Festive Cheer

The Christmas rush began in October for Outdoor Leisure this year and is well and truly in full swing now that December is here! Our Christmas shop has been a great success and 2013 has been a fantastic year for us; the hot weather generated incredible sales, new business alliances resulted in fabulous new furniture ranges and we have welcomed new staff- Sales Assistant ,Charlie, and even former staff back- myself, after my world travels, so the Christmas "work do" was a great opportunity to get the whole Outdoor Leisure team together and celebrate the business' success!

The Outdoor Leisure Team

Our team of seven (minus our IT whizz, Luke, who was unfortunately unable to attend) were wined and dined by our lovely CEOs Mark Hulstrom and Holly O'Toole at the seaside town's finest restaurant, Franco's. For starters we enjoyed delectable soft-shell crab, succulent sweet breads in Marsala sauce, juicy calamari fritti with chili salsa and devilled whitebait deep fried with a dusting of cayenne. And if your mouth is not yet watering enough, here's a taster of what we devoured for the main course: king prawn and lobster risotto; grilled hand-cut 24 oz T-bone steak; tender oven-roasted rack of lamb with root vegetables, creamed potatoes & red onion sauce; and pan roasted loin of venison with Marsala & dark chocolate sauce. All of this was washed down with some superb champagne- courtesy of Mark. 

Franco's king prawn and lobster risotto

The food was exquisite, the service fantastic and the company fabulous...even if we were all a little over-excited and noisy  (ahem Dave) after all the bubbles and present exchanges!

Following our meal we continued our festive celebrations at the Ocean Bar, where we all, as Holly said, "cut some shapes!"

So our Christmas 2013 work do was a great success and the Outdoor Leisure team would like to voice our gratitude to both the staff at Franco's Italian Restaurant and our generous bosses, Mark and Holly!

Read more about us and browse our products at www.outdoorleisureuk.co.uk

-Written by Beau Robinson

A Season of Giving: Outdoor Leisure's "Christmas Wish" Havens Hospices Fundraising Campaign

Giving is an essential part of the festive season and demonstrates Christmas' true meaning: goodwill. So, what better way to put into practice the meaning of Christmas than by donating to a charity?

...We couldn't think of one either! So here at Outdoor Leisure we have organised the "Christmas Wish" Havens Hospices Fundraising Campaign where we ask children and their families to visit us in-store to throw donations into our wishing well and make a Christmas wish!

Havens Hospices provide respite and end of life care for adults, children and their families both at home and in their two centres: Fair Havens Hospice and Little Havens Hospice. Little Havens has provided 15 years of child care and Fair Havens has celebrated its 30th year of adult support and nursing this year.

Fair Havens, located in Westcliff-on-Sea, is the only hospice in the vicinity that is wholly dedicated to caring for those with an illness that could shorten their life, such as cancer. Furthermore, Essex-based Havens Hospices provide specialist care and support to those in need for free 'making every day count' for those with life-limiting illnesses, and their families.

We have balloons and stickers for all donators and are hoping to raise a significant fund that will allow Havens Hospices to continue their wonderful work.

Remember Christmas' true meaning this year and give in-store or at http://www.havenshospices.org.uk/fund_raising/donate

-Written by Beau Robinson

Remember Remember the Fifth of November!

Remember, remember!

The fifth of November,

The gunpowder, treason and plot.

We see no reason

Why the gunpowder, treason

Should ever be forgot!

 

To most people the 5th of November signifies an enchanting evening of bonfires, sparklers and fireworks and the historical significance of Guy Fawkes Night is forgotten.

The 5th of November marks the anniversary of the evening in 1605 when Guy Fawkes was caught in the cellars of the Houses of Parliament with barrels of gunpowder; "Guy Fawkes and his companions did the scheme contrive, to blow the King and Parliament all up alive!" The "Remember remember the fifth of November" rhyme became an annual ritual that served to remind future generations that treason will never be forgotten...so remember the story this year when you light your bonfire!

And don't forget- we have a fantastic range of fire baskets and chimeneas for your bonfire evening and the La Hacienda Easy Logs and Heat Blox emit little smoke and give off no sparks or spitting- ensuring a SAFE and fun evening for all!

La Hacienda Calgary Narrow Fire Basket

La Hacienda Denver Firebowl and Heatblox

-Written by Beau Robinson

Grow Your Own VegTrug

This week the VegTrug has been in high demand and appears to be a popular item on the 2013 Christmas gift list!

Our lovely driver Jason has collected a huge delivery of both the Large and Small VegTrug this week to prepare us for the Christmas rush. Unlike some other suppliers, at Outdoor Leisure we include a free cover and frame (worth £39.99) with each VegTrug- so rest assured customer satisfaction is our number one priority!  

The Small 1m VegTrug holds 3.5 60L bags of compost and the Medium 1.8m VegTrug holds 7 60L bags. Sourced from sustainable plantation grown fir, the garden troughs are extremely durable and make for easy edible gardening.

The greatest thing about this product is that the VegTrug stands at an easy working height, which means no more bending or stretching and no more kneeling down! The VegTrug is therefore perfect for the elderly and wheelchair users. An additional bonus of the height is that a raised vegetable patch lowers the risk of slugs and snails attacking your crops.

The VegTrug is ideal for new gardeners as the garden trough is easier to manage than a dug-out vegetable patch. The Telegraph published a fantastic article last month, “A Beginners Guide to Starting a Veg Garden”, that offers tips and guidance for those who are new to edible gardening.

