Something for the weekend
Christmas on a shoestring
Office festivities don't need to break the bank, that's according to research by communications company Pitney Bowes. In a terribly helpful email missive to Insider, the firm's Phil Hutchison set out his top tips for motivating staff over Christmas.
In at number five with a bullet was: "Consider giving each team member a contribution towards their own Christmas celebration for them to use as they wish. It doesn't have to be a lot, £10 can go far". A Big Mac meal and the bus home it is, then.
Going underground
Potential residents of an innovative new retirement village in Harborne will get a first glimpse of construction progress when they bury a time capsule, on site, yesterday.
Local resident Christine Bokhari (69), who has lived in Harborne for nearly 50 years, pupils from Lordswood Girls and Boys Schools and councillor John Lines, the Birmingham Council's cabinet member for housing were among 100 guests providing capsule gifts which represent the area’s history.
This makes a lovely story, of course, but we're a bit dubious about tales of burying things in and around a retirement home, lest they be in bad taste. Suffice to say, this one isn’t.
Ich bin ein Birminghamer
Last night saw us at The Wilson Organisation’s Family Business Awards at Birmingham Town Hall. I'm not sure if it was intentional, but it clashed with the opening of the (in)famous German Christmas Market in the city. Only extreme willpower and a weak bladder saw us eschew the beer stalls for the hallowed steps of the Town Hall. Not sure if we can say the same for others.
