Princess Peach Goes to Suzhou
My first company outing involved a costume, an award and rather too much wine.
I had never been to a company team-building event. I vaguely imagined sports, or perhaps activities in which we would be divided into teams.
Instead, I found myself on a minibus to Suzhou with a Princess Peach dress.
The event was around Halloween, and each centre had a theme. Andy managed two centres, so ours joined forces as the Mario Brothers. Most people would wear Mario costumes; Kat and I had been assigned Princess Peach.
I knew very little about the game. Fortunately, understanding it wasn’t a requirement for wearing a pink dress.
The event took place at the InterContinental hotel. Our group arrived early, excited to be somewhere different for the day. In the conference room, Andy began gathering wine bottles from other tables and storing them beneath ours.
It gave me a fairly clear idea of the priorities.
There were performances, speeches, awards and a succession of toasts. Senior staff visited the tables, and the room became progressively louder and more cheerful.
I remember less about the food than the wine. That was probably part of the problem.
Then my name was called. I had won the award for the centre’s most dedicated teacher.
I was pleased—and immediately worried about getting to the stage. I hadn’t eaten much and had already had a couple of glasses of red wine. My main ambition was to walk in a straight line, accept the award and avoid falling over.
I managed it, trying very hard to look sober.
By the end of the event, our group was decidedly merry. Lewis, who was keen on weightlifting, turned the Mario theme into a physical performance, chasing after me and lifting me up as we made our way towards the minibus.
The journey home began with another bottle of wine and two glasses. We laughed, toasted each other with our arms linked and carried on the celebration. Looking back, we had certainly had enough already.
By the time we reached West Lake that evening, I was tired, and parts of the day were already hazy. What remained clear was the feeling of belonging to a group: the costumes, the laughter, and the unexpected pleasure of hearing my name called for an award.
My first team-building event had involved rather less sport than I expected.
It had, however, given me a pink dress and another story.
