It was our Easter company get-together last week, with the team embarking on the Crystal Maze Experience in Manchester. 

For those old enough to remember it, it was exactly as you remember it (minus Richard O’Brien or Edward Tudor-Pole), including the 4 classic zones of; future, aztec, medieval and industrial, which contained fantastic replicas of the well-remembered games, mysteries and puzzles that the original show was known for. 

We split into 2 teams:

Team Pickle Juice (long story regarding a train passenger with an insatiable appetite for gherkins)

Teamsheet: Daniel, Victoria, Jess, Tom O, Isaac and Marcela 

Squashed Pixies (clearly a better thought through team name than the above)

Teamsheet: Claire, Tom G, Sonny, Dan, Richard, Jack, Ben and Martyna

The challenges had us:

- Rolling in a giant tube (good job we hadn’t touched the shandy’s yet!)

- Doing our best Tarzan impression on swings with nondescript giant eggs in hands (you had to be there)

- Ducking and dodging lasers a la espionage movie

- Riddles and puzzles that made our brains turn to soup

Squashed Pixies came out of it the champions with an eye-watering number of gold/silver tickets collected in the grand finale - the Crystal Dome! Bragging rights rightfully theirs.

Team Pickle Juice coming a close second (a default silver medal is still a silver medal), chins held high and sand in their shoes. 

Following on from our conquest of the Crystal Maze Experience we rolled on to one of our favourite places to eat; Fazenda! Meat sweats galore, conversation, laughter, drinks flowing like a 90’s LL Cool J video and a half-sober yet fully impassioned speech from yours truly to thank the team for all their hard work and making the Squashed Pixel the amazing business it is. 

Last but by no means least, to close the night, we painted Manchester purple (branding on point) and enthusiastically threw down and cut up some mean shapes whilst still stuffed full to the gills of the rodizio previously consumed. 

I’m not sure if you’ve tried to dance to “It’s raining men” 5kg heavier, but it’s definitely something we can tick off the list. 

Here’s to the next one! And many more!

And cue the flattering photos in 3…2…1…Action!