Hill+Knowlton Strategies

And so the Jubilee weekend is finally here. Have you hung out your bunting and stocked up on Pimms?

Here at H+K we thought the festivities made for a good excuse to engage in a little cross-team bonding. So last night we held the inaugural Financial Services, Internal Comms and Energy Social Team (FINSEST) event – a Diamond Jubilee Quiz!

Skipping over the fact that my team did spectacularly badly (taking home the Queen topped silver ‘wooden’ spoon prize), it was an excellent evening. Since it’s Friday and the bank holiday weekend is fast approaching I thought I’d share a few snap shots. We were joined by some very special guests after all…

Before you scroll down to take a look, here’s a few comparisons of the UK from the year our good Queen took the throne:

• Let’s start with an energy one (it will keep Chris happy!). At 228 million tonnes, 1952 was the peak of the UK’s coal production. Scroll forward 60 years and our country’s last coal mine is on the brink of closure. The last six decades has seen a revolution in energy policy across the globe – the realisation that our Earth is not an infinite resource and that mankind is not-so-slowly destroying the planet has fundamentally changed the way our energy is sourced and will be sourced for generations to come. It’s actually quite incredible to think about the changes Queen Liz has witnessed when it comes to keeping the lights on.

• The same month of Elizabeth II’s coronation PM Winston Churchill announced that the UK had become the third country to own an atomic bomb. Apparently we currently sit on about 225 warheads. As the BBC notes, the future of the UK’s nuclear deterrent is regarded as one of the main points of tension between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats in their coalition arrangement. Quite a topical one then.

• Average property prices in the UK are 86 times higher now than in 1952. Ouch.

• In October 1952 tea rationing came to an end. Tea rationing?!! Can you imagine anything worse? Horrendous. Tea (in my prize possession – the West Wing mug) is my salvation the morning after our quiz debauchery. The UK Tea Council reckons that today us Brits drink 165 million cups of tea daily, that works out at a mere 60.2 billion per year! Though I’d say roughly half of that is drunk by our very own Alexandra Da Cunha.

• On a more serious note, lets get back to energy. 1952 saw the great smog disaster across London. Causing up to 12,000 deaths, the tragedy was the instigator of the Clean Air Act, which gave local governments the authority to help finance the conversion of home owner’s  coal-fired heaters for use of ‘cleaner’ sources of energy such as gas, oil, smokeless coal, or electricity. Gradually over the years of Elizabeth II’s reign moves have been made to regulate emissions but clearly much more needs to be done. Over the next 60 years how will political and industry leaders work together to answer the biggest challenge of our generation?

• Speaking of challenges, it appears that my colleague Scott over in Change & Internal Comms has beaten me to it and already blogged about last night’s quiz. He doesn’t have the photos to rival mine, but why not continue your Friday procrastination and check it out all the same: The fourth floor quiz.

Now for those photos…