Z/Yen Seasonal Events Past ‑ Part One: Formative Years, 1994 to 2003

Introduction by Ian Harris

Z/Yen Christmas events have been much-loved and fondly-remembered occasions since the very first year of Z/Yen’s existence, 1994. Several traditions have emerged over the years. The event always includes a meal and often (but not always) also includes an interesting activity as a prelude to the meal. Indeed, the “prelude activity” tradition started in Z/Yen’s very first year, as the founders of Z/Yen signed the original Shareholders’ Agreement for the Z/Yen Group just before dinner on the evening of that first Christmas event, at the Paris House in Woburn Park, on 16 December 1994. The other tradition that emerged from the outset was the tradition of performing a song at dinner. In 1994, the song was a fairly low key affair, as documented in my Ogblog piece about the matter – click here.

In 1995, again at The Paris House, three Z/Yen stalwarts - only I, as lyricist and ringleader, will own up to doing this - donned some seriously dodgy-looking wigs and sang When Will We See You At Z/Yen, much to the horror of the burghers of Bedfordshire, who were looking on askance from other tables. Try not to think about it too much. Fortunately for the world, no-one took photographs that evening. The tradition of taking a private room (or at least a semi-private dining area) for the Z/Yen Christmas event was thus subsequently established. In the interests of decency, Z/Yen held off from song-singing until it was in a position to take private rooms, which didn't occur regularly until early in the 21st century, by which time Linda Cook was firmly establishing traditions such as Secret Santa and Christmas quizzes. For some reason unexplained, Z/Yen has never returned to the delightful Paris House.

But let us not run this account from the very beginning to the present day. Let's run it from the present day to the very beginning. This article will list all the events and, where possible, provide links to narrative, pictures and lyrics, sometimes elsewhere on the Z/Yen site, sometimes on my own Ogblog site.

This page sets out Part One of the story - the years 1994 to 2003. These were the formative years. Photography had been invented but was not much used at this sort of event. Many of the events were quite small...because Z/Yen was quite small.

If you attended one or more of these events and have pictures and/or memories to share, please get in touch with me, Ian Harris, and I'll ensure that your material finds its way into these pieces.

2003 - Shanghai Knightsbridge, Preceded By The Science Museum And Yann Arthus-Bertrand At The Natural History Museum, 11 December 2003

Photo by Bananaflo, GPL via Wikimedia Commons

Ian has written up and illustrated this event on his Ogblog - here. It includes almost incontrovertible evidence that this was the first outing of Secret Santa at a Z/yen seasonal event. It also includes the lyrics to the seasonal song "Does Z/Yen Know It's Christmas" which, like the song it is spoofing, gets wheeled out slightly adapted every few years. Here is a link to the pdf of the song.

2002 - People's Palace At The Royal Festival Hall, Preceded By The Benn Clatworthy Quartet & A BFI Visit For Film(s) From The Ian Carmichael Special Season, 6 December 2002

This was quite a special evening. Ian has written it up on Ogblog, with links to some clips of Benn Clatworthy and one of the Ian Carmichael films.

The vibe that year was excellent, and we don't just mean the jazz vibe early in the evening. The food and ambiance at the People's Palace was great, but we weren't in a private room, we were just screened off a bit, so we chickened out of singing a song. As the comedian Steven Wright used to say, "you can't have everything...where would you put it?"

2001 - English Garden, Lincoln Street SW3, 13 December 2001

Not that sort of garden!

Top notch grub that year in the hands of Richard Corrigan and his star chef Malcolm Starmer. The fact that this Chelsea restaurant had a private room just our size was part of the appeal. Click here for Ian's Ogblog article on this event.

The Z/Yen team had certainly earned their superb supper that day: we'd had a Board meeting and also a staff symposium at which the Z/Yen Employee Share Ownership Scheme had been launched.

The song was cunningly designed to make the Employee Share Ownership Scheme seem simple enough - a first outing for The Twelve Days Of Z/Yen Training, another song that has been recycled at seasonal events over the years. Click here for a pdf of that 2001 version.

2000 - Efes, Great Titchfield Street W1, 15 December 2000

Not THAT Efes

Having taken a commercial interest in Milet Publishing that year, it seemed polite and fun to make the Milet team feel at home in a restaurant named after a nearby Aegean coastal town. Ephesus (or Efes) is about 35 miles north of Miletus.

