It was an unusually glorious day on the streets of Fallowfield as MEC Manchester descended on Platt Fields Park to begin the first leg of their annual Behaviours Day. As boys and girls from every corner of the office began to arrive at the park's Lakeside Centre, there was a hint of trepidation in the air… What tasks would they be forced to perform? What had the Mediator Team been cooking up for the afternoon sports events… and what was that weird giant egg by the side of the lake all about?

Fuelled by caffeine and croissants, the gang were split into teams and sent out fully tooled up to take on a range of tasks. Some braved the depths of the lake, donning waders to install a special island for its aquatic population, while others exercised their respectful inner self, painting poetry for the park's visitors to enjoy. Elsewhere, there were individuals dynamically discovering their bricklaying abilities, laying paths for a special herb garden, while others could be found indulging their insatiable need to get back to nature, preparing the soil for a fruitful future.

The morning, however, was not without incident - and the Eastgate massive were forced to face much more than just what the elements threw at them. Broadcast's Anton discovered the wildlife of South Manchester's local council estates can be much more dangerous than anything dwelling in nature, especially when its carefully guarded borders are challenged. Decked in classic denim and white, Interaction's own Waqar Shah had a battle of his own to face ensuring his James Dean-esque mode remained uncompromised. Fortunately, he succeeded.

So, bones aching from half a day away from the office, the teams regrouped and headed back to base. There were anxious faces all around as people contemplated this strange outdoorsy land and its severe lack of Powerpoint documents, but their lunchtime daydreams of media planning and web analytics were cut short soon enough. The time had come for everyone to put their athletic skills to the test, the time had come to throw rank aside in service of their fellow man or woman: the time had come for MEC's Dynamic Sports Day.

The warm-ups were worryingly brief, with the amount of water available to hydrate the participants as worryingly low as the hemline of Michael Montgomery's shorts. What followed was the kind of Olympic dexterity that one sees only once in a lifetime. It wasn't long before the six teams became familiar with one another's individual sporting attributes, sending forth their very best to compete in battles of mental skill and physical agility that included three-legged racing, egg and spoon sprinting and the tug of war. It was the latter that was used to truly test the teams in the closing stages and while all put in a formidable performance, it was the blue team that took home the spoils - or as they're also known, Amazon gift vouchers.

After slipping away briefly to shower and don their most appropriate attire, MEC Manchester reconvened at Barbirolli in the City Centre to enjoy some well-earned grub and a cheeky beverage or two. Awards were issued to all those who shone in their ability to display the company's four behaviours - Brave, Respectful, Dynamic and Insatiable - while honours were also dished out for all manner of other achievements. One accolade was seemingly so complicated to explain that it appeared to cause Mediator's Danny Hopwood to almost implode with embarrassment. Luckily, it turned out the theme was much easier to articulate by one much more low brow member of the crowd (ahem) and a glass was raised to all the lucky winners.

As the less party hardy members of MEC Manchester returned to their homes, some went on to milk the celebrations for all they were worth at a nearby Revolution… and why not? The day had been a great success and it will be a whole 12 months before we get to do it again.