The Scottish Salmon Company

Event Details

Event Date: 5th October 2017

Event Title: Team Away Day and Retreat – a full day event, with activities and entertainment spanning late morning to after dinner.

Where: The group had the exclusive use of Archerfield House for their offsite retreat. Archerfield is a magnificent estate situated between Gullane and North Berwick in picturesque East Lothian. With the Grade 1 listed Archerfield House lying at its heart, the land affords magnificent views of Fidra Island in the Firth of Fourth, and the Fife coastline beyond.

Format: An afternoon or rotational outdoor activities and experiences, coupled with some singularly different evening entertainment!

Who Took Part:

What They Wanted

A fun-filled programme of outdoor experiences, led by Event Manager Martin Lawson, to reward, engage and entertain, and including competitive elements for which top prizes were awarded. For the evening entertainment, the services of a well-known Scottish actor and comedian – playing an ‘undercover role’ in costume over dinner – was incorporated to surprise and wow guests.

Working closely with the Executive Assistant to the CEO, we created a programme of outdoor activities selected to reward, engage and entertain. Prior to the event date, the scope and location of the event was kept a closely guarded secret by the CEO Craig and his Assistant Sandra – right up until the last minute the group were told they were going on a camping trip in East Lothian! It wasn’t until they arrived in front of Archerfield House that they realised that slightly different plans had been put in place.

 

What We Did

After their management meeting and working lunch, we laid on a range of engaging and entertaining activities and experiences, specially selected by CEO Craig and his Assistant Sandra, that many members of the group had never taken part in before. These included Crossbow Shooting, Double-headed Axe Throwing and a programme of 30 minute Helicopter flights for up to four guests at a time, taking off from Archerfield and taking in the Firth of Forth coastline, with views of the three Bridges and Edinburgh’s Arthur Seat. Thankfully the weather conditions on the day were perfect!

For the evening entertainment, a well-known Scottish comedian and actor was commissioned to perform undercover and in costumed disguise during the group’s evening meal. We were lucky to have found the perfect accomplice for the part – Karen Dunbar – arguably Scotland’s funniest female performer. After a pre-event briefing and consultation with CEO Craig, Karen rose to the occasion perfectly on the day, getting into character and uniform of a trainee male chef and turning on the comedy and banter in slapstick-style attempts to be solicitous of guests’ needs. Raised eyebrows and incredulity ensued across Archerfield’s Dining Room as Karen’s interactions ramped up – only CEO Craig and his Assistant Sandra knew what was afoot! Karen’s true identity was finally revealed over dessert to the whole group, the penny finally dropped for everyone to great surprise and amusement all round. Karen was then invited to stay on after dinner to perform a short comedy routine for the group.