We’ve pulled together a few tips from the TTA on how to survive the festive event season! Come back every day for more tips, jokes and festive cheer! First up is work Christmas party tips!

Louise T: When dressed up for that Christmas party with your LBD and new shoes, always scratch the bottom of your shoes with a knife to stop you slipping all over the floor… (but don’t tell anyone incase you’re slipping around the floor for other reasons!!)

Mark T: Milk thistle is my saviour, lots of booze and mince pies can equal sore head and tummy. Milk thistle helps my liver recover for the next event!

John: Don’t get drunk at the Christmas party and tell the boss what’s wrong with him and the company! No matter how drunk he may seem, he won’t forget: that’s why he’s the boss!!

Here at TTA we are celebrating Christmas with gifts from our Directors!! Every day of the festive season someone in the team gets to reveal what’s in their red envelope they randomly selected of the advent calendar!
Liz and Jane kicked us off on the 1st:

Liz:
The excitement has been building in the TTA office as the 25 days of Christmas has been approaching and finally the 1st December has arrived. It was my pick along with Jane Farrell to open the first window of the TTA advent calendar and I won £100 cash! Although it should go into the Christmas present pot, I think it would be only fair to treat myself at Heathrow before flying out to San Antonio on Saturday for a congress!

Jane:
So December 1st is finally here and after watching my teenagers greedily devour the first chocolate in their advent calendar, I skipped into work knowing that I would be opening the first window (along with Liz) of our TTA 25 Days of Christmas celebration. As the tension mounted and Liz revealed her awesome present, I quickly followed suit ripping open the envelope to find……….an invitation to a fab day at Ascot Races next summer with champers, afternoon tea and box viewing. How lucky am I? The big question to ponder over the next seven months is who I should take as my guest, but no doubt it will be the hubby who will probably eat, drink and win more than me, but hey hoe life’s never perfect!

We are proud to show off Paul Turner’s Movember efforts… please visit http://uk.movember.com/mospace/2572054/ to check out his mo, mock his hillbilly handlebars and even leave a donation if you’re feeling generous!!

In anticipation of National Stress Awareness Day I thought I’d investigate the level of our own stress awareness here at TTA Towers. Whilst we often use the word ‘stress’ to describe how we may feel in the run up to a large complex event, it has become apparent we are actually talking about pressure. Stress is officially defined as “the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure or other types of demand placed upon them”. Coming under pressure is normal and some pressure may be good for us but substantial levels of “stress” clearly aren’t.
I decided to conduct a little poll of TTA staff to find out how they manage the pressures caused by their job or personal life, to prevent these pressures causing stress. The two most common responses were lists and exercise…
For our regular TTA gym bunnies they really need their time to work out. Aimee says “making time for yoga, zumba, running or even going for walk takes me away from everything but me and my sweat. I find it key to make time for a work out particularly when I am under pressure at work- it helps clear my head and aids better quality sleep so I am better able to cope if more pressures come my way!”
Viki explains that lists are her secret tools to happiness! “It’s all about lists. I would be lost without them. I even keep a pad and pen next to my bed in case I wake up in the night. I feel much more in control with a list and staying in control is the key to coping with pressures for me.” Viki will need those lists even more as she has just got engaged- big congratulations!
Feel free to add any tips for relieving pressure you may have by commenting on the blog below?

For more information about stress please take a look at the following links…

www.mind.org.uk/
www.isma.org.uk/national-stress-awareness-day/

I returned yesterday from Southern Africa on a FAM trip blown away by both Zambia and South Africa. With just four days on the ground I was a little apprehensive how such a long haul destination could provide a 5/6 night incentive program. It seems that Africa is really geared up for this market and everything from the overnight flights and short transfer times, make this a real possibility for groups.

Having travelled Africa many times personally and with work, it became clear that Zambia and South Africa are set apart from their neighbouring states in terms of organisation, safety and logistics. Our program, as FAM trips tend to be left little time for delays and was run to military precision- something that would present many challenges in other areas of Africa.

Our trip encompassed visits to local business and development projects. On visiting a township I was geared up to encounter this ‘culture shock’ we so often hear about and see on television. What I experienced was quite different. Women who earned a living clearing beaches, had set up their own business utilising the ‘junk’ they remove from the pristine beaches of Cape Town. Barbara and her team of 12 women make an array of products childrens toys, mirrors, picture frames, to name but a few. Starting in just 2008, Barbara now attends trade shows in Melbourne and Paris, and her team are busy fulfilling orders on the back of these. Barbara has become a figure head of her local community and brings children into her home to share her craft skills so that they in turn can earn a living. This was the ‘culture shock’ I experienced. I was not prepared to meet such entrepreneurial women, and walked away truly inspired.

Our trip was seamlessly organised by Green Route, a local operating agent based in Cape Town…