The Sandstone Team Building Blog

From time to time we are asked to run 2 back-to-back half-day events on the same day for the same client.   Usually, this is for a single team with mission critical work that does not allow them to all be away from the workplace at the same time.  This was the case for our choice of Event of the Month for August.

In what has been our busiest August ever, Memory Lane has been a regular contributor, ending up with the deserved accolade of being our most popular activity of the month for the first time.  It has steadily been gaining in popularity as the word has spread about what a great time it delivers to all participants.  Our double serving of Memory Lane in the one-day will have gone a long way to adding its reputation.  We’re sure of this because the noise each of our brilliant 2 groups made in Bolton must surely have been heard all over the North West and possibly even over the Pennines in West Yorkshire!

So where do I start!  Both morning and afternoon groups had a pre-event business meeting for 30 minutes.  We like to surprise people as much as possible, so we hid lots of our equipment from them – but our authentic 1950s Skittle Alleys are just too big!  So they had to stay out.  We went in and changed the room around whilst they had tea and coffee and allowed them back in.  A few looks of apprehension (as usual) as nobody except our main contact knew what was going on!

They may have stated with looks of apprehension but after just one minute, and as they realised we weren’t going to ask them to do anything they really didn’t want to, both sets of participants settled straight into their respective sessions.  Deep concentration was their first shared look as they selected their artists from the first decade – the 1950s.  Then onto the tasks!  We started with the Skittle Alleys – not sure we had many strikes or half-strikes but they all gave it their best shot and had great fun whilst they did it!  Telephone Booth proved its usual fun – both for the participants and for us as we watched them try to fit in!  And I have to say they were rather good at it.  When it came to the Hula-Hoop challenge, we had one clear winner across both groups.  In fact she would have beat everyone we have ever had on all the Memory Lane events we have ever run – but she did own up to once upon a time being her school champion!  Steve was trying to get tips from her!

Both groups dived head first into everything we put on.  The Macarena proved a huge success and when Robbie Williams song “Angels” came on, everyone got up and were singing their hearts out!  But my favourite moment in both our morning and afternoon sessions had to be the final for the Air Guitar competition – what fantastic entrants!  Normally we don’t give them a whole song (Johnny B Goode by Chuck Berry – what else?) but these guys were entertaining us all so much that we just didn’t want it to end.  Much like our participants for the each of these brilliant team building sessions!

Till next month

Paul