AB2U Blog

By Dianne Beer

To view all the photos from this event, please click here.

Note to self: You were extremely lucky with the weather this year, think twice about the time of year before you hold the next ‘Thank you’ party for all your clients, candidates, family and friends for all their help and loyalty each year.

On Saturday 29th November 2008 a very sweet friend of mine, Jean-Paul, and I began assembling the roof top gazebo in preparation for the following Saturday’s Roof Top Santa Party. If anyone can remember back to this date or keeps a diary you will note that it was not only freezing cold in London, but it poured with rain. I am not one to ever let my spirits be dampened by any event, but my heart did sink at the prospect of similar weather the following weekend on the actual day of the event. Someone somewhere took great pity on me, and on Saturday 6th December 2008, the day of the Great Santa Fun Run for SnowSport Disability and the Roof Top Santa Party the sun shone all day long, to the extent that Kathryn and I could have been mistaken for Rudolf the red nosed reindeer on Sunday morning. Perhaps being out in the sun on the roof terrace the day before, erecting the final parts of the tent and hanging tinsel and beads from every possible space gave us just enough base coat to get an winter sun glow!

The fun started at 12:00pm, just enough time for all the running Santas to travel back from Battersea Park and have gained a thirst and appetite after their gruelling 6k run, and enough time for Dianne to recruit some very jolly Santa Helpers to help finish off making and heating the mulled wine. By the smile on Kathryn’s face I think she was drinking it as fast as she was making it.

Abenefit2u sent out open invites to as many of our clients and candidates as we were able to in the time available between deciding to host this event and organising it. If you did not receive an invite, it will not be because you were forgotten, simply because of time restrictions and just not enough hours in the day to call everyone. We promise if you have been working with us during 2008 or will be working with us in 2009 you will be on the summer bbq list, but in the meantime, what a fantabulous festive fun filled party it was.

Thank you all so much for attending and making it such an enjoyable event. And just in case you have not had enough mince pies and mulled wine, there is still a sky high pile of pies and a vat full of mulled wine to finish! Oh and quite a few tins of roses, quality street…

A Very Merry Christmas everyone from
Abenefit2u Occupational Pension & Benefit Recruitment Specialist

By Dianne Beer

To see all the photos for this event, please click here.

When I competed in this event last year the heavens opened on me and I was a very soggy little Santa at the finish, so this year when I awoke at 6.00am to finish the last of the after party arrangements I was very relieved to see beautiful clear winter skies out of my bedroom window. If someone had bet me that Kathryn and I would both have little red faces on Saturday evening from a day of running and partying in beautiful English December sunshine I would have laughed and said “No, keep your money safe”, but that is exactly what happened – what a perfect day!

(Left to right) Leanne, Tim, Kathryn, Marissa, Dianne, Clare 1 having successfully finished the race and all adorning our medals (Claire 2 not in this photograph).

I adore this event, and this year it signalled the end of a very busy year of fundraising and fun runs for Abenefit2u. Although we opened a just giving page for this event, we have not broadcast this as we feel all our friends, family, clients and candidates have given quite enough. Our target was £1,000 through competing in ten separate races and instead we have achieved over £1,300. So for this race all we asked was for you all to come and join the fun and by doing so your £20 entry fee covers the cost of your Santa outfit and organising the event, with a little to spare for a super charity, Disability Snowsport. www.disabilitysnowsport.org.uk

There were nearly 2,000 Santas running this year, far more than last year, so when I arrived at 09:30am there were long queues for the registration area and to collect Santa suits. Kathryn had already rounded up the troops and they were all ready and changed and raring to go, seven of us in total waiting for the starter’s gun….

… Three storming Abenefit2u Santessa’s speed off…

And afterwards we were all enjoying the after event Santa Sillyness so much that we almost forgot we needed to be back at the Elgin offices by 12:00pm for the after race party. The invite to this was open not only to runners and supporters but to friends, family, candidates and clients, as well as all the lovely people who have been so helpful this year in assisting us to successfully get Abenefit2u off the ground. For example, the super team at REC, the Recruitment & Employment Confederation.*
(*Please see a different blog page for more on their story…)

I have no idea how but at 11.15am we were all in Battersea Park and by 12.00pm we were back at the Elgin Offices putting the mulled wine on the stove and the mince pies in the oven, and eagerly awaiting LOTS OF VERY HUNGRY & THIRSTY SANTAS…**
(** For what happened next and photographs of the After Race Roof Top Santa Party you will have to wait for our next blog posting).

In closing, I would like to say a special thank you to Matt, our Abenefit2u team photographer for the day, and to Dmitry and Brent (who was cycling around the park trying to find us) for their cheers of support along the way.

A Very Merry Christmas everyone, from Abenefit2u Occupational Pension & Benefit Recruitment Specialists.