Celebrating Mr. Jack’s Birthday, which takes place every September, Sally and I dragged ourselves out of bed early on Saturday morning to board a train to the Peak District. Spurred on by the fact we’d soon be watching The Vaccines, Mystery Jets and Tribes (and not to mention drinking Jack Daniel’s) we met up with some of our favourite journalists (the troublesome duo from BarLifeUK) and made our way to Sheffield. After checking into our hotel and getting our wristbands, we boarded one of the coaches set up to transport the crowds to what can only be described as the gig of the year.

Soon we arrived in the picturesque village of Castleton, home of one of the largest natural caves in the UK; The Devil’s Arse. But before we could actually go inside and watch the trio of bands, we had to line our stomachs. Luckily the lovely folk at Jack had laid on a BBQ so we filled up on Tennessee Whiskey burgers, corn on the cob, Tennessee Whiskey chicken wings and potato wedges, while we chatted to our third journalist attendee from The Grocer.

Finally, after a short walk, we were greeted by the huge entrance to the cave sat within an imposing cliff face, which, for one night only, featured a giant projection of an Old. No.7 logo. Inside the rocky walls also featured a range of projections from logos to old bottle images – there was even a statue dedicated to the man himself; Mr. Jack.

We spent the evening dancing and sampling drinks from the Jack Daniel’s range, including the deliciously smooth Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey, before heading off to the after party. After another short coach ride, where the BarLifeUK guys kept us entertained with a game of ‘Would You Rather…’, we were back in Sheffield getting down to the sound of the Parma Violets, who are hotly tipped as one to watch this year.

A fantastic weekend was had by all, despite a few sore heads on the return journey London. Happy Birthday Mr. Jack! We look forward to celebrating again next year.

Hannah

Hannah and Sally at The Devil’s Arse

Courtesy of Publicasity’s client 42BELOW, I had the opportunity to head to Floripa bar in Shoreditch for the Cocktail World Cup and to watch the UK’s most genius mixologists compete for the prestigious honour of representing Great Britain in the coveted global final taking place in New Zealand. I was experiencing the benefits of being part of the spirits brands and these were benefits I could definitely get used to!

After getting over the anger of losing disastrously to my colleges at table football, I was able to enjoy the whacky cocktails on display alongside the exuberant crowd. I saw a Matrix-themed drink which included the dilemma of the red or blue pill (though I was slightly disappointed by the lack of Laurence Fishburne look-a-like!), a doctor/patient themed drink with the poor patient suffering from a bad case of sobriety (which was quickly rectified), and silly string flying across the room, much to the horror of my poor bag.

The home support proved the decisive factor as Team East London stormed to victory. The atmosphere in the packed bar upped the excitement and gave a real competitive edge to the evenings proceedings. The volume went up several notches every time Team East London went on stage, but instead of buckling under the pressure, thrived to produce their best concoction with a hip-hop and graffiti theme. Team Scotland also bagged a ticket to compete among the world’s elite after being rewarded the golden wild card ticket after much deliberation from the judges.

Free cocktails were flowing and I still managed to arrive at work the next day as fresh faced as ever, excited to experience my next event! I’ve had a taste of things to come and cannot wait for more evenings like this, like the boys from East London and Scotland; I’m just waiting for my invite to New Zealand…

Chris.

On Saturday I was lucky enough to attend the Heineken Cup Final at Twickenham as a guest of Heineken with assorted members of the trade press. The match was keenly contested between two Irish teams; Leinster, the heavy favourites and Ulster, the plucky underdogs. Not having any Irish in me, and slightly swayed by an Ulsterman in our group, I decided to back Ulster which proved to be an error of judgement!

Following a buffet pub lunch and fuelled with the rosy glow that a few bottles of Heineken provides, we made our way to the stadium by coach and, once there, to our fantastic seats near the pitch and next to the players tunnel.

Being so near to the pitch, the first thing that struck me was the size of the players close up – frighteningly large (and that was just the backs, never mind the forwards). I’ve never been so mesmerised by men’s thighs before! No wonder my school decided I wasn’t quite cut out for rugby.

The match kicked-off and both teams indulged in some exciting running ruby with some fairly brutal collisions thrown in for good measure.

However, as the game progressed it soon became apparent that despite Ulster’s best efforts and some vociferous support from the stands, they were not going to be victorious and Leinster ran out deserved winners by 42-14, the third time in the last four years in which they have been crowned Europe’s finest.

But the fun didn’t end at the final whistle as we were promptly led to the ‘Club Heineken’ suite in the stadium for more hospitality and the chance to watch the Champions League final which Heineken also sponsor. A thoroughly depressing experience and surely the only time in football history that a German team has lost a penalty competition?

