Hello! It’s Katie here, returning for my second team blog. I do hope you enjoy…
With this being our first team blog of 2025… A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you! We really hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year.
The team were mighty busy over the festive season, and into January and February, so make yourselves comfortable, we have plenty of adventures to share…
The boosstie’s certainly kicked off the festive season in style. We had our Christmas party! It was great for the team to unwind and we indulged in some beautiful food and (of course) just a tot of booze whilst taking part in a murder mystery evening with a pair of brilliant live actors. I, along with most of the team, had not done one of these before. I’ll let you into a secret – I don’t like fancy dress! – however, that soon changed, everyone looked great and really got into the spirit of things, it was so much fun, everyone got involved and played their parts exceptionally. Who do you recognise in the big photo?…
My family and I spent a lovely relaxing (well, as relaxing as it gets with a 1 and 4 year old!) Christmas spent at home with family visiting from Yorkshire. Lots of time spent with the children making memories. We visited Hogshaw Farm for some festive fun. I can really recommend it, should anyone be looking for something to do with the children/grandchildren. Our Christmas experience ticket included a chance to see and pet some reindeer, plant a Christmas tree to bring home, make reindeer food and a cuddly toy to take away. The place itself is huge and they have all sorts of farm animals to see, with a chance to get up close and feed them. There is also fantastic indoor and outdoor play areas, outdoor trampolines, Avery and bird/animal talks for the kids there is also a Woodland walk around the farm and picnic benches dotted around for some peace and quiet. They do events throughout the year so I’m sure they will have something spring / Easter themed coming up very soon.
I have challenged myself to take on the Yorkshire Dales Mighty Hike (walking a Marathon) for Macmillan, to help raise money for people living with cancer. The scary fact that Cancer affects 1 in 2 of us means it is never far away. My family hasn’t escaped this horrible disease, members of the team here at boosst and regrettably I’m sure some of you have yourselves have been effected cancer. I hope to help in some small way by raising money for Macmillian. This is in June so I will be sure to keep you all updated with how I get on. Let the training begin!
After the Christmas rush, Josh and Gabby headed down to Babington House in Somerset for a few days of well earned rest and relaxation to kick off the New Year. They both enjoyed some lovely spa treatments, spent time in their huge metal jacuzzi, enjoyed peaceful woodland walks, and tucked into plenty of delicious food! The peace may of been slightly shattered on a couple of evenings as friends joined them for dinner, and of course some festive spirit/s.
Gabby has a real love for cooking and baking, and in January she was invited to attend a two-hour cooking class for a close friend’s hen do, she couldn’t say no! The Italian cookery class was held at The Avenue Cookery School in Wandsworth, London. Gabby thoroughly enjoyed her evening of pasta making and would highly recommend the experience! She has added more details to the boosst Experience & Travel Directory, which our Individual Clients can access through the dashboard of their Personal Finance Portal login.
Whilst we were all still in our pyjamas (and or) coats/bobble hats, eating the remaining Christmas chocolates and surrounded by recycling, Riah and Harry ventured a ‘little’ further afield and visited the Philippines. Just over two weeks were spent hopping between islands! The highlight of the trip was the 2 night, 3 day boat trip between El Nido and Coron. The adventure felt like a journey through paradise as they stopped off at remote islands along the way. Each day was filled with snorkelling in crystal clear waters, plenty of time to relax, soak up the sun, and playing beach volleyball with fellow travellers. In the evenings, they stayed in simple huts at a basecamp and admired the sunsets. I think you’ll agree – it looks total bliss!
Ryan (S) also took the chance to escape the cold and jetted of to St Lucia. The best bits included the Santa arriving on a jet ski no less (the reindeer’s obviously deserved a well earned holiday too). For NYE there was a great big party the hotel put on. Ryan really enjoyed the food and drink, although probably had too much of it! (His words not mine!) all washed down with the outstanding Rum cocktails – what else!
Nicola ventured to Woburn Safari Park with her family. They saw lots of beautiful animals, including their Otter family at feeding time (cute overload!) and were treated to a very vocal display by the resident Lemurs! They also had a Macaque hitch a ride along on their car, think he liked them, or maybe just the warmth from the engine ;-).
Dawn – well – what adventures she’s had already! Her January and February were all about cobbles! Bruges for a friends birthday and up to Weatherfield no less. She loved the tour around the Coronation street cobbles and if any of you are avid ‘Corrie’ fans, she would highly recommended. Dawn and her family even got the chance to meet Kate Ford (Tracy Barlow). Exploring Bruges was really memorable. She enjoyed exploring the cobblestone streets and taking in all the beautiful medieval history, with just a dash of local Bruges beer.
Avril – having travelled all the way Nepal – where unfortunately, the red pandas were elusive – discovered that she could visit some of her favourite animals much closer to home and without the jet lag! Avril and Gary set off for Shepreth Wildlife park, near Royston. Shepreth provided the opportunity to feed them out of hand. Fun fact, these cute little animals actually have non retractable claws! – Not so cuddly after all.
Another fun fact – We have a new member of the team join us in January, welcome Ryan T! (Not to be confused with Ryan S). He joined us for work experience in Autumn 2024 and expressed an interest in a trainee role we were about to make available. After a series of interviews and testing, he joined us at the beginning of the year as trainee financial planner. Having self-studied a few exams before finding boosst, he has been able to integrate really very quickly and is already adding value for clients. His new role is certainly providing a different type of challenge, having previously been a professional golfer on the tour in USA.
Keith & Linda seem to be successfully breaking up the long UK winters, following a trip to South Africa late November, enjoying New Year in Harrogate and a longer trip to Florida and a Caribbean cruise early February. Between breaks they both continue to contribute massively to ensure our business objectives are delivered. Keith has also run another of his ‘Masterclass’ series, a course of free webinars for aspiring financial advisers around the UK who wish to develop themselves to deliver market leading services like those you enjoy as a client of boosst.