Lots to be talked about in this blog post, on the 17th we travelled up to the Grove head office which sits just outside of Grove. We were brought in by Dyson to make a hog roast as part of a morale boosting day for their staff, a welcome change of scenery.
The simple nature of pig roasting was there and on display for everybody to see, casual onlookers stopped and looked on, staff started chatting about us when they realised our presence. “Is that pig for us?” “How long will it take to cook?” “Will that feed all of us” and a couple more of the regular questions could be heard often. We were happy to engage and answer the questions, knowing that the staff asking the questions would make their way to their fellow staff members and bring the hog roast into conversation, which really gets the buzz going.
What surprised the staff and made us laugh in bemusement, and it was way out of left field, was the presence of a Harrier Jump Jet in the staff car park. Unfortunately we didn’t see it arrive. The story behind the presence of the HJJ, according to the plaque, was that it came from a recovery of an aborted mission from H.M.S. Invincible. Somehow, probably with a couple of ounces of luck, the pilot managed to survive and went on to tell the tale.
We couldn’t let that distract us from the task though and we quickly got into the hog roast zone. The food was cooked on time, queues were formed and went back as far as the eye could see, staff anticipated the feast that was to come and we heard that all morning we were the talk of the office. The 600 guests were fed their pig roll over the course of an hour, thankfully the weather turned around in time for serving time and by the time we were handing out the spit pork rolls the sun was beaming down.
The pig had that fresh flavour we’re known for, we left with a smile on our faces as we knew we’d done our job. You could say that it was as much a morale boosting day for us as it was the Dyson staff! After the food was ate we were given a proper send off packed with compliments, well wishes and actual wishes. The staff were all hoping we’d be booked again next year for another surprise pig roast, and we’d love to go back because we really bonded with the staff there. We left our business cards lying about to keep the hog roast in the back of their minds!
The next day was a complete contrast as we were at Merton College. We got there all right but had problems parking, which is just typical of Grove! ‘Park and ride’ never comes in much use when you’ve got a van the size of ours, need to unload it in the space of 10 minutes, all the while being parked over ½ a mile away from the actual venue. Anyway, we got the job done and the weather was nice; in fact it was almost too nice, a lot of heat and humidity but thankfully no rain.
The hog roast Grove was held in the College Chapel, rebuilt in the 1280’s. Use of the chapel is a privilege reserved for past undergraduates.
Canapes and drinks were provided on the lawn and under glorious weather, a combination not easily beaten. We gave out lots of water, to give you an idea of the weather. The carafes were prepared and ready, not to mention a selection of juices and our favourite well chilled Rose Cider.
The setting was perfect and the weather was the perfect backdrop. Cameras were everywhere as special moments in time were taken, achievements remembered.
The event went like clockwork, especially the breakfast, the cake and cheeses that followed were brilliant too.
With the event ended we loaded up and set off home – and without a parking ticket.