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The Most Underrated Piece of Advise The Lucky Saint Founder Taught Me + A Very Weird Curry in Wandsworth Common

Author

Dan Pope
December 13, 2024

The kid’s eyes fizzed into stinky pools of bubbling hell as he picked up the golden cup with his left hand.

Pangs of pain THUNDER — BOLTED — JOLTED - BUGGED OUT- SPROUTIN- OUT DEM SOCKETS - like freshly hit gold balls .piiiiiinggg

The kid musta been 14 or 15 or 16. Newly scuffed NEXT shoes. A furry pre-puberty moustache. White shirt and black trousers.

His body convulsed like a Whacky Races Cartoon Character on Crack Cocaine. Small skinny frame fizzing like dancing sparkling water.

His left hand melted like a candle, morphing into a saggy salad of flappy skin. Like a crumbled Ziplock bag.

His scream was so loud it smelt of violent hot sick.

Wandsworth Common WHAMMED out. They stopped drinking their Crimbo beers.

“Last Christmas… I gave you my”

CUT. OUT

Christmas Lights.

CUT OFF.

But soon, thankfully,

The Old Wise Man sagaciously swanned in with the calmness of cool white swan on a pale blue lake. Avuncular Avenger. Santa Clause Cuddly.

The Old Wise Man picked up the golden cup too. He didn’t scream. He looked right at me. He simply smiled. He taught me something that hasn’t left my mind all week.

But first, please, we must rewind 29 minutes and 16 seconds

I was down The Althorpe, Wandsworth Common with 3 pals. Sinking a thrice of Guinny enticed my appetite.

We morphed from Pint-Craving-Puppies into a Ready-to-Fucking-Feast Famished Rottweiler. Drooolin’. Drooolin’. Drooolin’.

Like a pack of gluttonous hounds (in Uniqlo)(+ Axel Arrigato) we left the caramel warmth of the pub. Roved into the gorgeous-ghastly December night.

Drooolin’. Drooolin’.

After walking for less than 3 meters we found our prey.

The Indian Ocean.

A curry house jolted onto Wandsworth Common

So tacky, it’s classy. So cold, it’s warm. A Dilapidated n’ Delicious, Shite n’ Scrumptious affair.

The “Indian Ocean”’s lurid blue and iridescent sign flickered and throbbed like a dying rat squelched by an Emo from Birmingham.

Inside Gorgeous George and Georgies gorged-their-gorgeous-faces-with-gorgeous grub.

Indian Ocean is the Greatest brand name of all time. Does what it says on the tin. A TRUE brand promise.

because 99.9999% of Indian Ocean customers end up on the bog the next day deploying an Indian Ocean.

Maybe a better name

Bombay Battle Shits?
Indian Runny River?
Mumbai MegaDump?
Mumbai Log Flute?

We’d ordered a Sizzlin-Fizzlin Shashlick. That got me Sizzlin-Fizzlin-Dribblin.

Mountain of meat arrived, followed by a cavalry of poppadoms and dips and sauces.

And that’s when the kid picked up the golden cup.
And that’s when the kid screamed.
The golden cup was full of rice.

The golden cup of rice was so hot the kid screamed… “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH”..

Burnt his hand.

The Old Wise Man like a Curry Crusty Captain on a Sea Ship who’s seen the scars of the sea swooned in.

He picked up the cup. and smiled. “I’ve been doing this for 40 years… my hands are used to the pain”.

The Indian Ocean Cuzza House, reinforced a simple lesson I took from Henry Dimbleby this week.

Henry says the biggest mistake founders make is they don’t expect to get hit.

Get knocked.
Lose.
Setback.

The first time you’re hit and knocked, you’re like the kid picking up the golden cup of rice. You scream.

The more you get hit.

The easier it gets.

  1. “Expect to Take Punches” - Henry Dimbleby

  2. “The longer you’re in business the bigger your pain threshold gets” - Henry Dimbleby

Reminds me of “Excellence is the ability to withstand pain” - Four Seasons Founder

Recently, I’ve been taking punches behind the scenes.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Right now, I want to scream. But I know these are making stronger. Over time, I’m turning into the wise old man

Luke Boase, Lucky Saint:

“Entrepreneurship is the feeling that everything is coming together and falling apart all at the same time”

If you think things are going wrong.
They’re probably going right. You just can’t see it right now.

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