Anna is one of our newest members on the team! Having started in March, she’s been with us for almost a year, now, and has found herself enjoying the comradery within the team, and how well we all work together. It feels good knowing you can ask for help and it’s not a problem at all, especially because we all do it! She finds her own strengths lie here, too, being someone who can speak up with ease and offer a helping hand. There is often a lot of discussion within our team to try and find the correct answers or best solutions, and Anna finds that even if she doesn’t know the answer, her input is valued.
Since getting a puppy earlier this year, Anna hasn’t found as much time to come into the office, but strives to come in once a week in 2024. With a lot of our team working from home, we don’t get to see each other as much as we used to, but Anna enjoys coming into the office to get more of that team connection (and to be in town!). Aside from being involved in discussions, her main responsibility is validating our mystery assessor’s reports, making sure the briefs have been followed and that the reports being sent off to the brands we work with are all good quality.
When it comes to meal time, Anna prefers to make dinner at home instead of eating out, at the moment. She finds it can be easier in general, especially with a child, and will usually be cooking something Italian or British (or a mix of both). She loves making lasagne, and although she taught the rest of us recently that garlic bread isn’t actually Italian, she does enjoy it with her food! On the British side of cuisine, she likes to cook a Sunday Roast. If she’s going to eat out, it will only be for something she can’t make at home – and for her, the number one thing in that category is a steak. With so many different cooking levels, it’s hard to know how long to cook it for if you want it perfect – Anna prefers it medium rare, but she’ll happily eat anything as long as it’s not well done!
When she’s not working, Anna is a lover of crafts. She decided she wanted to learn a craft when she turned 30, and now tries her best to find space for these at least once a week, finding it nice and relaxing. She found herself doing a lot more of it over the pandemic, setting aside each Friday as a day for her to focus on crafts. She currently feels most confident with cross-stitch, but can also sew, and has made some attempts at knitting, too! She also loves reading, and has just started The Christie Affair, which is a fictional take on Agatha Christie’s eleven-day disappearance in 1926. Being a big fan of Agatha Christie herself, she’s looking forward to seeing the author’s take on things!
Anna’s favourite mystery dining experience was for Wembley Stadium – which she undertook during a Harry Styles concert! She loved it, and said it was a great show, even if they did have to leave early to get the train back (which, in typical fashion, ended up leaving late anyway!). In future, she’d love to try a visit to somewhere like Flat Iron to get a lovely steak. When it comes to validating reports, her favourites are the ones on the fancier side of things, such as The Ivy or one of our many hotels. It’s fun to see what the food is like, and how the bedrooms are styled, and what makes these places so special!
