One of the fantastic things about LSL is the sense of community. Today we lost (to the voluntary severance program) the Web Designer for ECS. Joe Price is a fantastic chap, set up this blog for me, (fixed it when I broke it) and is generally an all round nice guy. We wish him success.
In honour of the (5) years of service that Joe has giving LSL, the customary “Coffee and Cakes” event was put on. Whenever anyone is leaving the lab, a card is circulated in advance, with or without a whip-round envelope. People sign the card and optionally pop a pound or so in the envelope. A well-meaning associate is tasked with purchasing a gift. On a convenient day, the lab gathers in a pleasant public area, adjacent to the lab, known as the “Airport Lounge”. There the grateful recipient is informally toasted, presented with gift and card, everyone claps and we all eat cake. It’s a small break from the day, but it invokes a strong sense of community amongst those who value it.
A publicly known birthday is also celebrated with a card, but culminates in a flashmob descending upon the aging recipient, singing “Happy Birthday” in various keys and with myriad tempos. The Birthday Girl/Boy (delete as appropriate) makes a small speech, often no more than a squeaked “Thank you” and reads their card, taking care to exclaim on the thoughtfulness of the picture on the front. Everybody claps and laments the lack of cake.
Such little demonstrations of community and care, (though described in a cynical tone by me; I’m tired, shoot me) are one of the wonderful things about being a part of LSL. There are many others I may expand on in other posts: the willingness to help one another, LSL lunch, the high quality banter, international diversity, student seminars, the Head of Group’s expertise in wines and his willingness to share…
Joe’s leaving do today inspired me to share about the customs used to give him a good send off. All the best Joe!