Fun in the sun at printers’ inter-company annual tournament
Football, tug of war, fun races and a bucking bronco saw a good time being had by all at the annual printers’ Wayzgoose tournament where Woodmansterne and Windles celebrated in glorious sunshine.
As the weather shrugged off the recent rain clouds, there was a lovely sunny day as the 150 staff from the two companies embraced the historic celebration which traditionally marked the end of summer and the start of working by candlelight.
After the scores were totted up, Windles clinched the trophy for the fourth time, Woodies’ Watford and Milton Keynes teams each having won once in previous years.
Fresh from his outings on the football field, dodge ball, tug-of-war and very creditable performance on the bucking bronco – see video above, although the best effort came from Windles’ operations director Miles Podmore lasting over 1min40secs, beating the operator’s record – Woodies’ ever-competitive MD Seth Woodmansterne thanked everyone for attending the event at Putteridge Bury near Luton on Friday 13 September, while admitting: “I really like that we still do this – but it doesn’t bring out my best side!”
He explained that the Wayzgoose tradition dates back to the mid-17th century, and the friendly rivals decided to revive the tradition in 2017, adding: “It was a printers’ party where the master printer would take his crew to the pub. We’re delighted that Windles continue to join us with their competitive spirit, I really like that 450 years ago the boss decided to honour his team, and we’re carrying that on.
“Thank you to everyone, you make our organisations what they are, so it’s great to be able to do this for you.”
Along with delicious barbecue food and plenty of drink, there were lots of games on offer, including three-legged races, bean bag races, relay, fancy-dress relay, and rounders, plus the five-a-side footie tournament, and dodge ball, ending with the tug-of war, and raffle with some incredible prizes which raised money for the Greenfingers children’s charity that builds hospice and therapeutic gardens.
The final results saw PG’s very own goalie Warren Lomax’s antics between the sticks help Windles win the football and top the table overall with 37 points, Watford came second with 31 points and the MK Wickies team picked up 24 points.
Seth thanked organiser Danielle Rhind-Tutt, and everyone involved in making sure the event went off without a hitch, with bottles of Champagne being presented to the winning team and Windles’ MD Bruce Podmore, who was on hand to witness his company’s triumph, watching proceedings alongside Woodies’ chairman Paul Woodmansterne.
The event was also the time to say goodbye to Kate Leach, who has left the publisher after six years as head of marketing to concentrate her efforts on Essoldo Design, her own design business, which has already spawned cards, fabric and stationery being produced under licence, the cards by Woodmansterne.
As Kate refused to remove her sunglasses with the tears flowing, Seth presented her with gifts as a token of the company’s appreciation and said: “You have been a force of nature and it has been a joy watching you contribute to the company. We are sad to see you go but it is a delight that you’re going to be a full-time artist, taking that leap. We are so grateful for all that you have done to make us a better, bigger business.”
