To celebrate National Fun at Work Day on Friday 26th January, Merlin Entertainments shone a spotlight on some of its most interesting and entertaining jobs.
From diving with sharks at The Bear Grylls Adventure to being paid to play with LEGO at LEGOLAND Discovery Centre, these Brummies have some of the most enjoyable jobs across the country.
Mike Cooper is one of The Bear Grylls Adventure’s resident Dive Instructors, spending his days conducting daring dives with sharks for the people of Birmingham. Fearlessness is essential for Mike’s day-to-day role, as he regularly assists guests when taking the plunge for the two-hour shark dive adventure, showing them all of the aquatic animals along the way.
Mike said: “I’m a dive fanatic and I’ve been diving for around six years now. I fell in love with the underwater world, and I really get a kick out of swimming around.
“It’s a phenomenal feeling as a teacher and instructor seeing people who struggle initially manage to enjoy themselves and fully commit to a dive, it’s the most amazing feeling in the world.” Michelle Oakes (pic) is the Master Model Builder at LEGOLAND Discovery Centre, putting her passion for LEGO and impressive creativity to use when building showstopping sculptures for the centre.
She bagged the once-in-a-lifetime role after entering the ‘Brickfactor’ competition to find LEGO’s next Master Model Builder. Her creative skills were pitted against 7,000 entrants, and her impressive recreation of the Bullring Bull made out of LEGO secured her the win.
She said: “I’ve loved playing with LEGO since I was a little girl, but I never imagined that one day it would be my job! Now, Michelle’s role involves running creative workshops and creating awesome new sculptures for the centre’s Miniland – a LEGO version of Birmingham made from more than 1.5 million bricks.
One of her favourite builds is the Birmingham Primark: “My version consists of 2,988 LEGO bricks, boasts 203 items of clothing, a beauty salon and minifigures of actual local Primark colleagues.” Jonny Rudd is SEA LIFE Birmingham’s Curator, pursuing his passion for aquatic life and ensuring that the centre’s animal care is the best it can be, which includes looking after a huge variety of animals including a colony of Gentoo Penguins, a Green Sea Turtle and two Sea Otters.
While Jonny began his career in aircraft design, he soon transitioned to conservation with a zoo resource management degree, relocating to SEA LIFE Birmingham to pioneer its education and conservation project and help bring two rescued non-releasable Sea Otters from Alaska to the UK. “I project managed the opening of our world-class rescue facility following a multi-million pound investment to create the perfect home for the UK’s only Sea Otters, which was a very proud moment,” he said.
“Connecting guests with the aquatic world is the best part of the job. Seeing children engage with a display I have designed and seeing them go away inspired to make a positive change to their potential impacts on the world is very rewarding!” Sophie Wood is the UK’s only female Trebuchet Master, working at the jaw-dropping ‘The Legend of the Trebuchet’ show at Warwick Castle.
“Being the UK’s only female Trebuchet Master is an amazing feeling and I hope it inspires lots of other young children who watch us perform the mind-blowing show! Sophie’s daring daily routine involves operates the siege machine and firing the ammunition, as well as conducting test shots and ensuring all the safety mechanisms are in working order.
“The most interesting thing about my role is that it comes with a lot of high pressure, but I thrive in that environment. Working with the trebuchet also keeps me very fit – you have to be physically strong to successfully fire the machine!”
Dawn Jenks has one of the tastiest jobs in the country, working as one of Cadbury World’s Chocolatiers. She has been putting her chocolate making skills to the test for over 20 years at Cadbury World, hand-crafting a variety of chocolate treats and helping to make giant showstopping creations.
“Every day is different! One day I could be making our chocolate products that you find in the Cadbury World Shop, but another day I could be personalising orders with our guests’ messages to their loved ones,” she said. “My favourite part of the job is making the big creations! I especially liked the crown we did for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee creation in 2012, because it was one of the first big ones that we did.”
