At Quooker, we organise a special staff trip every year. Once every five years, we go all out with a trip abroad. Iceland had been on our list for a long time, and for good reason: at Quooker, boiling water flows from the tap; in Iceland, it bursts from the ground. In September 2022, the time had come: 330 of us flew to Reykjavik.

A visit to one of the world’s most famous geysers was, of course, on the programme. “That was a unique experience,” says Steven van den Hoogen, coordinator of Quooker’s field service team, who joined the trip. “Seeing that hot water shoot dozens of metres into the air and come back down cold — unbelievable.” Normally, Steven isn’t much of a long-haul traveller. But he wouldn’t have missed the trip to Iceland for the world. “It was amazing. Spending three days with colleagues you don’t usually meet was great and truly valuable. The fact that you could choose from different activities meant everyone had plenty of stories to share at the end of the day. Some went snowmobiling, others horseback riding. A group of colleagues snorkelled in ice-cold water, while others rode quad bikes through the mountains.”