Media Lounge Bucket Day: Alex & Craig

Here at Media Lounge, we believe in giving our employees a healthy work/life balance which is why we provide staff with the opportunity to take a bucket day once a year. A bucket day refers to a day the employee can take off work to go and do something they have always wanted to do, something from their ‘bucket list’. This could include anything from thrillseeking skydives to once in a lifetime hikes, visiting a famous landmark or attending an event you’ve always wanted to go to. Essentially, a bucket list is a list of things such as experiences or achievements that someone wants to accomplish in their lifetime!

The catch to our bucket days, however, is that the employee must write a blog post of their experience when they return, hence the reason for this blog entry. This April, two of the guys in the office decided to join forces and do their bucket day together as they both had something they were keen to finally tick off their list. Here’s what they decided to do…

Alex’s Point Of View

“One of the many perks of working at Media Lounge is that once a year we get a bucket day, a day off work to do something you have always wanted to do or achieve. As a self-professed glory supporter/armchair fan of Manchester United, going to a game at Old Trafford had always been something I’ve wanted to do. However, with it being a 500 mile round trip from Bournemouth and difficult to even acquire tickets, I didn’t think I’d get the chance.

This year however was the year. As myself and Craig (the other Man Utd fan in an office full of Spurs fans) applied for tickets for lots of previous games without any luck but eventually, we hit the jackpot getting 2 tickets to the Champions League quarter-final game against Barcelona!

The day quickly arrived and we made the long journey to Manchester, we finally arrived close to the stadium with 4 hours until kick-off expecting it to be fairly quiet but how wrong we were! There was a pub with a lengthy queue down the road, but after about half an hour we eventually got inside. As you can imagine it was filled with people with two very important things in common, they supported Manchester United and had already had too much to drink! The chanting from the crowds just didn’t stop, my personal favourites being “Ole, Ole, Ole” and “Have You Ever Seen Gerrard Win The League”. With about an hour until kick-off, we made our way to the stadium.

The match itself, well… less said about that the better! United set up in a very ambitious 5-4-1 formation with the main objective seemingly being “let in as few goals as possible”. The game ended a classic 0-1 with Utd’s only shot on target being Luke Shaw’s own goal. This gave Utd a chance heading to Camp Nou the following week (which I watched in the comfort of my armchair) but Barcelona did what they did best and knocked Utd out anyway.

Overall, it was a great experience and we were very fortunate to witness such a big game regardless of how the match actually played out. I can now safely say I’ve crossed ‘watch Utd play at Old Trafford’ off my bucket list but have now added, ‘see Utd win at Old Trafford’ to the bottom of it. I hope to return next season where I’ll watch us play an easier opponent such as Tottenham!”

Alex Ryall

Magento Web Developer

Media Lounge

Overall it was a great experience and we were very fortunate to go to such a big game regardless of how the match played out. I can now say I’ve crossed “See Utd play at Old Trafford” off my bucket list but have added, “See Utd win at Old Trafford” to the bottom of it. I hope to return next season where I’ll watch us play an easier opponent such as Tottenham!

Craig’s Point Of View

“Some people may say that using a bucket day to watch a mere football match is a waste, however, any football fan will tell you that your team playing against Barcelona is the pinnacle of the sport, gives you a chance to see just how we fair alongside (arguably) the best team in the world.

We played a defensive back 5 in an effort to try to stop Barcelona’s talisman Lionel Messi, however, many of these players were part of United guard who was completely ineffective.

In a way, we were fortunate that we only lost by one goal given these failings, but Barcelona also had a relatively bad game which at least gave us a chance in the second leg. Sadly, we then lost when Barcelona showed their true ability.

Despite the poor game, I can now cross off seeing my team play against Barcelona and with any luck, my next time at Old Trafford will send in a win.

The next day, we decided to take advantage of being in Manchester and took a walk to see the sights such as Salford Quays, which with its media centre is the home to the BBC, ITV as well as other small technology and media businesses. Salford Quays is somewhat similar to Media Lounge’s home in Lansdowne in terms of the redevelopment and the vast increase in tech companies within the area, albeit on a much larger scale.

With its prime location and being a stone throw away from Old Trafford, it seems like a perfect location for a remote office for Media Lounge, perhaps with a few season tickets for the weekend too.”

Craig Keith

Support Manager

Media Lounge

Some people may say that using a bucket day to watch a mere football match is a waste, however, any football fan will tell you that your team playing Barcelona is the pinnacle of the sport, gives you a chance to see just how we fair alongside (arguably) the best team in the world.

So there you have it. Two bucket days completed for a couple of the Media Lounge lads. It seemed like the boys had a great time on their road trip to Manchester and they even took a few snaps of their adventure too. Keep an eye out for more bucket day posts from the ML gang in the future. We’d also be keen to know if you were given a day to tick something off your bucket list, what would you choose to do?