Avril's day trippers
Organising over 50 day trips and events each year, Avril Fuller takes time out of her full time role as events co-ordinator for Reading firm, Foster and Wheeler, to talk to Alex Middleton about her annual programme.
Avril Fuller is one of that lucky number of people; those who are paid to do a job they love. “I can honestly say I thoroughly enjoy turning up to work,” Avril beams as we sit down to coffee.
Since 1991, Avril has worked full time as the Events Co-ordinator for Foster Wheeler Energy Limited, the Reading-based international engineering, procurement and construction firm. “When I started this job I was based at the company’s Social Club, organising events such as quiz nights and dinners. Over the years, the role has evolved. I am now based at the UK company’s Head Office and, in addition to the events, I now focus on a programme of 50 day trips and excursions each year.”
Explaining how the club functions Avril says, “The trips are open to all our employees, currently numbering over 3,000 at Reading, plus any clients based in our offices. There are no membership fees as the company sees the Club as a great asset and, in addition to employing myself as organiser, gives us a yearly grant to cover most of our costs, so many of my trips can be offered at cost price or less.”
Avril’s philosophy
Constantly finding trips that appeal to such a large number of people is certainly challenging and is partly the reason Avril opts to offer a large number of day trips. “There is an enormous range of people within the company and I would much rather offer regular and varied days away than a limited number of longer excursions.”
Despite the busy schedules of Avril’s members, she is always in the enviable position of being over-subscribed for her trips. “As well as the British contingent who regularly use the Club, we also have a large number of people here on secondment from our international offices. In addition to the theatre trips that I organise, I find they especially appreciates trips to historical sites, as they are often only here for a year or two and love the opportunity to get out and explore.”
A good part of Avril’s success in her role is definitely due to her ability to market the club. “As everyone in the company is technically a member and the trips are open to their families as well, it is only fair that I make sure they all hear about what we do and have the opportunity to sign-up. To this end, I advertise not only by email and on notice boards, but also produce a quarterly magazine, Indigo, where we review past trips and take a look at what is coming up.”
Being theatrical
Over the years, Avril has found that a trip to the theatre or a show always proves popular. “Being so close to London and the West End means it is an ideal destination, allowing us to enjoy a show and be back home the same evening. On average I organise a trip there once or twice a month.”
For transport Avril finds that returning to a tried and tested company is the best way to ensure success. “When I arrange trips, be they to the West End or anywhere else, I always try to use Reading-based Goldline Travel for coach transport. I have always found them helpful when making arrangements and the drivers are very professional and friendly.”
One company that features prominently in Avril’s theatre booking process is the London-based ticket agent Groupline. “I always deal with just one person, Simon, when booking through them, which makes the process a lot easier. Plus, they are good at providing me with deals and little extras such as free tickets.”
Over the past year Avril has arranged trips for 49 people at a time to most of the top West End shows through Groupline. These include The Sound of Music, The Lion King, Billy Elliott, Joseph, Wicked, Dirty Dancing and Grease. “All the shows were a hit”, she says, “Grease especially. We went to see it last December and it was so popular that I immediately asked Simon for another 49 tickets for this March.”
Avril also books directly with London’s Royal Albert Hall for many shows. She explains. “I find that the attraction usually makes group discounts available.” Over the last year, Avril has taken coach loads to several performances at the Hall, including Cirque du Soleil in January 2007 and Swan Lake last August. “Cirque du Soleil was especially popular. In fact, by the time this goes to print, 49 of us will just have returned from another performance by Cirque du Soleil that I promptly booked to see at the Hall in January.”
In addition to the West End, Avril also finds that Reading’s Hexagon Theatre provides an easy to get to option for her members. “Amongst other trips to the Hexagon last year, I took a group of 50 to its 30th Anniversary Gala, which featured a number of stars, including the cellist Julian Lloyd Webber and the soprano, Lesley Garrett. Being in Reading, everyone made their own way to the Theatre, which also offered us group rates, making for a pleasingly economical evening.”
England’s heritage and history
The large number of stately homes and historic attractions around the country also provide Avril with a varied range of options for days out. “Whilst these offer our overseas members a chance to see more of Britain, they also prove popular with British people, who often don’t realise how many great places there are to see and do on their own doorstep.”
Over the last year, Avril has run several tours to historic attractions in London including English Heritage’s Apsley House and the nearby Wellington Barracks. “I did both of these attractions with a group of 50 people in one day in February last year. I booked the coach and the London-based tour operator City and Village Tours took care of the arrangements for the day, booking each of the visits and providing a Blue Badge guide. The Guide that took us around the Museum and the Guards Chapel at Wellington Barracks had once been a Scots Guard there, which added a real depth of insight to the visit. We also visited the Tutankhamun Exhibition at the O2 with City and Village Tours, in which instance they booked and arranged delivery of the tickets to me.”
Avril also arranges many London trips herself. In 2007, she arranged trips to two London landmarks managed by Historic Royal Palaces (HRP); the Tower of London in April and Hampton Court for the Flower Show in July. “Being popular attractions, they are well equipped for groups, providing guides and drop-off points for coaches. HRP also offers groups a discount not only to the attractions but to events, such as the Flower Show.”
The Summer Opening of Buckingham Palace, which is managed by the Royal Collection, provided Avril with another opportunity to give her members a chance to explore some of the nation’s best known heritage. “Last year I took advantage of the group discounts available at the Palace and organised a trip for 49 of us in September. Again, this was very popular, as relatively few British people have seen inside the Palace and for our overseas members it was an opportunity not to be missed.”
