It’s not every day at work that you are serenaded by Santa Claus* playing a ukulele. It’s not every company in which you find yourself in a jester’s cap being shouted at by the Mad Hatter to swap places with the person sixteen places along from you at a huge, crazy tea party and then start playing ‘pass the parcel’ with different varieties of cakes and buns.

But then, Red Gate isn’t just any company. And CSR events are never just any ordinary day.

The CSR panel (Corporate Social Responsibility) at Red Gate is not only about organising fund-raising events and charitable activities; we are also involved in anything that can make Red Gate a more socially responsible and environmentally considerate company. So, we’re always looking for ideas about how to increase our levels of recycling, how to encourage employees to car-share or cycle or behave in an eco-friendly manner.

However, there’s no doubt that it’s the charity events that really capture the imagination of people at Red Gate. Our most recent event, to raise funds for CAMTAD (a charity to help people with hearing difficulties) was a lunchtime “buskathon” at which various musically talented members of Red Gate played a selection of pieces, classical and modern, for the benefit of lunchtime diners. The music ranged from Crowded House to Shostakovich, from Van Morrison to 1920s ragtime. While tapping their feet to the tunes, there was also a quiz sheet to complete – lyrics from songs and album covers to recognise. The tie-breaker question was to write the words for a Red Gate company anthem. Simon G bravely ‘sang’ the top three entries later in the day. And of course, there were home-made cakes to buy. There are always home-made cakes at CSR events!

Perhaps our most successful CSR event was the one before ‘Buskgate’ – the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. I remember clearly how the idea germinated ; the CSR panel were trying to think up possible charity events, and the discussion had turned to some kind of ‘dressing-up day’. “What about if everyone had to come in wearing a silly hat?” suggested someone (most likely Dom). “So, pay a pound, and wear a hat to lunch…. hmmm. How about we actually have a tea party… a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party?” someone else said. From there, the ideas came thick and fast. “We could ask the caterers to provide silver tea pots and china cups. We could ask Red Gate people to bake cakes (of course) to buy at the tea party. We could play silly games. Pass the Parcel! We could have a prize for the silliest hat. Or the tallest hat. The most historical hat….”

Not all the ideas made it to the final event. Some were deemed too silly, even for a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. For example, Dom suggested that as people enter the SQL Servery, they should walk past a large brown parcel. On the next table would be a sign saying “Congratulations. You have now passed the parcel.” Events like the tea party and the buskathon take a surprising amount of planning. Emails fly back and forth between members of the CSR panel for weeks beforehand. Someone has to design a poster. Someone has to arrange for volunteers. Someone has to speak to the caterers about what we need from them. Someone has to find some music for pass-the-parcel. Someone has to organise the cakes (of course). I remember when I first saw the tea party laid out on one long array of tables lined up end-to-end from one side of the canteen to the other, covered in a table cloth, with silver tea pots at intervals and a proper cup and saucer at every place setting, and of course the ridiculous, enormous volume of cakes, muffins, buns and brownies that stretched as far as the eye could see – I couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear. I then spent the next hour tying “Drink Me” labels (very kindly and patiently made by Agata) to each teacup, and “Eat Me” labels to the platters of cakes. And blu-tacking posters of teapots to the wall.

And then the tea party guests trooped in. I was gobsmacked. I’ve never seen such a diverse, inventive, eclectic, crazy collection of headwear in my entire life (and I’ve occasionally watched footage of Ladies’ Day at Ascot). Marine had made her own giant papier mache hat in the shape of a teapot. Elizabeth, clearly with an eye on the ‘tallest hat’ prize, had a medieval maiden’s bonnet that was at least five feet tall. Someone else, with a questionably interpretative approach to the rules, had tied balloons to their hat to make it reach the ceiling. There was a shiny silver helmet from a suit of armour, complete with beaver. There was a genuine sapper’s cap from the second world war. A Dr. Zeuss style hat. And a “hat” made from a pair of shoes.

We learned a number of things that day. Firstly, that hats made from shoes will start to smell after a while. Secondly, what looks like a centuries-old suit of armour isn’t necessarily all that old (actually manufactured in a small Indian village quite recently). Thirdly, that there is a limit to the number of times you can shout at people to switch places before they start to grow disgruntled at having to get up and be dragged away from their tea and cake.

We made £1015 in total from the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, which is pretty decent for a couple of hours’ munching cake and sipping tea, and everyone seemed to have a great time. A fair chunk of that money was Simon G bidding for Marine’s giant hat, which I’m told is now proudly mounted on his living room wall. I guess it makes for a fascinating conversation piece at dinner parties…

The tea party is a great example of an idea casually thrown out in a meeting being breathed into glorious reality thanks to the hard work of lots of people, and the typically passionate spirit in which Red Gaters throw themselves into any and every event here. But these kinds of events don’t magically create themselves, even those set in Wonderland. So it’s vital that we have a top crew of dedicated CSR people to lend their brain power, time and energy to all these activities.

What’s next for the Red Gate CSR? Well, no doubt you’ll find out in due course. In the meantime, we’re always looking for helpers.

*OK, so it wasn’t the real Santa Claus – but Phil Factor has that same Avuncular North-Polar quality, and he did don the red suit at our last Christmas kids party event.

Post by Brian Harris on behalf of CSR.