Glorious sunshine beamed down upon the magnificent Mercure Ardoe House Hotel as an afternoon of fun-filled and exciting Team Building got underway with a wonderful (and highly competitive) group from Technip.

The afternoon of Team Building kicked-off with a sense of nervous anticipation flowing aroudn the room, all guests waiting excitedly to see what lay in store. The good news is the 6-mile jog we told them about was just a joke (event though Lesley had worn her new running trainers just in case!), and the teams were quickly formed as they prepared to head out on to the grounds and compete head-to-head across a variety of Team Building Challenges. Some would test our guest's mental agility, others would focus on their physical prowess, and it would all come down to which team performed the best throughout the day to score the most points and walk home Champions, taking with them the much-coveted Team Challenge Company Winner's Trophy!

There were a number of highlights right throughout the afternoon of Team Building, many of them too embarrassing (and some of them too rude...!) to mention within this blog. We have, however, included some of our favourite moments from the day below, and would be delighted if you could add in your 'best bits' into the comments section beneath this blog. We'll begin the fun-filled Team Building highlights reel over at the Blind Intent, where Gill couldn't wait to get his Blindfold on. He wasn't quite as keen as Kerry though, who had actually brought her own with her...! We won't ask any questions as to why you have one Kerry...!

Then there was the ever challenging Rollerball Team Building activity, which saw Team 1 record an incredible time of 45 seconds, taking maximum points. Things weren't so good for Team 7, however, who were suitably embarrassed by their dreadful Rollerball time...so embarrassed in fact that it would be unfair to shame them even more by including their time in this blog. If you want a laugh, however, you should definitely ask them...! The Team Building Treasure Hunt went down a storm with all our teams, and many impressed with they're fabulous answers to our fairly challenging riddles. Team 4, however, must try harder!

My personal highlight of the Team Building afternoon was over at NASA Challenge, where Pierre lead Team 6 to complete and utter catastrophe! Our teams did, however, learn a very valuable lesson from this one...if you ever crash land on the moon and are in need of some survival tips, do exactly the opposite to what Pierre says and you should be fine! Mini Highland Games proved a big hit with Team 8, who were absolute legends when it came to Tossing the Caber, showing off their almost professional skills out on the course...we fully expect to see you all at Braemar Garthering next year!

The Bridge Build Team Building Finale was sensational, with loud clapping and cheering spurring on most of our teams across the crevasse. Donald showed off his confidence by cruising across his team's bridge, however, less could be said for Team 6...only a little blue tablet would have made that Bridge stiff enough to cross! It was soon time for the results, which saw Team 7 stepping up to collect the Wooden Spoon for their last place finish with 8000 points. Teams 3, 6, 2 and 4 occupied the next four spots, leaving Teams 5 and 8 in joint second. That left the mighty Team 1 to step forward and lift the Team Challenge Company Winner's Trophy high above their heads to the sound of rapturous applause.

The entire afternoon of Team Building had been a huge success, and was thoroughly enjoyed by all in attendance. A big shout-out and thank-you goes to Pierre and Lesley for all their hard work and effort in organising such a fantastic day. The entire Technip team were an absolute pleasure to work with, and we look forward to seeing you all again in the near future.