The Great IDG Cake Sale

I knew I'd be leaving PC Advisor in the early part of the year and, looking at dates, a payday a week after my final press day seemed ideal. So the date was set. Aside from clearing up the chaos of my desk drawers and cupboards and tying up loose ends so my successor wasn't left in limbo, I worked out that I ought to be able to squeeze in something we'd not managed to do for some time: an IDG cake sale. 


We've held them annually for the past three years and colleagues had been asking me for months about when we could have another. Christmas deadlines loomed large at the time, but a sale a few weeks after the January detox made sense. 


This year, Macmillan Cancer Nurses were our beneficiaries. Many of us have had reason to call on their services or know friends and family members who have depended on their support in the final months of a loved one's life. 


I canvassed a few colleagues who had baked on previous occasions and found some new recruits in the lead generation telemarketing team. The first day or two went well - and then things snowballed. 


We made £70 the first day from a choice of five cakes - an excellent start. After a glitch on Wednesday when I thought we wouldn't have enough cake to satisfy demand, Thursday saw colleague after colleague come along and produce cakes, brownies, biscuits, cheesecake and more. 


Our cake sale encompassed everything from beetroot and chocolate brownies to chilli chocolate biscuits shaped like Tom Selleck's moustache. There was a spectacular jewel-topped lemon drizzle cake, a beautiful buttercream-topped chocolate cake and a pink confection complete with handmade roses. 


With cakes sold twice a day, you might think demand would tail off, but a steady stream of customers helped push sales through the roof. By 4pm on Friday we'd made an impressive £370. 


I can only applaud the baking prowess of all at IDG UK. An amazing bunch of people it's been my pleasure to work - and party - with for the past 14 years. And wow, do they like cake!