Last night W+K indulged their darker selves and joined the infamous Jack the Ripper Tour.    But we needed Pie first so we asked Mr Tim Wilkes of Timmy’s Pies to come into the office and bake us some fresh handmade pies, mash and gravy.   Seventy pies devoured in less than 30 minutes.

This warmed our cockles and put us in good stead to brave the cold and wind and travel 120 years into the past and 120 yards down the road where we came face to face with the world’s first serial killer and brutal slasher, Jack The Ripper……

This isn’t him, this is Anne Marie our tour guide.  She wasn’t so scary.

As we walked the streets of Whitechapel and Shoreditch we were taken back in time to a place where many were destitute, women were forced onto the streets, the poorest didn’t even have beds, they would just slump over a rope for the night.  At 5am they would be thrown out and would head to Itchy Park next to Shoreditch Christ Church, named Itchy due to the bugs that would crawl over the drunks laying on the grass.  Maybe things haven’t changed that much! 

After gruesome stories of murder and mystery we finished the tour at the famous Ten Bells Public House,  the drinking den of  two of his victims and quite a few W+Kers these days. 

It really does bring home how rich in history and culture this area has and how lucky we are to work here. 

By the way if you like the look of Timmy’s Pies do check out his blog or follow him on twitter @timmys_pies.

http://timmypies.typepad.com/timmys-pies/

Apparently this is the welcome message sent by Apple to all new staff. (No doubt someone will now point out that this is a well-known fake.) Anyway, it's interesting. I don't know whether to feel inspired by its appeal to ambition or to be cynical about the way it sneaks in the expectation that the Apple employee will work weekends. I do like the way it suggests to all employees that they're part of something bigger, which is what job satisfaction is all about.