The Barcelona Apprentice Weekend

Rostrum Communications wound down its shutters last Friday afternoon and headed for the airport for a team weekend. I implemented a regimentally designed ‘Nick Bolshaw’ style itinerary which gave us exact times and locations to meet, allowing no margin for error whatsoever (secretly having left plenty). Logistically speaking, I was surprised to find myself somewhat nervous, like a school teacher on a trip with a gaggle of pupils. Did everybody have their tickets, passports, wallets, blackberries, iPhones? It baffles me how a group trip can make highly intelligent, independent adults suddenly revert to the family holiday dynamic of, “but Mum I thought you had it”?!

After a fair amount of flapping and Michael MacIntyre style jacket pocket frisking, we managed to get ourselves into the taxis, without forgetting our luggage, and then to Victoria. On missing the first train (you know who you are), a sea of slightly panicked eyes simultaneously glanced in my direction as it pulled away out of the station. Calmly aboard the next, (yes Nick, 15 mins behind schedule) we relaxed into our usual group dynamic. Nick, Mark and Chris sat in the corner discussing football, Tim and Megan listened to Rihanna and discussed boys and the rest of us played cards whilst berating Hugo for cheating. In the airport I relaxed, we had made it, although some of us were sorely tempted to follow a certain rugby team Holly discovered in the departure lounge.. The flight went seamlessly with Nick frantically drawing lists and ideas for the company meeting on the back of a sick bag!

Having settled into the beautiful Hotel Gaudi, we hoofed the itinerary out of the window and switched to ‘Barcelona time’, much to my relief. Several hours late we went in search for our dinner reservation to fill ourselves with jamon, paella and sangria. After a quick foray into a local bar whereupon the Rostrum men were soundly beaten by locals at table football much to their dismay, we retired for a good night’s sleep. Morning dawned the ‘Rostrum’ day and after a huge buffet breakfast eaten with the world’s smallest cutlery from about 20 of the world’s smallest sideplates, we located our meeting room.

3 hours and a huge amount of fantastic new ideas later, we went for lunch in the sunshine to decide on our teams for the Apprentice challenge. Nick was to be our investor and we were going to sell to him how we would ‘PR’ his product. We then split into our teams, the appallingly named ‘Entree’ and ‘Gaudi Solutions’, in order to come up with, find and buy a product (or concept) for under €20. We only had one hour to get back to the hotel to present to Nick, if we didn’t get lost that is!

A couple of minutes into ‘Entree’s’ presentation, it became abundantly clear that our team (Mark, Megan, Tim and myself) were going to have to wing it. Alas, our wine-fuelled attempts at ‘winging it’ failed pitifully and we, on purpose of course, demonstrated perfectly how NOT to pitch, and lost... graciously I might add. A lot of joking and some embarrassing photos followed and some of the team went off for their Management meeting. The rest of us decided to go on an adventure to the W Hotel on the beach where we cried with laughter at Tim and Hugo who decided to head down to the sea for a quick dip. Needless to say the evening ended with great fun, several dodgy impressions, lots of laughter and dancing, not to mention climbing things! We fell into the plane home, exhausted and happy having had a very fun and productive weekend, and are still all speaking to one another, so thank you Rostrum.