Last tuesday, PENSON party-goers tackled escape rooms, tiny hands, and a slightly suspect murder mystery, all in the name of festive team spirit...
As with every year, our festivities start with our not-so-secret Santa. The stuff of legend, each year the presents get more and more outrageous - an insight into the people of PENSON. Amongst our favourites this year were a sweet dispenser (now proudly located on reception), a megaphone (perfect for herding the team around London as the festivies continued!), mini walkie talkies, and 'Butt Golf'...
But without a doubt, the ultimate PENSON gift this year, taking over the mantle from last year's fish slippers, was... TINY HANDS! Creepy, yet impressively satisfying, these tiny hands found their way into every photo, making for a firm PENSON favourite!
When it comes to our projects, Team PENSON always think outside the box... so this Christmas, we decided to see just how well they'd fare literally getting themselves outside of the box... and so, after loading up on sandwiches and Sloe Gin (staples for any festive party) we made our way to the Breakin Escape Rooms.
We split into four teams; took a few last swigs of the sloe gin; settled on our team names, and were led to captivity. Tackling Blackwing's Cave, Wizarding School, Sherlock's Despair #1 & #2, we had an hour to work our way out, solving clues, riddles, puzzles & in Sherlock's case... playing a sketchy round of chess!
With only one team escaping within the time limit - we decided it would be too cruel to leave the other captivies behind, so duly waited for them to be freed before continuing our adventures...
COCKTAILS!
For those of you that happen to find yourselves in Shoreditch, we can't recommend The Cocktail Trading Co. enough! As we ordered round after round of drinks - with many PENSONites making it their mission to try them all! - we were seriouly impressed by the ingenious creations being served up!
Decorated with miniature croissants, apple pies, creme brulees, and in one bizarre case - a knife - these cocktails shouldn't be missed! Hats off too to the staff for their unwavering patience and good humour - not every establishment appreciates the combination of megaphones & rowdy creatives...
Our final stop of the night... The Murder Express! An immersive dining experience while you eat, it was up to Team PENSON to work out who dunnit. A curious ensemble of characters 'performed' while we ate and as the tiny hands were once again whipped out, we could really appreciate just how detailed the train carriage and Pedley Street station 'stage' was!
While the conclusion left us somewhat baffled, it was an evening of great entertainment and laughter, which by our standards, makes for a great PENSON night out...
The PENSON style of Morning-After follows a strict rule. Assess each arrival into work - there were definitely varying degrees of worse for wear! - settle down on the sofas, and then, when the team is fully assembled, DEBRIEF!
As we laughed over dodgy acting, hilarious hand antics, and muched on leftover mince pies, we all agreed it had been a truly brilliant PENSON adventure. The sweet dispenser became our most valued studio possesion, and we settled down to the last week of work before we pack up the tiny hands and welcome in 2020!
