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Greetings from Kathmandu It's been a really interesting week.. here living in the aftermath of the Gen Z revolution.  Last Friday I had just arrived and made this YouTube - Meeting the Gen Z ..  and the newsletter for last week here . Since last week's newsletter Toni from Spain has arrived. He was a little apprehensive about coming given all the news. But like me he is happy to be here. The manager of the hotel where we are staying told me they had many cancellations. He was so happy that we turned up - we got an upgrade to the best rooms!  At this time of year the beginning of the climbing and trekking season, normally they are full.. but at breakfast we see maybe only two or three other guests.  The other day Bicky our Lokta paper supplier took us on a trip to a nearby city to visit a ceramics factory.. Bhaktapur - first time I have been there they have a place called Pottery Square where local artisans sit and make pottery. But there is so much more in this epic...

Greetings from Kathmandu, Nepal. Last week I was debating whether to make this scheduled trip.. the airport was closed and protests were turning to riots and reports of police brutality.. and all happening right in the business area around my hotel where I had booked to stay. Also in last week's news, lots of drama everywhere.. nobody has noticed Temu is a channel for Russian goods into the UK . If you missed it you can catch up here . Meanwhile, I was being well informed by my friends and suppliers in Kathmandu. The situation had changed rapidly, massive drama going on including the flagship Hilton hotel being burned down. But the army restored order, the government resigned and collectively went into hiding, the Gen Z protests actually worked with huge impact. Historic times. In the end my flight was not cancelled, and the airport was open again.. so I stuck with my plan and went for it. The first thing I did was to find actual Gen Z protestors and interview them .. I dis...

Greetings from Yiwu, China Where the temperature has fallen to around 30c much more comfortable.. I was telling you about the heat (40c plus) in last week's news and much more.. if you missed it  you can catch up here. This week we have been running every day. Tomas, Coco and me.. running round our suppliers making things happen at pace as only they can in China - and especially in Yiwu. If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere!  It's a Yiwu state of mind...I'm sure there should be a hip-hop song about it. Yiwu City - you can make it here. Actually, you can make almost anything here. Correction. Re - Tax on candles.. Slight correction on last week's newsletter .. where I mentioned: we just got news that the EU and the UK are imposing (Trump like) tariffs on candles of 75% from this month... well, the UK is  not imposing  this (so far) just the EU.. I understand that the EU is trying to protect candle manufacturers from cheap Chinese imports.. but h...

Greetings from Yiwu in China Hope you are doing well and ready for the week. It's very hot here, as hot as I can ever remember being.. Last week I was telling you about life in Bali and how a BBC journalist called me around midnight (Bali time) from the UK.. if you missed it and want to find out why you can catch up here . On Sunday evening Bondhan (Our man in Indonesia) drove me to the airport, my time here seemed far too short and lots of jobs not really finished.. but anyway, I had a night flight to Guangzhou, China, to catch. Bali airport these days is super efficient, and like a dream to drift through, everyone is so kind and thoughtful even the security and passport control.. Bought some last-minute gifts, a glass of wine in the lounge and then ambled to the gate to board a China Southern night flight to Guangzhou. On board, there are only a few business class seats, so get very fussed over.. more wine and more food than I can eat. Really delightful, friendly servi...

Greetings from Bali, Indonesia August Bank holiday is behind us.. and it's September.. Soon I will be moving on.. but it's been nice to be back in Bali even if just for a short time. Last week I was telling you about Indonesia's 80th Independence Day.. and the very special way they celebrate this here . If you missed it, you can catch up here . Quite big news.. I took a phone call from an unidentified UK number last week, around midnight Bali time. I thought it was the usual scam call... But it was a journalist from the BBC. They had seen our endless rant about Temu and Shein undermining British Retailers. Finally getting attention.. I chatted with the friendly guy and gave our point of view. Later, he contacted Katka in the UK, and a week later, this article came out...You can read it here .. I'm really hoping that Keith Starmer will finally take action and take this massive loophole down. A Cool Wave. This week it has been strangely cool in Bali.. while UK, ...