Last Saturday over 200 staff from Conran Head Office and Benchmark, Terence’s furniture making business in Berkshire, gathered on the lawns of his country house Barton Court for the biannual Conran Head Office vs Benchmark cricket match – a fun-filled afternoon of cricket, eating, drinking and general socialising in the late summer sun.
Terence, of course, does lunch for over 200 people with more than the usual panache – half a tree acting as a table groaned with hocks of ham, truckles of cheddar, vast bowls of leafy salad, jugs of celery, kilner jars full of homemade chutneys and pickles and great baskets of freshly baked bread; a ploughman’s dream. Well, those cricketers needed something to keep them going didn’t they? Not sure the rest of us had quite such an excuse unless you count lolling about on the lawns in the sun with a nice glass of wine, half pints of local ale or a cool bottle of cider as being a strenuous activity.
One of the loveliest parts of the day is being able to explore Terence’s beautiful gardens. The walled kitchen garden is a joy to wander about in, perusing all the vegetables and marvelling at the giant sunflowers.
Tea was truly astounding. Suddenly people who’d just been commenting how full they were from lunch miraculously had room for quite a few slices of countless homemade delights. Victoria Sponge cakes, strawberry tarts, lemon cake dotted with poppy seeds, scones, jars of homemade jam and a bowl of the thickest clotted cream were just some of the selection.
Conran Head Office skipper Mat Riches was keen to keep the title so hard fought for two years ago but those upstarts Benchmark were having none of it finally winning at around 18.00 with 126 runs again Conran’s 111.
Congratulations also to man of the match Architectural Assistant Mike Beacham from Conran & Partners. And of course, to all those that took part! (and those hard working supporters……)
Read more about the day on the Benchmark blog More here on the Benchmark blog
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