Sunday Mercury

Dos and Don'ts of the Office Party ; Christmas Party Bookings: Christmas It May Seem Unbelievable but There Are Only Weeks to Go Before the Christmas Party Season Gets Into Full Swing. Many People Have Endured One of Those Awful Get- Togethers When the Fun Fall Flat, the Bubbles Lose Their Fizz and the Arrival of the Taxi Is the Evening's Highlight. Forward Planning Can Avoid Those Harrowing Morning-After-the-Night- Before Feelings.

Do 4 Remember in under 24 hours any John Travolta impressions or illicit kisses under the mistletoe will be starring on Facebook. 4 Ensure that any theme or venue will have mass appeal so only head for the nightclub if Jean in accounts is keen to share the experience before her retirement.

Getting the Right Venue ; Tracking Down the Ideal Venue for the Office Party Can Be a Big Responsibility - Get the Wrong Location or Break a Budget and the Celebrations Can Quickly Lose Their Fizz.

The responsibility may lie with an office manager or administrative guru but other offices have a social committee that works together to ensure the event meets all expectations. One of the challenges is to find a place that will meet everyone's needs within an agreed budget. The historic home may be ideal for people on a manager's salary but the office junior may not share the same enthusiasm.

Get Away From It All ; Christmas Party Bookings

When we are young we had faith that a man in a red coat would reward us with toys if we were nice, not naughty. We'd even write him letters listing our preferred playthings, address it to the North Pole and pop it, in the absence of access to a chimney, in the post box. If we were disappointed come Christmas Day it might not have been due to bad behaviour but because the letter had been sent to the wrong address.

A Taste of Tradition ; Christmas Party Bookings

To experience a truly traditional holiday why not visit a country house hotel, like the Cotswold House? They can offer all the expected pleasures - tea with mince pies, log fires and carols on Christmas Eve, stockings outside the door on Christmas Day, turkey dinner with all the trimmings, Boxing Day brunch and a chance to get out in the fresh air to watch a falconry display - without guests having to peel so much as a sprout. There is something to be said for getting away from it all, and th...

Do They Know It's Christmas..? ; Christmas Party Bookings

If you just can't wait for Christmas, move to Hungary. The celebrations start there on December 6 when children leave clean shoes outside doors or windows and wake up to find them filled with candies and small toys by Winter Grandfather. If they have been badly behaved though they might also find a golden birch, all the better to spank them with. They have a chance to redeem themselves though as more presents and a tree appear on Christmas Eve. After a special dinner of fresh fish, rice and p...

Celebrations All Over the World ; Christmas Party Bookings

In Germany it is Der Weihnachtsmann who brings the gifts on Christmas Eve afternoon. A bell is rung to call people into the room to open them. On Christmas Day a carp will often be cooked. Bohemia in the Czech Republic was the 10th century home of Good King Wenceslaus, later Saint Wenceslaus. English troops fighting there centuries later brought the song back with them. In this country St Nicholas or Svaty Mikalas is believed to climb down from heaven on a golden rope along with an angel and ...

City Save the Best Till Last ; Sky Blues Snatch a Last-Minute Equaliser

COVENTRY CITY saved the Best till last as they snatched a late, late draw against Middlesbrough. After the Baggies thrashed Boro 5-0 last weekend, Coventry were expecting a backlash from Gareth Southgate's team and got just that in the first half.

Miles Better by Warriors ; Benjamin Try Sees Off Sale at Sixways

WORCESTER denied Sale their fifth straight Guinness Premiership win at Sixways with individual tries from wingers Marcel Garvey and Miles Benjamin. The previous seven meetings between the sides had all been won by the visiting team but Worcester were committed in defence and secured a hardearned second home win of the season.

Tigers Held to a Draw at the Rec

BATH 20 LEICESTER 20 LEICESTER broke a try drought stretching back to last season's Guinness Premiership final but had to settle for a draw with Bath. A spectacular try by Dan Hipkiss just five minutes from time looked to have given the visitors the win but Fijian flyhalf Nicky Little returned from the sin-bin to snatch a draw with his fifth penalty.

