New for 2020, ‘5 to 9’ is the new format for our boosst team updates.
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.
As restrictions eased and the beautiful weather continued throughout July and August, the boosst team made the most of the great outdoors and took some well deserved rest time.
Dawn and her family spent a week down in Cornwall at the start of July. They are a very active family so enjoyed lots of walking in the beautiful countryside; even making it to Lands End on one of the days. They also visited Launceston Castle, the Eden Project and Exeter Cathedral which the boys loved. Dawn said that a family highlight was definitely the Cornish cream teas (although the debate over whether clotted cream goes on first or second is still to be decided!)
Chloe and her Fiancé Ben also managed to have some relaxing time away in the Cotswolds at a spa hotel. Due to the restrictions and social distancing currently in place, they managed to get the spa all to themselves which was a real treat!
Josh and I recently returned from a lovely, relaxing week down in the Kent countryside. We stayed in a peaceful cottage surrounded by apple orchards and enjoyed lots of walking, competitive cards nights and plenty of local cider! We also ventured out to Canterbury Cathedral and enjoyed having the place to ourselves to explore (similarly to Chloe and Ben, having the place to yourself is a real perk of the social distancing!).
Keith and Linda have also had some time away from the office. Over a typical summer, they would usually enjoy travelling abroad and visiting new places, but as 2020 has made this more difficult, Keith and Linda decided to put a twist on their usual holiday plans and bring their holiday to Hulcote! For this year’s summer staycation, they found a highly recommended local Chef called Danieli who came to the house and cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner each day (he even did all of the cleaning up much to Linda’s delight!). Danieli’s culinary ability shone through and his range of dishes (from a homemade picnic, to Sunday roast, to fine dining) were spectacular. Keith and Linda shared the experience with close friends and family, and it was thoroughly enjoyed by all. 2020 has certainly presented us with the opportunity to think outside of the box and do things a little bit differently, with this being a great example and a huge holiday success!
During the year we would usually have a number of team socials and spend time together outside of the working environment. Enjoying time together is a really important part of our culture and we have sorely missed this in 2020! Whilst socialising has been a little more difficult this year, we haven’t given up… and Josh came up with the idea to host a virtual wine tasting night!
We prepared individual boxes containing 6 different wines (2x whites, a rose and 3x red) and tasty snacks (dark chocolate, salty pistachios and sweet popcorn) for everyone to collect from the office. We also found a French voice over artist on the web who pre-recorded all of the quiz questions – Pierre was really the icing on the cake! We met up on Zoom and sadly I must report that the boosst team wine knowledge leaves a lot to be desired! Chloe boldly proclaimed she would always recognise a Malbec but got it mixed up with a Duoro! The evening was a huge success with laughter (and wine) continuing into the early hours.
Before the new ‘rule of 6’ arrived, we managed to get the boosst Team all together in person for the first time since March! Keith organised a surprise get together for Jennie’s 40th birthday. Jennie’s husband Nick helped to orchestrate the plan by telling Jennie that he was taking her on a special date night… as her car turned into the office, I’m not quite sure she was expecting her date night to be with the whole boosst team, but luckily she seemed very happy to see us all! Chef Danieli joined us for the evening and we were each given the opportunity to design our perfect pizza from an array of different toppings. The food was fantastic and Danieli once again surpassed all expectations! It was such a brilliant evening and so lovely to see everyone in person, to have those face to face catch ups that were so long overdue.
As the Summer gradually draws to a close and Autumn begins, we hope that you and your families continue to stay safe and well. The coming months look set to bring challenges for us all, if there is anything that we can do to help you, big or small, please don’t hesitate to call. We hope you have a lovely September & October and we look forward to sharing our next ‘5 to 9’ update in November.
