At PA Life we’re devoted to bringing you the very latest news, tips, advice and recommendations on a whole smorgasbord of topics that we hope are of interest to you in your professional lives. Since our most popular stories seem to be those that provide suggestions on how to engender a better working relationship with […]

As the PA to an exec who likes to show off as much as Mr P, I’ve been to my fair share of lavish venues. At last night’s PA Life networking event, however, I found a real hidden gem in the Rag Army & Navy Club, a super-swish gentlemen’s private club on the corner of […]

What’s in a name, my dear readers? Try this one on for size: Theobroma Cacao – sounds mysterious and enchanting, doesn’t it – guess what, it’s actually the proper name of the cocoa tree, derived from the Greek for “the food of the Gods”; they clearly had good taste in ancient Athens. I was reminded […]

It’s the start of a new year and the perfect time to make some important life changes, so here’s PA Life’s pick of the top resolutions. Develop your skills: Experience alone isn’t always enough to guarantee a move up the career ladder, so PA Life has launched a series of training courses specifically for personal […]

Taking time out of the office to learn and develop your skills is an important part of any PA’s life. More than 50 assistants recently took the opportunity to travel to Cambridge for the Møller Centre’s training event entitled “The confident, assertive and efficient PA”. PAs from the southeast were treated to talks lead by […]

Have you ever had one of those weeks that just lasts forever with a Friday that ticks by at a snail’s pace? Last week was like that for me, so it was perfect timing for the cleverly titled PAmper Day (PA – pamper, get it?) from the lovely team at &Meetings. When I got the […]

A group of lucky PA Life readers were recently treated to an exclusive opportunity to visit historic Trinity House on a private tour of its maritime treasures. Expert guide Geoff Boyd showed them round the venue’s five rooms, which contain royal portraits and artefacts that are part of the rich legacy of Britain’s maritime past. […]

It certainly is a gutsy decision to plan an outdoor event in early March, what with the UK’s notoriously unreliable weather, but Midlands golf resort the Belfry Hotel won me over with its open-air launch party regardless. Thank goodness Mother Nature has blessed us with a bit of warming sunshine recently. The idea behind the […]

Karren Brady, Vice-Chairman of the West Ham Football Club and Kanya King, Founder and CEO of the MOBO Awards, will each deliver an empowering keynote speech at this year’s International Confex, being held at London’s Olympia on 12 and 13 March. This remarkable line-up of entrepreneurial women is complemented by a two-day programme of seminars […]

If you prefer keeping your new romance from others on a strictly need-to-know basis, then you’re not alone. According to a recent survey, more than half of UK office workers prefer to keep a relationship with a colleague a secret. The poll reveals that of the 55% of people who think office romances should be […]

Spring is fast approaching and that means preparations for summer sporting events are in full swing. One of my favourites is tennis so I’m very much looking forward to the Wimbledon Championships. I’m delighted to say I had the great honour of being invited to an exclusive food tasting at the All England Club to […]

I know we exec assistants are all super-busy, but did you happen to read about that rather embarrassing gaffe involving BBC subtitles, when two letters were transposed and a ‘w’ added to its announcement that it was officially the Chinese Year of the Horse? Woops, that has to be a CLM as a colleague of […]

Congratulations to the January/February competition winners: Sharon Preston at Panasonic UK wins a one-night stay in an Executive room at the Charing Cross Hotel. We also ran a competition to win a Big Biscuit Box from Nestlé Professional and the fortunate recipients were Catia Lobato at Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, Janet Hopkinson at BBC South […]

Your CV is your ambassador in the competitive world of recruitment. When you apply for a job, it has to stand out. It’s not enough to just list your skills on a page; your CV must be legible, punchy and obviously suited for the position. If you’re not getting any interviews, the problem may lie […]

Have you ever imagined what it would be like to shrink down so small that you could swim in a glass of champagne? It’s an extravagant daydream, I know, but I got to see what it might feel like last night at the launch party of “Dive into a glass of Veuve Clicquot” at the […]

What more delightful way is there to spend a Saturday afternoon than having a flutter on the gee-gees? Not that I condone gambling of course, but you have to make an exception for the institution that is Ascot. What a fabulous place to take clients for a hospitality experience that combines glamour, excitement and world-class […]

Do you ever work during the weekend? Do you work from home or away from your office? Are you employed on a part-time basis? If you aren’t already, according to a thought-provoking new white paper, you soon could be. The Future of Work report indicates that by 2015 more than 40 per cent of us will […]

The name Marco Pierre White is synonymous with a great gastronomic experience and Marco Grill at Stamford Bridge combines his signature style with the relaxed atmosphere of a steakhouse, writes Molly Dyson. Circular booths with comfy leather seats frame the dining room and autographed images of celebrities hang on the mirror-effect walls, paying homage to […]