffee and a bacon roll but hey, the pandemic has had crazy outcomes..
Let me take a moment to tell you how I wound up using stencils to sprinkle rude symbols on unsuspecting customers cups of Joe….
All through my Career I have been in ‘Events’… I have been a Conference Organiser, a Wedding Planner, Events Supervisor, Senior Project Manager and at the pinnacle.. Global Events Planner for Triumph Motorcycles.. The dream job in many aspects, but there was a problem.
In 2008 after a year travelling Australia, I found myself in Thailand on the small diving island of Koh Tao looking to ‘Level Up’ on the Open Water certification that I had obtained in Cairns. During my time on Koh Tao I completed my Advanced Open Water and the Rescue Diver certifications. Next up on the list was the big one, the Dive Master qualification. Now, this of course, is not the highest qualification in diving. But, if you were on Koh Tao in 2014, then you would be forgiven for thinking it was a total right of passage to the ocean. It wasn’t just the skills and abilities achieved during the DM Course… It was the Snorkel Test, drinking games and general camaraderie that followed the successful completion of the course… I knew I wanted in, but alas, I had spent all of my money in Australia and so had to return to England without achieving that particular goal. However, I vowed that when the time was right, I would return to Thailand and Koh Tao to become a Dive Master.
Fast forward to 2017, My relationship of 10 years had come to an abrupt end and I had accrued enough time in lieu to take an extended holiday from work, so I did it! I booked a flight to Thailand and I became a Dive Master. It was everything I thought it would be and more. I made some ‘Life Long’ friends and also really developed a love for the underwater world.
I returned to England and to work, full of confidence and a new found passion as a result of my achievement, and I can honestly say I was content. But not for long..
It was early 2018 and I had noticed that I was spending more time looking at other peoples diving photos than I was planning my next Event. Sure, I still loved jetting to other countries, riding motorbikes and partying. But there were also long long months of planning those Events, whilst sitting in a cold office in Leicestershire with rain beating down on the window.. Besides, I was a Dive Master and the next stage was in sight…. Instructor.
From there on, everything happened pretty quickly… I handed work my resignation, sold my house and car, and in October of 2018 I moved to Thailand to become a Diving Instructor.
After a year of instructing in Thailand I got itchy feet and went traveling again. First traveling to the Philippines and then Vietnam where I bought a Motorcycle and rode from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh.
Then I rode across to Cambodia, circling the Country on the Motorbike before riding back into Vietnam and down into the Mekong Delta, eventually travelling back to Ho Chi Minh, selling the bike and flying back to the Philippines. Many Covid lockdowns later I found myself in Moalboal (Philippines) where I met Cameron @scubahead who was running a Dive School (more about him to come 😊)
After doing some diving there I spent a couple of months in Turkey before returning to England in December 2020, Straight into a Lockdown.
With no work available I decided to buy a horsebox and convert it into a Gin Bar. Everybody told me a Gin Bar was a bad idea as I could not be trusted to abstain from drinking all of the stock.. And so…. Vanbliss Coffee was born.
Based in Braunston, Northamptonshire Vanbliss spends its days next to the Grand Union Canal serving Barista Coffees, Hot Chocolates, Bacon Rolls and Cakes to Boaters and Residents of the local Village.
The next adventures are already in the planning phase and I am looking forward to telling you all about them.
Welcome to Hive! Great story there and I am sure you have loads of adventure stories to share. That was something that we miss during the pre-pandemic times, hanging out at dive bar in Moalboal by sunset exchanging stories with travelers over drinks. Happy blogging and see you around!
Thank you :) Yes you are right, stories in the bar are something most of us divers miss I think. But, it wont be forever, soon we will all be back drinking cheap beers, reminiscing of the time when we got into a fight with a trigger fish or witnessed two Cuttlefish in a colourful embrace :)
Oh yes! May this happen hopefully very soon 😄
Hello @vanbliss, welcome to the new world of Hive, I'm happy you decided to get onboard with this.
Nice post 🙌
I hope to see you around on the blockchain; make sure to check out all the communities, as from what I know of you, you are an interesting world traveller, and this is the place to share all your life adventures and experiences, as well as learn and meet some interesting characters from all around the world.
