‘It is amazing!  You work in Trafford Park and aren’t even a soccer fan!’   Yes, one of the most loved (or loathed) teams, Manchester United, was only 5 minutes away from the Brooke Bond Tea Factory where I worked.  Still, there is more to life than football … .

It all began last year when Brunel University offered placements for students for the Design Specialisation.  It was a trying time for me - application, interview (by videoconference) and awaiting the work permit.  In fact, I was living out of my suitcase until after the Chinese New Year!

Built upon the Roman fort, Mamucium, Manchester is the second most important financial centre and third largest city in England.  Just outside the city centre lies Trafford Park, one of the largest industrial estates in Europe, where the Brooke Bond Tea Factory is located. The Factory is run by a Unilever company - Van den Bergh Foods.  Brooke Bond is an established name that rivals Tetley’s for about 25% of the UK market.  Its recent innovation is the Pyramid teabag that allows quicker brewing of tea.

Furthermore, the company has also been blending tea for European companies. This was where I fitted in.  Euroblending was the project that involved blending new teas.  As with all products, tastes vary across the globe.  For example, the French do not use teabags and British use bags but without the strings.  To complicate matters, as many as 20 to 30 original teas may be blended to produce a particular blend.  Some teas may be very large and coarse. My main task was to investigate the effect of the blending systems on these teas (or perhaps vice-versa!).  Essentially, it fell into the R & D category. I ended up demonstrating that:

a) The coarse teas were flowing very slowly through the blending systems.
b) Teas were not mixing well in the blenders.
c) The system had produced teas with unexpected characteristics.

In addition, I also had exposure to waste management, dust problems and various production and management issues.  It certainly was difficult trying to perform experiments on a scale where output was measured in tonnes!  Moreover, the equipment was not exactly mine to play with and trying to control the variables during production was often nearly impossible.  Having said that, there must be (and there was!) more to life than work … .

Ah, travelling! This was what I did with almost all my free time.  Manchester, being central, was an excellent springboard.  By train, car and plane, even Europe became accessible!  Britain may look small on a map but there is more to see and discover than many people realise.  England, Scotland and Wales have an interesting (and tumultuous) history.  However, after having seen much of Britain, I realise that many visitors still think Scotland and Wales are part of England (it can be very insulting to the locals)!  In addition, outdoor adventure was not hard to find as many national parks lie across the UK and are highly accessible.  Just outside Manchester lies the Peak District and, farther away, the Lake District. I managed to visit Ireland, France, Belgium, Austria and Italy as well.  In the end, even the student contingent in the factory was multinational!  Moreover, over five months, I lived with three managers and a Dutch student. This experience gave rise to a good exchange of ideas and experiences.

On a more serious note, the attachment was a positive experience.  While it was not as technical as I would have liked, it honed my interpersonal and management skills.  The point is that life is often as interesting and rewarding as the individual makes it.  Even in the most adverse of conditions, there is something to be learnt.  There is only so much one can learn in school.  Technology changes and it is more important, I feel, to have breadth of knowledge, varied interests, be adaptable and able to interact.  This also ties in with Singapore’s drive to go global or regional.

Brooke Bond offers a range of placement possibilities for students.  Cast aside your thoughts of a dusty, dingy factory.  Producing Pyramid teabags actually requires computers, programming and machine tolerances in the micron level!  There is scope for work in design, electronics, programming, mechanical systems, business and management.  In addition, my colleagues (and the British in general) were helpful, friendly and approachable.  It also helped that the British do not live with the frenzied urgency that exists in Singapore.

I would like to thank my tutor, Dr. Lim Kee Yong, supervisor, Mr. Bryan Young, colleagues at Van den Bergh Foods and Mrs. Loh Ai Hwa of the OPA for making this an enriching work and cultural experience.

Oh, the World Cup did not change anything: I am still not madly in love with football