In January 2022 the whole MSDS Marine took three days out of the office to come together in a Grade II listed house, known as The Castle, to take stock, eat lots, play games and to spend some quality non work time together. The last two years under the shadow of the Covid pandemic have been enormously difficult for everyone and we thought it was time to put mental health first and reconnect with our team. This is a slightly unusual blog for us as its not about diving or archaeology but we think its really important to talk about mental health and the role companies have in supporting their staff.
Once Covid precautions like lateral flow tests for everyone were complete travel commenced and the team all set off to meet at The Castle. A large number of the team, regardless of Covid, are homeworkers and we meet regularly online and in person to ensure positive working relationships are forged and maintained. The last two years have seen hardly any in person meetings and severely limited where we would normally meet up at conferences and events. In addition to that, our team has grown so rapidly in recent years that the pandemic has meant some team members have never even met and we wanted to put that right.
The Castle is located in Castle Eden close to Hartlepool. You can find out more about in on the National Heritage List for England. We had all seen the list description and pictures online before we went but nothing prepared us for the magnificence of staying in our own stately home – we all felt a little bit like we had been given the keys to a rather grand national trust property. The accommodation includes a cellar with bar and pool table, a grand sweeping staircase and some of the biggest bedrooms and bathrooms we had ever seen. It certainly made a change from the bunk style accommodation we more normally spend our time in offshore!
Our first activity was axe throwing. The team who met us and gave us instructions at The Axe House were brilliant and we quickly all got into the activity. We started small and moved up to a huge axe before being let loose on the throwing knives – it was brilliant fun and a great way to get everyone relaxed and talking! We then headed back to The Castle for the MSDS Marine cheese and wine evening. One of the team, Beccy, presented us with our own personalised MSDS Marine cheese serving board that we think will be used for many years to come on away days! Everyone had been tasked with bringing an unusual cheese from where they lived and we had some corkers – the Derbyshire HQ of MSDS Marine was represented with an exceptionally large chunk of Hartington Blue from the award winning Hartington Creamery.
The next day was a cold start but the sun was shining and it made for a stunning visit to the National Museum of the Royal Navy’s Hartelpool site to visit HMS Trincomalee. As MSDS Marine have grown and our work has spread through the heritage sector it has increasingly meant that not all the team have backgrounds in maritime archaeology and we thought visiting the NMRN would be a great learning experience for everyone. In addition, our work on the Conservation Management Plan for RML 497 which is housed at the Hartlepool site made it a great choice for a visit. We were lucky enough to see a small signal gun being loaded and fired which was particularly interesting for those in the team who have seen all the gunners implements recovered from the London.
Following the visit, we took a trip to the protected wreck site at Seaton Carew which is located just a couple of miles from the NMRN. For some of the team it was their first visit to a protected wreck site. The wreck is currently fairly buried but it was lovely to see members of the public viewing what is exposed and to share our love of protected wreck sites more widely.
Once our heritage visits were done it was time to head back to The Castle for the great big MSDS Marine laser battle 2022. The stunning parks and gardens surrounding the castle made the perfect location for what has affectionally been labelled ‘MSDS Marine trench warfare’ by one member of the team. This was possibly the most fun of all the activities and had everyone enjoying the fresh air and running around for ages!
To try and reduce the risk of covid as much as possible we operated as a bubble and avoided heading out to eat in nearby restaurants, this meant we were lucky enough to head back in side to a feast of freshly cooked tapas prepared and delivered by a local caterer. The setting in the dining room with its huge fire, high ceilings and general magnificence felt like the perfect end to a lovely day.
The final day was another sunny one and we woke early to explore more of the grounds before we left. Before the team headed their separate ways there was one last challenge for everyone. Escape Rooms Durham provided a great team building experience and got everyone working together to crack the clues. One team managed to escape… the other team were not quite so lucky!
Finally, over a long lunch there was time for a bit of a work chat to plot some rather exciting forthcoming projects we will be working on this year.
I really would urge other companies to take time out with their team. Our team make MSDS Marine. They provide ideas, enthusiasm, knowledge and we couldn’t do it without them. Our work family are the best!
