A rare night out with some great people

The outing actually made it out the group chat this time, as seven young professionals took on the toon the night before Valentines day.

Each travelled into the heart of the city from their respective boroughs, the perfect setting to signify where their friendship story began, they gathered to slow down the pace of the working week, in order to catch up on all that had taken place since their last meeting.

The initial plan to grab a meal at The Food Hall, Tottenham court road, fell through because the idea of a food hall doesn't exactly scream reservation, but the redirection warranted a nostalgic stroll down memory lane as they navigated the route to dinner option number two.

Some would say that the walk was a needed part of the outing - the group naturally narrowed into smaller break out groups, firstly, to make space for pedestrians sharing the pavement on the busy strip in the midst of rush hour, but unintentionally allowing the group to warm back up to one another's presence, before all sitting face-to-face around a table.

Two in the front steered the group down the side streets - Google maps in hand, firmly gripped around mobiles that would bait the snatchers. The two in the middle linked arms and mindlessly chatted about Valentines plans and the three in the back followed on catching up on what was current at the time

Seven Dials was the landing spot (no resso needed), and the perfect hub to cater to everyone's distinctive pallet, and though finding a table amongst the droves of groups that were also out to "catch-up", the group of friends landed on the perfect corner table.

Boa buns, Burritos, Steak and cowboy-butter-sauce, Loaded Hash Browns and hearty Burgers - buzzers went off one-by-one, staggering the eating and fostering a constant flow of conversation.

The chatter centred around their experiences at work, all representing a different cross section of diversity and the progress that was evident from how they met to where they currently were. Phrases of "congratulations", "I'm so proud of you" and "that's amazing" were thrown back and forth amongst the group, hand-in-hand with words of encouragement as they opened up about the milestones still yet to achieve.

And as food and a safe environment usually does, the bond of comfortability was reestablished and they were once again those young twenty-somethings that met on the summer cohort of Brixton Finishing school, young and hungry to enter the industry of Branding, Marketing and advertising.

The group laughed, reminisced and related to one another. They made mention of people they wished were able to be there and pencilled in plans to stay in touch and meet again soon. Though timings, budgets and workload will surely intrude, a rare night out with some great people is just what the doctor ordered to lift the mood.