Guests, were sent a branded honey stick telling them to ‘bee prepared for some exciting news’ and to join the team to find out what ‘all the buzz’ was about. Attendees from Imbibe, CLASS, Bar, The Publican’s Morning Advertiser, BarLifeUK, Retail Express, Asian Trader, Independent Retail News, Bar Chick and The Cocktail Lovers, were greeted at the entrance by two burly beekeepers guarding the door, one of which was our very own John Pritchard!!

After enjoying a few Old No. 7 serves at the bar, guests were shown downstairs into a private room which had been dimly lit and branded with images and posters of the new variant. Here they were greeted by a special video from the Jack Daniel’s Master Distiller himself, Jeff Arnett who encouraged everyone to enjoy their first taste of the delicious Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey.

Bartenders whipped up a choice of drinks using the new product, including the Honey Julep, a refreshing mix of fresh mint and Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey, and were treated to nibbles including mini burgers, Halloumi cigars and potato wedges.

As most of the guests made their way home, Publicasity, a few of the Jack team and the dynamic duo from BarLifeUK, headed off to Callooh Callay for a few after hours drinks made by the Head Bartender using none other than Jack Daniel’s Tennessee honey!

This is why I was particularly excited to be going to my homeland of Germany for two days and experience first-hand the limitless range of (literally) shining innovations and inventions that is Light+Building.

However, my initial enthusiasm was slightly thwarted when my flight was cancelled at the very last minute on Sunday evening, forcing me to spend the night at an airport hotel and miss half of my first day in Frankfurt. But all of this was instantly forgotten the minute I walked into Messe Frankfurt. The buzz in the air was almost tangible, all kinds of languages could be heard, people kept pushing by in a rush not to miss anything, and of course the entire complex was shining brightly like a supernova!

When I arrived at the MEGAMAN-stand, my jaw must have dropped a little at the sight of the huge mirrored dome that hovered over the centre of the booth, subtly lit from below by the company’s latest LED-modules. And the rest of the stand certainly lived up to all expectations: whether it be red apples in a grocery store, a cosy café or a gorgeous diamond necklace (which unfortunately was NOT real), there were just the right LED-products to show all of them in their best light.

Once I was given my initial tour of the stand, I was introduced to the company members from all over the world. Many of them I’ve written or spoken to over the phone many times before, so it was a delight to finally be able to put name to face. After an eventful Monday afternoon at the show, the team of MEGAMAN Germany treated all of us to a boat-dinner on the river Main, which saw us floating along the illuminated sights of Frankfurt and having the best of times over an excellent dinner and, in my case, a much anticipated Weizenbier!

Tuesday was equally exciting and passed much too quickly, so it was with a bit of a heavy heart that I said goodbye to the team in the afternoon to catch my flight back home (which this time wasn’t cancelled). I’m really looking forward to seeing you all again in 2014!

With 40 horses in the field all vying for peoples bets, I decided I would support the sisterhood and place my conservative £5 each way bet on Seabass ridden by the first ever female jockey to race at the John Smith’s Grand National. I also had a vested interest in Cappa Bleu after pulling this horse in Publicasity’s annual Grand National sweepstake.  With 70,000 people all looking at the track the atmosphere couldn’t have been more electric and with two false starts only making it more intense, the audience was on tender hooks.  Once the race got underway so did the cheering and as it got louder so did I, whooping and screaming and probably drawing a little bit too much attention to myself. And it was all worth it! My horse finished third winning me £16.65 and behind what can only be described as one of the tightest finishes of all time.  The first grey horse to win the John Smith’s Grand National for more than half a century, Neptune Collonges reigned king by a whisker!

National and consumer magazines – Sunday Telegraph, You & Your Wedding, Prima and well known blogger Isabelle’s Travel Guide were whisked off the Bermuda, one of the last remaining overseas British Territories.

The group were hosted at the beautiful Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Elbow Beach – five star luxury practically on the beach, who could ask for more from a gorgeous island getaway.  The five day trip took in some of the islands best known attractions including The Crystal & Fantasy Caves, a walking tour around the ancient town of St. George, getting up close and personal with beautiful dolphins at Dolphin Quest and a visit to the Masterworks museum in The Botanical Gardens where a John Lennon sculpture is due to be unveiled in June to commemorate his visit to the island 21 years ago where he wrote his final album Double Fantasy!

There was no shortage in culinary delights either as the journalists were invited to sample some of the local delights including Rock Fish and Wahoo at some of the best restaurants in the capital Hamilton and old town of St.George including Harbourfront Restaurant and The Frog & Onion.

No trip to Bermuda would be complete without indulging in the odd “Dark & Stormy” or Rum Swizzle, two local drinks with Bermudian produced Gosling Rum – Cheers to a wonderful trip!!

