Recession may be looming, but Manchester firm Harold Stock & Co knows how to throw a party. To celebrate its thirtieth birthday the generous firm took 41 of its employees on a no-expense-spared weekend trip to Barcelona. Mark Ryan, senior partner, said: ‘Thirty years in business is a real milestone and definitely something to celebrate, particularly in the current economic climate.’

Obiter suggests that staff at other firms approaching such milestones leave a copy of the Gazette open at this page on the managing partner’s desk. Let us know how you get on.