Personally, I think autumn is the prettiest time of year when the changing colour of leaves signals the end of the busy flowering and growing activity of summer. Now is a great time for those of you who already have green fingers to clear parts of your vegetable plot and compost old material- a job that is made much easier by VegTrug.

Although April and May is your busiest planting period, there is still lots you can do this season to get your VegTrug project underway! As advised by the Royal Horticultural Society, you can prepare beds in your VegTrug and sow broad beans, pea and pea shoots, onions, garlic, spinach, chilli peppers, blueberries and strawberries (to name a few) now while the weather is not too cold, ensuring that you have lots of fresh produce to enjoy in the winter and early summer (depending on the crop and variety).

Just in case you need any more reasons to invest in a VegTrug this year, these are a few more benefits of the garden trough:

• The frame is a fantastic means of attaching netting to create shade for crops needing it for example, salads or strawberries
• Easy working height for the elderly, children and wheelchair users
• VegTrug enables those without a garden and perhaps only a small patio area or balcony to grow their own produce
• You can easily change the earth to suit the crops you are growing
• The frame and cover enables you to extend the growing  season and obtain more produce in a single season
• Fleece cover slaves off the frost
• Because of the channel shape water retention is good
• VegTrug gives you a reason to get out in your garden and enjoy the fresh air in the winter months
• Edible gardening encourages a healthy diet
• There is nothing better than home-grown produce!

 

-Written by Beau Robinson

Online Retail Awards Finalists 2013

We are delighted to announce that Outdoor Leisure was selected as an Online Retail Awards 2013 Finalist!

The Online Retail Awards are international, independent business awards that can be won by online retailers of any size anywhere in the world, so for our small family-run business to make it to the final you can imagine our surprise and excitement!

As an Online Retail Awards Finalist we are in the top flight of the world's internet retailers, with sites that are the embodiment of excellence for their customers. This is a great accomplishment and we owe a huge thank-you to Luke Dwit, our computer whiz, who has totally revamped our website this year, allowing us to compete with large international retailers' websites.

Here at Outdoor Leisure customer satisfaction is our number one priority and we always go the extra mile (literally) to guarantee this. This year has seen our Outdoor Leisure drivers travel from our Clacton-on-Sea warehouse to Northern England to deliver rattan furniture and our 10 Seater Teak Dining Table has made it all the way to Spain! Although we are committed to creating a fantastic website experience for customers, the shopping experience goes beyond the computer at Outdoor Leisure and we always try to personally contact our customers and adapt our services to suit each customer's individual needs.

Reaching the Online Retail Awards finals reflects how much we have achieved this past year and also how dedicated we are to providing excellent customer service. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our customers and dedicated Outdoor Leisure team for a fantastic year!

- Written by Beau Robinson

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

Christmas is my favourite holiday and my favourite time of year so to say I have been excited about decking the show room this week would be a huge understatement!

Our beautiful range of festive winter lanterns

Christmas has come early at Outdoor Leisure as we were too excited about unwrapping our beautiful Christmas stock that we couldn't wait until the more traditional 12 days before Christmas!

Half the show room has been transformed into a winter wonderland: we have beautiful Christmas dinner table settings; a cosy lounge scene, featuring our Fibre Optic Christmas Skaters Pond Tapestry, Snow King Fur Garland and La Hacienda Wood Burner; and a frostbitten, Christmas tree woodland.

My personal favourite Christmas item is the stunning Cherry Blossom LED Tree. Available in three colours: warm white, pink and blue, and four sizes: 45cm, 1.5m, 1.8m and 2.2m, they suit different tastes and purposes. The largest size is tall and sturdy and is perfect for positioning either side of your front door, making an attractive welcome feature for your Christmas guests!  

Our stunning LED Cherry Blossom trees are perfect for indoor or outdoor use

 

 Our cosy lounge setting featuring the La Hacienda Wood Burner

and Flicker Flame and Reclining Rattan Lounge Set

 

 -Written by Beau Robinson

Halloween Treats from Outdoor Leisure!

BOO! October is here and the night of Halloween will soon come creeping!

Halloween is the perfect occasion for families to take time out from the bustle of the early school year and have some fun!

Whether you’re hosting a “Spooky Forest Gathering” or “Trick-or-Treat Party” for all the Vampires, Witches and Ghouls spooking your household, Outdoor Leisure has the perfect treat for your haunted celebrations.

Our huge range of La Hacienda chimeneas, firebaskets and firepits are perfect for toasting marshmallows, keeping your trick-or-treaters warm and creating a hell-raising, creepy atmosphere.

 

 

The night of Halloween is the time to gather around a flickering flame to share your ghost stories and the La Hacienda Wildfire Fire Bowl with Grill is perfect for this.

 

New for 2013, this steel fire bowl includes a chrome plated cooking grill so you can BBQ your favourite party foods while soaking up the warmth and atmosphere this fire bowl brings. Finished in bronze high temperature painted steel, the Wildfire features a flicker flame design, a mesh cover with handle and two circular handles for easy transportation.

 

The La Hacienda Wildfire Fire Bowl with Grill is perfect for Halloween and is at a frightfully low price of £89!

Alternatively, the La Hacienda Sunset Clay Chimenea is available in green and orange to colour coordinate with your pumpkins!

Twit-Twoo! Our Solar Owls are a fantastic treat for the kids and a great way of economically lighting up your pathway for the trick-or-treaters and who knows – they may even spook the cat!

 

Happy Halloween from Outdoor Leisure!

-Written by Beau Robinson