Gabby's Day of Ups and Downs

GABRIEL Agbonlahor fired Villa into an early lead at Blackburn yesterday but ended up on the losing side as Rovers drilled in a last minute penalty. And it was a case of long faces all round for Midland football fans last night with Birmingham and West Brom suffering painful defeats, as did Walsall, while Coventry managed a point at home to Middlesbrough.

Inside ...

Villa Get Dunn at the Death ; Ten-Man Rovers Finish Stronger

BLACKBURN 2 Samba 24 mins, Dunn 89 (pen) ASTON VILLA 1 Agbonlahor 3 mins VILLA saw their incredible run of six wins on the bounce done and dusted at Ewood Park after Richard Dunne came undone at the hands of David Dunn! Martin O'Neill's side had looked like cruising to a lucky seventh straight victory in all competitions and their best start for 79 years when in-form striker Gabby Agbonlahor fired them in front after only two minutes for the second successive game with his fifth strike in fiv...

Torres Treble Helps Knock Hull for Six

LIVERPOOL 6 HULL CITY 1 LIVERPOOL manager Rafael Benitez believes Fernando Torres has yet to reach his peak despite witnessing a brilliant hat-trick in the 6-1 demolition of Hull City at Anfield. The Spain striker hit three goals in the opening 47 minutes - after Geovanni had briefly equalised - and terrorised the Tigers defence all afternoon.

Saha so Good for Toffees

PORTSMOUTH 0 EVERTON 1 LOUIS Saha condemned Portsmouth to a seventh successive Premier League defeat in a pulsating showdown at Fratton Park. Saha struck his seventh goal of the season with a clinical finish which gave resurgent Everton a first-half lead they never relinquished.

Bolton Ruin Leaving Do ; Brady Misses Blues Board's Low-Key Send-Off

BIRMINGHAM 1 Phillips 84 mins BOLTON 2 Cohen 10 mins, Lee 86 mins ST Andrew's biggest crowd of the season were left wishing they had followed Karren Brady's lead and stayed away from this match. Yesterday was the outgoing board's send-off but it turned out to be an afternoon to forget for disappointing Blues. Cut-price tickets had seen 28,671 fill the ground but MD Brady failed to show up for her own leaving party.

Harry Still Keane to Mix It Up

TOTTENHAM 5 BURNLEY 0 TOTTENHAM boss Harry Redknapp saw Robbie Keane score four goals against Burnley but insisted no striker at White Hart Lane is guaranteed a starting place. Redknapp had the option of keeping Peter Crouch in his starting XI after the England striker's midweek hattrick against Preston in the Carling Cup - but his decision to partner Keane with Jermain Defoe was vindicated.

Wigan Cash in As Cech Is Bounced

WIGAN 3 CHELSEA 1 From KEN GAUNT at The DW Stadium CHELSEA manager Carlo Ancelotti admitted his side under-achieved at Wigan, where their 100 per cent record came to an unexpected end. The home side chalked up their first victory against one of the top four at the 35th time of asking in a Premier League match.

Warnock Woe for Baggies ; Old Enemy Ends Unbeaten Run

WEST BROM 0 CRYSTAL PALACE 1 N'Diaye 64 mins ALBION slumped to their first defeat of the season thanks to old adversary Neil Warnock.

Foxes' Unbeaten Home Run Ended

LEICESTER 1 PRESTON 2 LEICESTER'S proud yearlong unbeaten home record was ended by Preston at the Walkers Stadium. Goals in each half from Neil Mellor and Richard Chaplow gave North End their fifth successive win in the Foxes' den.

Late Teale Winner a Relief for Rams

DERBY COUNTY 1 BRISTOL CITY 0 DERBY County boss Nigel Clough hailed his side's narrow victory over Bristol City, which at times looked in doubt as his players repeatedly squandered chance after chance. Up until Jamie Mc-Combe's dismissal for City on the hour mark it was an even contest, but the balance shifted when the visitors' skipper saw red for two tempestuous fouls on Rob Hulse inside two minutes.