We're partial to a party at Firefish

If you know the Fishies, you know we're rather partial to a party so we had a blast at our Fishmas night out on Friday! 

We kicked off proceedings with our 12 Days of Fishmas quiz, where we found out how well we all know Firefish...and each other!  We had just announced the winners and were topping up our glasses when we heard a strange noise, which sounded like hooves and bells. We sent our bravest Fish out to investigate, and were delighted to find that a very special guest had come along to help hand out our Secret Santa gifts: none other than Father Christmas himself! 

It's a very busy time of year for Santa, of course, so he couldn't stay for long.  As he rode off on his sleigh we headed down to the Christmas Market for some mulled wine and merriment.  It may have been raining, but being Fish we weren't fazed and had a whale of a time on the merry-go-round horses and whizzing down the helter skelter! 

Our final port of call (well, for those who didn't end up in the casino!) was The Drake bar and restaurant for dinner.  Back when we were baby Fish and before we moved into our Aquarium, The Drake was our local so it was great to take the whole shoal back there for an amazing meal, a bit of reminiscing...and possibly a few more refreshments, too!

After dinner, it was time for the part of Fishmas that we all look forward to the most: finding out who is this year's Fish of the Year!

Fish of the Year is a really special award, as each member of the shoal votes for the person who they feel has most lived our company values throughout the year and made our lives at Firefish better.  This year's Fish of the Year is...

Front End Developer, Colin McKean!

Colin joined us 18 months ago having been part of CodeClan's very first Glasgow cohort, where he funded himself through an intensive 16 week development course and gave up his job to follow his dream of being a web developer.  That means that until just under two years ago Colin had never worked as a developer, so the fact that his colleagues have voted for him to be our Fish of the Year 2018 is particularly exciting and we're incredibly proud of what he's achieved already.  Colin works extremely hard, produces fantastic work, and does it all with a smile on his face and without ever complaining.  But don't take my word for it!  This is how Colin's colleagues described him: 

"He is brilliant and amazing at his job!  I ask him so many questions and he has never once failed to give me an answer.  I interact with him weekly and not once have I ever seen him frustrated or in a bad mood.  I'd vote for him twice if I could!"

"He has gone above and beyond since joining Firefish.  He works brilliantly with each team and has been very detailed when building websites.  He has taken the web world under his wing, caring how the websites look and making sure clients get the best experience when using their website."

"Colin works away silently and consistently, never seeming to make a mistake and always getting everything finished on time.  He is incredibly reliable." 

"Colin has progressed hugely this year as he's taken ownership of web tickets.  Even on the busiest of weeks, he always strives to do his best and finds a way to get the work done.  He's been a huge help to the Happiness team by answering questions on a weekly basis, and when doing so he always explains his answers clearly and in a way that us non-techy people will understand"

"Colin has been super helpful since I started, and I can approach him with any question knowing that he will explain even the most complex of issues in a very simple way."

"Quiet but steady, always there to help and gets everything done that you ask of him." 

A huge well done and thank you, Colin, our finominal Fish of the Year!