the end of an era

I’ve finally left TNS. It’s been a fantastic three years, I’ve  learnt a lot, met some fantastic people, and will be taking away some wonderful memories.

 

This week has been strange, but enjoyable, and the last two days particularly special. Yesterday I sat in the park for lunch with my colleague (and one of my best friends) Jen – she’s been such a support and encouragement whilst I’ve been at TNS, and a lovely person to know.

In the afternoon I had a very lovely leaving speech, in which I was praised for my commitment to my projects, my vast knowledge of random facts about supermarkets, my work for Unicef, my cake baking, my obsession with discounts, and also the fact that I was lucky enough to meet Mark through TNS!

I also received some really generous gifts, very well chosen by my line manager, April – who clearly knows me very well!

I got a silicone cupcake tray, some cute pink spatulas, some tea towels with magnetic blobs to stick to the fridge, and some le creuset – which is something I’ve always dreamed of owning! I received two individual ramekins which I can use to make little pies, and a small casserole dish. I suspect Mark will be expecting baked goods before too long!

  I then had leaving drinks, which were good fun, and I got to say goodbye to a lot of very special people – most of whom I hope to stay in touch with! By the end of the night it was just myself and Bruno, left putting the world to rights over plenty of wine!

Today was my last day, I had a lovely final salad from la  provence, with lots of spinach and beetroot and olives again, and sat with the group of graduates that I started with three years ago – they’ve been such a wonderful group, so much fun to be with, always reliable for gossip and office banter, and just brilliant friends. I’ll miss them a lot, but hopefully still see them a lot! (the picture is from when we all took a trip to Dubai in February for one of the group’s wedding, which was definitely an amazing experience!)

So that’s it – my time at TNS is done… on to the next challenge now!