Sulkyblue's Blog

Yesterday was our company away day, something to do with getting to know colleagues better and finally working out the names of the dozen or so people who've all started in the last 3 months. Colleagues from far-flung locations came along and it was great to put faces and personalities to names a bit more.

The day started off in the best way - with a lie in. Not needing to be at Westminster until 10 meant I got an extra hour in bed. Yay! Got to Westminster nice and early (having diverted to find an iced mocha to power my morning) and sat on the pier with the other early arrivals marvelling at people out of office wear and chatting about the weather.

We boarded the Princess Freyda and settled on the top deck, applying sunscreen and crossing fingers against the rain. The boat set off up river with an occasional and irreverent commentary from the captain, including repeated snide remarks about "luxury riverside apartments". Up river from Westminster is a lot more relaxed and sparse than down river, it's not long before bridges and sites become more spaced out and you find yourself quietly dozing off.

Our party gradually dwindled as people were lured downstairs by the bar and the shade, although the stuffiness and lack of ice for gin and tonics drove a few people back upstairs. Up on deck the sun was amazingly strong, but the occasional breeze and stretching out over a couple of spare seats made it a bit more bearable.

By Hammersmith the sites are reduced to wildlife - flocks of gulls, the occasional trail of ducklings, wading herons and swans with cygnets who've reached the really ugly stage. The tide was about as far out as it gets and with the river so low and so many rowers out our boat didn't exactly travel very fast. Two hours later, as stomachs started to rumble we pulled into Kew pier, reunited the upstairs and downstairs groups and made a short stumble to the restaurant.

Anthony Worrall Thompson's Kew Grill proved to be a small cosy affair with glorious air conditioning. We took over a full half of the restaurant and after a brief confusion with menus and wine lists settled in for the next 3 hours. The food was rather superb, the wine smooth and the company lovely. The room was filled with the sound of our laughter and gossiping and the flash from numerous digital cameras making the rounds. Sir Trevor McDonald, sitting at a table behind us was possibly a little unimpressed at our invasion... he didn't exactly linger.

The original plan had been an afternoon in Kew Gardens, however by the time we finished lunch it was approaching 4 o'clock, the temperature was still rising and the wine was having a somewhat soporific effect. After a brief consultation while standing in the middle of the road the group broke up into different factions, some heading home, some to the gardens, some to the pub and some to a nearby park bench. Personally I collapsed on a blanket with the rest of the communications team on Kew Green to recover from my meal of grilled salmon and tiramisu. We staggered to Kew Gardens station after a brief expedition through a 'shortcut' and had a quiet chuckle watching people trying to navigate home from the wilds of West London.

A lovely day out of the office, maybe a smidge too warm (that's poetic understatement there) but a really nice day doing something different and getting to know colleagues a little better.

More photos here