Labman staff enjoyed a ‘Euros’ themed Labfest last week, our annual summer gathering to celebrate and reward the workforce for their hard work throughout the year. Despite the rain, the marquee was put up on the front lawn the day before the event, thank you to Abracadabra Marquees & Events. The celebrations began early on Friday and the July weather did not disappoint!
We opened the celebrations with enthusiasm at 1:30pm at the cocktail bar, before starting the afternoons activities including Football Darts, Penalty Shooting and the Zorb Football Championship. The inflatables were provided by Premiere Bouncy Castles and were an insane amount of fun. Thank you, especially for assisting with the many hedge/road/pond and tree bound balls!
It didn’t take long for teams to discover that scoring goals was quite a challenge, likewise defending your goal was equally problematic. In fact getting near the ball whatsoever was quite an achievement. The winning team didn’t concede a single goal and enjoyed a prize of Amazon vouchers - second to the sweet taste of victory.
The critically acclaimed Scrapheap Challenge was back - this year the aim was to make a far-travelling ‘edible vehicle’ using a limited selection of foods. Even the glue (melted chocolate) was edible. After an intense tournament, last year’s winners ‘The Reigning Champions’ took first place again with an ingenious rice-cake-block design. They celebrated by eating their exhibit.
Later, much to the dismay of the senior leadership team, was the Big Wig Wipeout! This involved throwing balls at various sized targets to release water from a bucket, suspended over the head of the unlucky board member. Managing Director Andrew bravely stepped up first with only a crisp packet for protection. Needless to say they all ended up a little wet, but took their punishment with humility and grace! Hats off guys.
Into the evening we enjoyed a mouth-watering spread of delicious food, prepared by a group of Labman volunteers. Alongside a variety of vegan and gluten free options, over 60kg of pork and lamb was prepped and smoked in our (obviously homemade) reverse flow smoker. The delicious meat was credit to G Bolam Foods. Staff enjoyed this served alongside an array of colourful salads and sides. Thank you also to Stewy’s Ices for delicious ice cream and Three Brothers Brewing Company for running the all important bar.
Thank you to every volunteer, the organisers and the MD for making another fantastic Labfest possible.