As we dive deeper into 2022, here is your next instalment of our ‘5 to 9’ team update!
With a name inspired by the things we have been doing outside of working hours, here you will find plenty of social activities, team achievements and personal touches. This ‘5 to 9’ post is shared by Gabby.
Summer has arrived at boosst HQ! The warmer weather and lighter days have meant we have been lunching outdoors and working with the doors open, whilst enjoying being surrounded by the beautiful wildlife and peaceful lake views. We have also been lucky enough to watch the ducklings and goslings grow up over the past weeks, and the daily flying lessons on the lake have been captivating. We even had a duck pop in to say hello!
The boosst team have had a busy few months with team events, conferences and socials. At the start of May; Dawn, Riah, Jo and Harry took part in the Milton Keynes Marathon relay, continuing the tradition from previous years. The Marathon itself was split into 4 legs of approximately 10km, and the team ran with a baton that contained GPS tracking. Keith (Logistics Manager) was on hand all day as ‘water boy’ and chauffeur, to ensure everything (and everyone!) ran smoothly. The morning started bright and early and Riah was up first, followed by Jo, then Harry and then speedy Dawn on the final leg! Dawn crossed the finish line at the MK Stadium in 4 hours, 53 minutes and 29 seconds, cheered on by the team and fellow supporters. A fantastic achievement all round!
In June, Mel, Tom, Nick, Riah and myself attended the NextGen Planners conference in Manchester. NextGen Planners is a community of likeminded peers from across the UK who seek to better themselves and share best practice. The annual conference is the annual highlight and this year it was held at the impressive Concorde Museum near Manchester Airport… and what a fantastic venue it was! A genuine Concorde sits in the middle of the venue and we were taken on a tour between sessions to see inside. This particular Concorde had flown the Royal Family, Michael Jackson and Madonna – we even got to see the seat that the Queen sat in! The whole day was brilliant from start to finish and we all bought back lots of ideas to share with the team.
Towards the end of June, Keith and Josh organised a special away-day for the whole boosst team. We finished work at midday and were driven down to Cookham where we enjoyed a beautiful afternoon on the river and played some summer games. Rounders was a highlight, although it did get rather competitive and there was certainly some bending of the rules! We then finished our day with a trip to the local curry house and were driven back to boosst HQ. The (sensible) members of the team then got collected, and Mel, Tom and Nick headed to their tents! I’ll leave you to guess whose tent is whose….
We recently introduced monthly internal team training nights. We were tasked with coming up with a name… and as they tend to end with Pizza, these events have been aptly named the ‘Fun-ghi’ nights! Keith and Josh deliver deep-dive sessions exploring all of the intricacies of various topics and in recent months we have covered Wills, car purchase strategies, student loans and taxation. As geeky finance people, there’s nothing better than getting your teeth stuck into a tax calculation whilst tucking into fresh pizza! The aim of these sessions is to up-skill and cross-pollinate ideas across the whole team to better serve you, our clients!
Within the team, we have also had some BIG birthdays to celebrate. It would be rude to mention ages, but the team decided to wrap up and hide 30 presents for Josh to unwrap 😊. It only took him about 20 minutes to find them all, with some ingenious hiding places being selected. Josh then continued the celebrations with a weekend in London surrounded by his closest family and friends.
Jo also celebrated a big birthday this month and her family took her to London Zoo where she got in the monkey enclosure to feed them by hand – apparently, they all had fabulous table manners and were very polite monkeys!
The situation in Ukraine has shocked us all. We all feel rather helpless watching the sad news unfold and agreed that we were keen to do something as a team. Tom suggested that we organise a collection of essential supplies for families in Ukraine (nappies, medicine, dry foods, rechargeable battery packs etc) and found a local charity who had a shipment booked out to those most in need. We built up a big pile of items and they were shipped on the 1st of June. We’ve also got two new gardeners helping outside throughout the Summer; two lovely ladies who have been tragically displaced by the War and live locally with their sponsoring family. Linda heard they were looking for work and we had them busy the very next day!
Away from boosst HQ, the team have been enjoying their weekends and holidays. After a fabulous wedding earlier in the year, Nick and Martina headed off on their Honeymoon to the Maldives. The trip was filled with both relaxation and adventure, with a highlight being the crystal clear waters and swimming with reef sharks.
Mel also went on a weekend away to Budapest with his partner Fran. They visited the great sights of the Parliamentary building, Fisherman’s Bastion and the Buda Castle, all whilst sampling copious amounts of Pilsner and Paprikash. They also went to a ‘Sparty’, which is a thermal bath party!
Meanwhile Jennie had a lovely surprise in June after Keith managed to secure her (and husband Nick) tickets to the cricket at Lords. As big cricket fans, this was a dream come true! To top it off, it happened to be one of the best days of cricket in a very long time with 17 wickets and more than 250 runs!
All in all, it’s been an incredibly busy few months for the boosst team, with some brilliant memories made all round. We hope you are also enjoying the sunshine and making the most of the longer days with your families and friends. As always, we are here at the end of the phone if you need us or just fancy a catch up! We are also all ears for new adventures and team events, so if there’s anything you would recommend, we would love to hear about it😊
Take care, stay well and see you soon!
