Most of us work from home, usually from a dedicated desk or a corner of a room that’s been claimed as an office. Some of us head to co-working spaces or cafés when we need a change of scenery. That freedom is part of why we do what we do. We can work from wherever suits the job, and we can be flexible about how we do it.
Still, we’re a team, and until last month we had never all been in the same place at once. Several of us are local to Portsmouth and Gosport, and some had been working alongside each other for months without knowing what the other person’s laugh sounded like.
So we booked Stone’s Throw Kitchen. The staff were lovely from the
first message and made the whole evening so easy. Pizza arrived,
then fish and chips, and the drinks kept coming. It didn’t feel like
a team event with name badges and forced small talk. It felt like
a night out with people we already know and love.
We played a few games, but nobody had to take part in anything they didn’t want to. There were creative hot takes, where people could share a view on design or anything else on their mind. Then came two truths and a lie. The lies were impressive, and a few of the true stories were so wild that they’re staying within the team.
Our mascot Lotta came along too! The team at Hampshire Flag Company made a full-size cut-out of her, and she spent the evening being the most photographed person in the room. Nobody was surprised.
Before we left, we stuck a wall of sticky notes with our daydreams on it: companies we’d love to work with, projects we’d like to take on, ideas that are still a bit wild. We’ll revisit them in a year or two and see how many have come true.
By the end of the night, it felt like we’d known each other for years. Everyone was relaxed, curious and keen to find out more about each other. We’re independent people, but we’re one team, and now everyone knows exactly who is on it.
Thank you to everyone who came along. We’re already talking about the next one.
Charlotte