Ian's Ogblog write up of this event can be found by clicking here.

It was a fun evening. Michael completed a hat-trick of seasonal songs with arguably his best lyric - Oh Litle Court Of St Helen's. A pdf of that song can be clicked to here.

1999 - Park Inn, Wellington Terrace W2, Preceded By Drinks At Ian’s Newly Refurbished Flat, 17 December 1999

Sofa so good

This event was memorable, but mostly for the wrong reasons, as Ian explains in his Ogblog piece (the third item in this seasonal round-up) - click here. Ian was struggling to get his flat refurbished in time for the event, while most of the Z/yen team went down with an especially unpleasant lurgy just ahead of the evening.

Still, we partied like it's 1999. We had to. It WAS 1999.

Michael wrote a ditty again that year. Whether his references to Bromo-seltzer were prescient in the matter of that season's Z/Yen lurgy is a matter for Z/Yen historians of the future to debate ad nauseum. Here is a link to the pdf of that lyric.

1998 - Z/Yen Christmas Dinner At Caldesi, 10 December 1998

Photo: Mike Quinn / Caffè Caldesi, Marylebone Lane, W1

This event was written up for Now & Z/Yen at the time. As follows:

"The annual Z/Yen Christmas stuffing took place at Caldesi, our favourite Tuscan restaurant. Z/Yen staff bravely fought their way through six courses, including Jane Beazley’s birthday cake, as well as through one badly mangles Christmas carol, to the tune of "D-Mark! Z/Yen Angels Sing". Contrary to our seasonal hopes, the heavens did not flood the party with D-Marks (current currency of choice in the run-up to the Euro, as recommended by one self-interested wife), nor were angels or singing much in evidence. A great time was had by all and huge relief sighed by the restaurant staff when they realised that Z/Yen people were not going to conduct quantum physics experiments on their fibre optic Christmas tree."

Ian's Ogblog piece covers the story from a slightly different angle - click here. The full text of Michael's extraordinary D-Mark song can be grabbed in pdf form here.

1997 - Fung Shing, Lisle Street, Preceded By Detroit & Then Scissor Happy At The Duchess Theatre, 12 December 1997

This was the first year that Z/Yen did a full on "outing plus meal" as the seasonal event. Given the events of the evening, it is a bit of a surprise that it wasn't the last time. Ian spares us no detail in his Ogblog write up, "A Works Outing To remember" - click here.

No song that year - but there certainly was more than enough "performance" from our contingent during the evening. Unforgettable for those who were there.

1996 - Z/Yen Dinner At Le Muscadet, Paddington Street, 19 December 1996

Sur lie ageing...aren't we all?

The first Z/yen seasonal event to be held in London. Ian reports that:

"I'm pretty sure that the group comprised Kevin & Kate Parker, Teresa Bestard Perello, Mike & Marianna Smith, Michael & Elisabeth, Me and Janie. Perhaps one or two other associates. 10 or 12 of us at the most."

Ian's Ogblog piece on this one is the second section of his seasonal round up - click here.

1995 - Paris House, Woburn Park, 15 December 1995

DeepAI imagines that we looked a bit like this

In the canon of tasteless Z/Yen seasonal songs, this early effort clearly stands out among the rest. As performed by Ian, Janie and Steve Taylor at our very second Z/Yen seasonal evening at Paris House in Woburn Park. Ian's write up of this monstrosity, along with the lyrics, can be found here.

We went to The Paris House in Woburn Park for our first two years of seasonal events. The place looks like this:

ian saunders / Paris House CC4

1994 - Paris House, Woburn Park, 16 December 1994

Not Only did we have our first seasonal event at Paris House in Woburn Park, but we also signed the initial Z/Yen Shareholders Agreement there, some 11 weeks after launch but to some extent our founding document.

Here is a link to Ian's Ogblog piece on this event, which includes the lyric to the seminal Z/Yen seasonal song, which was, fittingly, simply named Z/Yen.

If that isn't enough detail for you...apart from the fact that you should probably seek medical help...here is a link to Part Three of the Chronique of Primordyall Z/Yen, which goes into even more detail about our foundation, while studiously avoiding foundation myth.