Enjoy your time here ;)
What a lovely warm welcome it has been. Thanks again for your help and advice in getting started :)
My pleasure😊
I'm pleased to see the warm reception you've received:)
Looks like @scubahead has introduced you to our little digital frontier to top it all off. I DEMAND PICTURES OF THE RUDE COFFEE!
Haha, It's going to take me a little time to get my head around this platform. But once I do, and if its allowed... Then there is definitely a Rude Coffee Post on its way ;)
That's the thing... we don't really worry about what is "allowed" here. The blockchain is a bit of a lawless frontier. We do have a developing set of community standards, though. If it's particularly rude, just use the "nsfw" tag and most front-end sites should make viewing optional. Unless you're plagiarizing, treating people abusively, misusing tags in an effort to get more clicks, or otherwise being a jerk, you're probably in the clear.
This is really useful info, thank you. In that case, a NSFW Rude Coffee Art set of images will be posted soon, which will hopefully give you a laugh.
Excellent! Glad you decided to get onboard. Made me smile 😊. You also inspired me to get my drone out today. Will be posting something later! You’ll have a good time here on the hive and I believe you’ll do well also. Any questions ping me bro
Thanks mate, Come to the Van, There's a Dirty Caramel Chai Latte here with your name on it 👍
On my way!
Welcome vanbliss!
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Greetings friend vanbliss, very good adventures and also your idea of the horsebox. If Venezuela were not so dangerous, I tell you that you could enjoy your passion for diving and even start your business, but the reality is different.
Thankyou los2franes.. Venezuela looks like a beautiful Country, and I hope one day I will get the opportunity to explore it. I will be sure to contact you if I do :)
Very cool intro! Welcome to Hive :))
Thankyou ewkaw :)
An interesting story of your life!
Welcome to #HIVE blockchain!
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Thanks for the warm welcome @cryptospa
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STOPHi and welcome to hive blockchain George @vanbliss :) A great writing about your adventure! Your Vanbliss Coffee horsebox is Awesome!! :DD
Hi @tawadak24, thanks for your comment and warm welcome. Sorry for the delay in this response... I'm still trying to get my ahead around this whole Hive thing, as I'm sure you can imagine 😊
No problem my friend, take your time. Hive is a great platform and you really need some time to get used to it. 😁👍
Welcome on board Hive George, great to see another Brit join us, and more importantly a traveller. Hopefully you'll find yourself over to the haveyoubeenhere and pinmapple community when you start to drop your travel posts!
Thankyou, and thanks for the community suggestions. I was in need of being pointed in the right direction :)
Hello, @vanbliss
This is @fionasfavourites from the @ocd (Original Content Decentralized) curation team. We noticed you shared your first post here on Hive and introduced yourself to the community - congratulations and welcome!
Speaking of community, we have many different ones here on the blockchain, devoted to all kinds of interests. Here's a link so you can check them all out - Hive Communities
Also since you're new, you may run into an RC (Resource Credits) error when trying to comment/post because you don't yet have enough Hive in your account yet. For assistance with a temporary delegation to get you started, be sure to check out the Gift Giver site.
Also, as this the hive can be quite confusing, the newly launched Newbies Guide is a growing repository of useful – easy to understand – posts about how the Hive ecosystem works.
If you have questions, feel free to hop into the OCD Discord server and we'll do our best to answer them, and again welcome to Hive!
Hi @fionasfavourites, thank you for the information and warm welcome. This platform is going to take some getting used to for sure, so all advice is greatly appreciated 😊
What a story you have going here! Rough times but yet you found a way to survive and even found a new passion. Glad you’re not just looking at other peoples die photos anymore! LOL. Sometimes it’s easier said than done when it comes down to the amount of money it takes to do some of these hobbies.
That one picture above, where you end up a few other dive members are lined up on the back of the boat,… The girl to your left in the photo, looks just like my sister-in-law. Its scary actually. I think it’s her twin!
Anyhow, welcome to hive and I hope you have a great experience here. If you need any advice or what not, let me know. Otherwise enjoy your experience! Great writing so far 😎
You’re the coolest