Outside the capital, Avril finds that England’s stately homes are also well equipped for groups and offer her members an interesting day out. In May 2007, Avril took a group of 49 people to the Living Crafts Fair at the 17th century Hatfield House in Hertfordshire. “I booked the tickets, which were discounted for groups, directly,” she explains. “The event is great for groups as you can go and do your own thing; looking around the fair and touring the house and gardens. We will definitely be going again.”
Wiltshire’s 16th century Longleat House also proved popular with Avril and her members when she took a party of 98 people on a day trip there last August. Avril says, “I booked the tickets direct with the House. As well as being discounted for groups, the tickets were combined, allowing us to take a coach tour around the House’s safari park and then to split up and individually tour the house or take a boat trip on the river.”
The West Country also provided Avril with two destinations for a day trip in April last year, when she took a group of 49 people to two of its best known attractions; Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral. “I was very pleased with people’s reaction to this trip,” she says. “Stonehenge awed many of my foreign members, who also found the scale and history of Salisbury Cathedral amazing.”
England’s historic towns and cities have also proved popular with Avril’s members. She explains, “I generally arrange the transport, then, when we arrive leave people to do their own thing. In Oxford, for example, where I took a group of 49 people last March, there are museums, restaurants, shops and wonderful markets and old quarters that people love exploring by themselves. I did the same thing in August last year, when I took 50 of our members for a traditional seaside day out in Bournemouth. This time I booked transport with another reliable Reading-based firm, Horseman Coaches. When we got there, I just arranged a pick-up time and left everyone to enjoy themselves.”
Entertaining her members
Other mainstays of Avril’s yearly programme are hospitality events. With ample bars and restaurants, the nearby racetracks at Ascot and Windsor in Berkshire formed the backdrop to two days of horse racing last summer. She says, “In June last year, I booked tickets for 50 of our members to attend Royal Ascot. I wasn’t able to go myself, but even with the weather, which last summer was not ideal, everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves, especially the catered enclsures and bars. The following month I organised a trip for another group of 50 to Windsor Racecourse. Once again the weather was poor, but the bars and marquees seem to have provided enough shelter!”
Avril also finds that food is a guaranteed way to draw the crowds. In July of last year she organised a ‘Risotto Evening’ for 18 people at Carluccio’s Restaurant in Reading. The evenings are available at all of the chain’s restaurants in the Midlands and south east and include a demonstration of how to cook the perfect risotto, as well as wine and a bag of ingredients for your members to take home. “This proved so popular”, Avril says, “that I ran another event in October, which was just as well received. I will definitely offer these again in 2008.”
For those with a sweeter tooth, Avril also highly recommends the Pudding Club, which is organised by the Three Ways House Hotel in Gloucestershire. “I booked this for a lunch stop during a day’s tour of the Cotswolds Villages I organised for 49 people last September. The Hotel created a huge variety of traditional British puddings for us to try and taste. An ideal way to spend lunch!”
September 2007 also saw Avril book out the up-market Piper’s Island Bar in Reading for a ‘Black and White Party’. “This was a huge success.” She says. “Almost 200 people came, all dressed in either black or white. The venue is very smart but relaxed and quite unusual, being situated on its own small island in the Thames and accessed by a private footbridge.”
As Christmas approaches, Avril’s programme starts to get into the party spirit. In October last year, for example, a medieval theme was the basis for a party she threw for 180 of her members at Warner Leisure’s Littlecote House Hotel in Berkshire. “The evening was great fun.” Avril enthuses. “We had minstrels, jesters, period food and the 16th century architecture of Littlecote, which really added to the atmosphere.”
Overseas and into the future
Although the bulk of Avril’s trips are based in the UK, a couple of weekend trips to Europe are also a feature of her planning. Last March saw her organising a trip for 30 people to the baroque city of Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, with Surrey-based tour operator, JAG Travel. “This trip was the first ‘flying trip’ I had organised for a group.” She explains. “However, with coaches dropping us off and meeting us from the airport it couldn’t have gone more smoothly. We left on the Friday and returned on the Sunday evening, giving us time to take a coach tour of the city, explore the markets, shops, museums and galleries by ourselves and take a boat trip on the city’s river, the Vltava.”
In December last year, Avril also took 98 people to Paris, for a weekend at the city’s Christmas markets. Organised through Wiltshire-based tour operator, Success Tours, the party stayed at Accor Hotels’ Pullman La Defense Hotel near the Grande Arche. “The hotel was wonderful and, in addition to the Christmas markets, we took a tour of the city’s Christmas lights by coach and, at the suggestion of Rob, one of our extremely helpful drivers from Reading and Wokingham Coach Services, we also took an evening cruise along the Seine.”
With no plans to cut down on her schedule for the coming year, Foster Wheeler’s employees can also look forward to a packed programme in 2008. “In March we will be returning to the Royal Albert Hall to see Puccini’s opera, Tosca, which will be accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.” Avril enthuses. “I am currently finalising my tickets with Groupline for Gone With The Wind, which opens in the West End this April, and I am also in the process of organising a Murder Mystery Weekend in Birmingham through Surrey-based tour operator Newmarket Travel, who I will be using to organise my first UK-based weekend break.”