I recall when we first bought Henri that the lady who sold him promised us ‘many adventures’.  How right she was … the last few days have been pretty intense, but definitely an adventure alright…

We kicked off last Saturday with the Stanion Summer fete (near Kettering) for some family fun in the sun.  Sunday saw us back at Belvoir Castle, after which, Henri was re-branded and we drove to York ready for a week of events with our friends at the Marriott hotels group.

So… Monday saw us teaming up with the Marriott chefs and team and taking the ultimate morning break to one of their key customers in York, including barista coffees, smoothies and bacon rolls.  We returned in the afternoon to repeat the treat, this time with bruschetta and spicy pulled pork wraps.

Monday evening, Claire and Mark took the evening off but Henri was serving drinks to valued regular guests on the York Marriott lawn.

Tuesday: off to Leeds, where we set up a virtual coffee shop in the beautiful Trevelyan Square, before travelling to Bradford to serve up a break to remember for a key Marriott client (an agri-chemical firm).

Then we headed to Manchester, where we plotted our next day’s mission: serving breakfast, then lunch, to two of the Marriott’s key customers near Manchester airport.  This included a tour around an aircraft hanger / maintenance depot from the grateful customer.

Off then to Preston, where on Thursday, we headed to the English Football Leauge Trust to serve their team, before crossing town to the Northwest Ambulance Service NHS Trust in Preston, where we (and the Marriott chefs) took an afternoon break service to around 150 of their team.

After bidding farewell to the Marriott, we headed for home, then onto the Wincle Brewery Beer Festival near Macclesfield to provide coffee and cakes in the evening (Friday) and to the campers and revellers on Saturday.

Home Saturday night, then on Sunday out to The Health Store’s HQ in Nottingham, to provide our hot drinks service to the many visitors to their bi-annual open day.

Several hundred miles, several cities, several hundred customers served … 14 engagements in 9 days … Henri, we salute you! … as you head to the Citroen equivalent to the spa, (the garage for your annual service).

What has all this taught us?  Three things: 1. with teamwork – including support from the Marriott team, almost anything is possible!  2. The more preparation you can put in beforehand, the easier things get and 3. A curry and a pint taste better if you’ve earned it.  Last night, we reckoned we had!