It was at the Manor House, southwest of London. Everyone met there at 11:30 in the morning, and the bar opened at noon and a good bbq lunch was at 12:30. All afternoon was spent sitting around and talking. At one point, a few women got the soccer ball out to kick it around, but soon the men took over and it became a full-on testosterone-filled match. Kind of lost its allure of fun, and certainly meant a lot more people (women) sitting out. It became uber-competitive, to the point of being ridiculous – I mean, it was just a company outing!
I did take a walk in the surrounding fields with Gwen and Valerie which was nice and relaxing. Otherwise, I just sat around all day relaxing (and blowing my nose; stupid cold!). It was typical London weather – chilly, yet warm; sunny yet very cloudy. At least there was no rain!
Dinner was at 7:45; mind you, the bar was open continuously all afternoon and there was no food between lunch and dinner. The food was ok, nothing spectacular, but not horrible. I ended up going back to my room around 9:30 right when dinner was ending and the dancing was starting because something I ate at dinner did NOT agree with me. And, if you know me, you know this was no major disappointment as I (1) don’t like dancing, and (2) like to go to bed early.
Yes, I said I went to my room. This was an ‘overnight optional’ company party! For those people who did not want to take a bus back at 5 p.m., there was the option for spending the night. The people in the London office like to party – some of them stayed up until 3 a.m.! Cripes! Needless to say, a lot of champagne was consumed by the group (it's very popular here, just like in the States you'd order a glass of wine). I only had a few Jameson & Gingers.
Here are some of the scenery pictures.
No comments:
Post a Comment