… they still wouldn’t be as good as PAX8 *

I was recently invited by PAX8 (my No.1 Supplier) to attend a Cybersecurity Masterclass held at their more than impressive offices down in Bristol.

After a couple of cancelled trains to start the day, a quick re-shuffle and two changes later, I arrived at Bristol Meads on a gorgeous 28C late afternoon – I was most grateful for air-con on the services.

All the guests for this event were accommodated in the equally sumptuous Leonardo Hotel Bristol which ideally, is situated across a very warm and sunny open area just opposite the PAX8 offices.

I learnt from my Account Manager (Charlie) that these offices were an old gin distillery and, as a token of goodwill, PAX8 gift Leonardo Hotel with some rather expensive gin in return for hosting their invitees. Leonardo then sell the gin back to the PAX8 staff at events held there… entrepreneurship is alive and well in Bristol 😁

PAX8 have their own cooks and the evening meal was right up my alley – spicy Korean chicken, long stem broccoli (al dente – just how I like it) with olive oil and toasted pecans, chunky roasted potato’s and a zesty/tangy slaw all washed down with icy cold Brew Dog Neck Oil on tap, Bonus! And, although there were equally tasty looking vegan options, I didn’t entertain those. Apologies to my veggie friends

After a couple of drinks, the days travelling took its toll and I retired early to my very, very comfy bed.

For myself, breakfast at the PAX8 offices consisted of fresh coffee, a very stodgy but delicious banana and cinnamon bread and a croissant the size of my head – no joke!

The days Cybersecurity Masterclass began and the day was split between three excellent and very knowledgeable speakers in their field (Mostyn, Alex and Darryl), punctuated with ample coffee breaks, teamwork sessions designed around Governance, Risk and Compliance, another very satiating lunch provided by the in-house cooks, a game of ‘Acronym Bingo’ all tied in with an excellent dive into Cybersecurity product features in the PAX8 Cloudscape and finally finishing the day with suggestions to enhance the attendees Cyber Security Advisor roles.

I don’t wish to divulge information around the content but that said, I am happy to speak to anyone who is interested in improving their Cybersecurity stance whether it be attaining Cyber Essentials or Plus certifications or just improving their in-house security.

I do appreciate this blog appears more of a Trip to Bristol Good Food and Accommodation piece but who cares, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with PAX8 and am looking forward to the next event.

Special thanks go out to Liberty Alway for being such a lovely host, Charlie Burke for the invitation and excellent Account Management, Mostyn Thomas (NCS CCP), Alex Cotterell and Darryl for delivering an excellent day.

* True story – I don’t drink Carlsberg