‘SECRET’ SANTA SHOWS UP AT MEDIA HUB
The fourth and festive Cookham Media Hub – a monthly gathering for media professionals in the area - took place last Thursday.
The lively networking event, set up by Parfitt Media and MumsaboutCookham.com to bring media types together, was held at the Bel & the Dragon pub in Cookham and those who attended were treated to complimentary seasonal canapés by chef Ronnie Kimbugwe.
At this month’s festive meeting, me and fellow journalist Sarah Parfitt organised for a ‘secret santa’ to arrive and the attendees had to guess who it was to win a prize! BBC journalist Charlotte Serpell discovered the truth and won a Pizza Dreams Café voucher, so the surprise Father Christmas took off his hat and beard to reveal he was Mayor Andrew Jenner. ‘Santa’ proceeded to give all the media members a gift, courtesy of Costa Coffee.
We would like to thank Andrew Jenner for being a brilliant sport and a perfect Santa – we appreciate him making the time to come along - and also Pizza Dreams Café and Costa Coffee for providing the fantastic prizes, which went down really well. A brilliant night was had by all.
‘We are also very grateful to Ronnie and James and the team at the Bel & the Dragon for hosting the Media Hub every month. We couldn't wish for a better location - delicious food, friendly staff and such a beautiful setting!’ adds Sarah Parfitt, a freelance radio producer, media trainer and consultant.
The ‘hub’ has attracted more than 40 members since we launched the monthly gatherings six months ago. The popularity of the ‘hub’ shows there’s a hive of diverse talent in the area, as those present range from film producers, to print journalists, broadcasters, PRs, graphic designers, actors and marketing consultants.
Website editor Jill Paul, who attended the event, says: ‘The Media Hub has been a great way to expand my contacts in the area and each meeting has been good fun. I would recommend it to other locals who work in the media.’
The next three Cookham Media Hub meetings will be at 8pm on Thursday, January
9th, February 13th and March 13th at the Bel & the Dragon.
‘The Media Hub is so much fun and a useful networking tool for those in the industry. It is a dynamic forum for swapping ideas with like-minded people,’ says Sarah Parfitt. ‘Any media professional is welcome to come along to the next free event.’
Register by emailing your details on our Facebook Cookham Media Hub page, or by emailing sarah_parfitt@mail.com or mumsaboutcookham@gmail.com.
Photography credit: Mohammad Sabahi