
From Warehouse, it's a short stroll (or jog, if, like us, you've slightly underestimated the time it takes to negotiate Soho during rush hour) to the Red Consultancy.
My last full-time employer prior to joining University College Falmouth, Red hovers above Sugar Reef bar, right opposite the notorious Windmill Theatre in Piccadilly's Great Windmill Street.
We're greeted by the effervescent Kim Swead, one of Red's Divisional Directors and one of my first room-mates at the company way back in 2002. Since then, Kim has combined marriage, motherhood and managing PR for a wide portfolio of consumer brands. Nowadays, working a three-day week, she focuses solely on one of Red's largest and longest-standing clients, the DIY giant B&Q.
Seated in one of Red's many swanky meeting rooms, right next to the office Bar (free booze for all staff on Thursday and Friday nights), we're taken through the award-winning agency's credentials by Kim and two of Red's current crop of new graduate trainees.
The work is imaginative and varied with a constant attempt to 'place things where they shouldn't be', in order to attract media attention.
Whether that's a rude word blocked out on an advertising hoard that's revealed every night post-watershed or a crash test dummy designed to check which biscuits are the crumbliest, Red's work is truly inspiring and amusing in equal measure.
The new grads seem incredibly smiley and happy, but I guess they're entitled to be - they've been picked from hundreds of applicants to join Red's trainee scheme and look set for great careers in the industry, starting with one of the biggest and best players in the business.
After Red, it's obvious that the early start and London's bustle have taken their toll. Everyone heads off for home or hostel for a good night's sleep (or in Kate's case, a detailed lecture on the finer points of English football from two of the game's most experienced connoisseurs, Luke and Philip).
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