As Easter approaches and the nation gets ready for a weekend of DIY, Publicasity’s home interiors team have been busy thinking about decorating as they prepared for the launch of new website www.decoratenow.co.uk.

To celebrate, the team hosted an intimate media lunch at the exclusive Mews of Mayfair restaurant and invited the cream of the homes and interiors press. Titles including Good Homes, House Beautiful, Style at Home, Woman’s Weekly and LoveHome.co.uk joined Team decorateNOW to explore the new website and get creative with colour. After gaining some design inspiration, everyone was treated to a four course meal in the Chef’s Dining Room, enjoying everything from the finest cuts of beef to the richest chocolate terrine, washed down by colourful berry cocktails.

Guests were also invited to share their own personal decorating nightmares and boy, were there some stories! By far the most entertaining one was relived by the Assistant Homes Editor editor of Woman’s Weekly, who told of her experiment with fuschia pink and lime green walls with zebra print accents. We’re glad that these decorating gurus have learnt from their past mistakes!

As the afternoon ended and everyone left filled with new found decorating motivation, thoughts turned to what the Easter weekend had in store. Now where did we put that paintbrush?

The Publicasity team celebrated at Mahiki’s exclusive ‘Southern Comfort No Tell Motel Room’ this week to mark the launch of a new variant from the popular New Orleans spirit brand; Southern Comfort Bold Black Cherry. The unusual private room, hidden away in the heart of Mahiki, is themed around a traditional American motel and comes complete with its own bar, bed and karaoke machine…in a shower! Guests enjoyed a selection of new Southern Comfort Bold Black Cherry cocktails including the Black Cherry Jam, a fruity cocktail served in a jam jar, and belted out a few of their favourite tunes!

Amongst those who fancied themselves as kings and queens of the karaoke, included The Publican’s Morning Advertiser, Imbibe, Inapub, Pub & Bar, BarlifeUK, Independent Retail News, Retail Express and Retail Newsagent. Media were given a brand update and an overview of the new product, Southern Comfort Bold Black Cherry, before being treated to a spread of sticky ribs, mini burgers and cod cheeks with chilli sauce, finished off with hot chocolate brownies and vanilla ice cream.

It didn’t take long for the media guests, Publicasity girls and Southern Comfort brand team to pile into the shower to showcase their vocal talents. Highlights of the night included dubious renditions of ‘Relight My Fire’, ‘Here Comes the Hotstepper’ and ‘Gangster’s Paradise’ (who knew the Southern Comfort boys were such good rappers?!). Despite being a close call between Publicasity’s Amy Burgess and Southern Comfort’s, Adam, award for best singer undoubtedly goes to our very own Burgo. Her renditions of ‘Valerie’ and ‘Son of a Preacher Man’ won everyone over and certainly gave the rest of the team a few lessons in client entertainment!

With a select few hardcore revellers sprawled out on the ‘No Tell Motel Room’ bed at the end of the night, the wise decision was made to go and grab some more food before everyone went their separate ways. But as usual in the world of PR, it was a case of no rest for the wicked with the team up and bright and early the next day for a presentation.

The sounds of karaoke may have faded, but the memories of the will night live on…

Not long now until the Olympics! It’s an event that evokes excitement, indifference and dread… depending on whether you managed to get a ticket, whether you’re one of London’s commuters and probably depending on your feeling towards big events happening to big cities. It’s phenomenally big in fact – did you know that 90% of the UK is expected to watch the opening ceremony on television?

For me, I’m incredibly lucky enough to be one of the 70,000 volunteers (or Games Makers, as is our delightful moniker) at the summer’s games, so that puts me smack bang in the middle of positively giddy with anticipation.

The process of becoming a Games Maker for the Olympics has actually filled me with enthusiasm for what they will bring to London; the eyes of the world will be on our city. That’s amazing! And you only have to see the gleaming creaminess of St Paul’s dome or just how quickly the Shard is being finished to see how our fair city will shine by July. Maybe I’m biased, but I remember how special it was being surrounded by hundreds of people in Trafalgar Square in 2007, with Heather Small singing ‘Proud’, making us all feel strangely, well… proud, and then the announcement that would make 2012 a year unlike any other for London.

But as a Games Maker, through my many inspirational training sessions and encounters with the fantastically organised LOCOG team, I’ve learnt more from the Olympics than just the art of pride and patriotism. It’s easy to feel so very far removed from the athletes – these super human, devoted, confident, competitive high achievers – but these people are the best in their field, so why shouldn’t we all be? One of the messages I’ve picked up from the privilege of being involved with the Olympics, is: ‘do the best work of your life’. Athlete or PR, what a simple but emotive thought… do the best work of your life… here goes!