Liza's Forum Posts

There's a hilarious outdoor game that you play with a rope & a pair of binoculars. Basically you stretch out the rope (allowing for a few meanders) and add a couple of small obstacles. The player/victim then puts a foot either side of the rope and looks down through the upside down binoculars. The rope looks like it's half a mile down. It's very funny watching people do this the first few times but you can then add in a couple of unexpected obstacles. Also, you can very carefully move the rope – my husband (usually quite bright, really) ended up going round in circles three times before he worked it out! More

From a personal point of view I think that the best team building should have an element of pampering to it and if not quite as luxe as a spa day then at least to be ‘a relaxing, bonding experience’ as Charlie F says. The boot camp experience has its place but I would prefer to do something that you look forward to rather than dread. I recently saw the Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead which has indoor slopes where it snows 3 times a week – I thought that would be fun for a team building day if budgets didn't cover a ski incentive! Otherwise I think cookery days are great. As to what makes a good team building event I agree that organisation is key and it doesn't work if there is too much waiting around for your turn or for others to take their turn. The main aim has to be that people come away feeling more motivated and/or more in tune with their teammates. How that's acheived in a directed way is the tricky part. More

Yes, where have all the branded umberellas gone?! There was a phase where they were everywhere but now they're due a revival. Same with luxury keyrings…or am I not going to the right events (nice bone china mugs aside)? More

I'm not surprised that a lot of wedding photographers are super defensive! I was really shocked by the lack of options for what I considered a reasonable budget and ended up spending a lot more money than I intended just because the lack of transparency equated to a lack of trust. The right photographer is so important in capturing an event – and they don't come much bigger than a wedding – so the more professionals offering quality work the better. Good luck to you Rick. More

So many interesting things there Mike, but this particularly struck a chord:

'In event terms, the Noughties will be remembered as a decade when humans were given the power to stop talking all together. Instead, we could tweet, poke, MSN or Skype. How event management companies adapt and integrate this communication revolution into their face-to-face strategies will determine their success in years to come.'

The same is true socially of course and my friends and I were only talking about this yesterday. How many dates does it take before communication is by phone rather than by text?!

There is so much new software out there to encourage people to stay at their desks rather than meet but the busy EIBTM going on at the moment is another indicator that people have to get out there. Roll on Christmas I say – I'll think about another year of this after that. Fingers crossed for those predicted green shoots and here's looking forward to the Olympics! More

Thanks for this but I'm not sure I'd use the sideorder site – looked more like a yellow pages type listing site. Do you work for the site Food M?? Just an update to say that I ended up at HDV – again – and it was superb. The somellier offered some great options all within budget and the food was wonderful. We decided to skip pud but shared some cheese instead which led to a visit from the fromagier. Fantastic entertainment as he led us through the choices, taking fully five minutes to guide us around the (table-sized) cheese board in a very knowledgeable and charmingly French manner. We were there on a busy Friday night and and the atmosphere was buzzing, occasionally raucous (big table to our right) but service was faultless and I'd recommend the restaurant for a romantic dinner or a big group. More

It's like with holidays etc, you can gamble & hang on a bit longer if you're not fussed about where/when you go but if you've got something specific in mind & you want a good date it's best not to leave it too late. December (& even November) is definitely way too late! More

I'm planning on heading north of the border for a few days holiday later this month. Don't want to spend a fortune but looking for something really nice within half an hour of Edinburgh. Would like some really spectacular scenery too. Any ideas much appreciated. More

The Bingham in Richmond is gorgeous (I was there only the other day!) especially for a younger crowd (meeja?) but if you're happy to travel a bit further out then I'd definitely recommend New Park Manor down in the New Forest which has got a really relaxed miles-away-from-it-all feel to it. I haven't held an event there but I had a show round when the new spa opened & really liked it. Gravetye Manor in West Sussex is great if you've got the budget especially for the food but it is very old-style country house in appearance – depends on what you're looking for. I'm guessing this is residential but if not I've got more…!? More

A sure fire way to let staff know how you feel about them (either way) is the Christmas party. It doesn't even have to be expensive – with so many good joiner parties around – but it's got to be well thought-out and certainly not seem like the budget option. More

I know the Cannon Bridge Roof Garden quite well which has a fab view of the river. Only issue is numbers – I think there's a fairly high minimum (200+ possibly?). I've been to a couple of events there and the weather's been perfect – but there's a good sized marquee for if it rains. Definitely recommend it on a Summer evening. More