English summer

Afternoon tea at the Corinthian with Claire, Tom and Steph

Travelled to London this summer to work in person with my People team.  While we love the flexibility that comes with remote work, team bonding is taken up several notches when we get to meet in real life and make memories together.  We had a fabulous time setting out our strategy, discussing priorities and mapping out our plans for the rest of the year.  In between sightseeing, afternoon teas, West End musicals and world cuisines at our doorstep.  It was such a dream come true for me to work in Central London!

Showing Claire around some of my favourite sites during my student days in England

Managed to also take a week off and travel to the Midlands to visit friends.  Went back to University of Birmingham for the first time since I left in 1996,  and found Priorsfield.  It was the business school during my MBA days but now serves as the Institute for Language Studies. 

Thanks to hospitality of my friend Cristina Sambrook, I got to enjoy the charms of English country living in Worcestershire. A week of pub lunches, tea on the lawn, dinners by pretty canals and long walks with the dog was so therapeutic.  Exactly the type of summer break I needed to unwind from a particularly challenging spell at at work. Falling in love with her dog Otto was an unexpected bonus 💖

Otto - the first dog I've ever loved