A change of scenery for The Big Dot Company
While many creative studios choose to embed themselves ‘where the action is’ in a large city like London, we took a different approach and moved to Miserden.
Never heard of Miserden? You’re not alone; that’s because the village is so small and remote it would make an excellent location for the British remake of Deliverance.
Although technically located in Stroud, Miserden is more or less an equal distance from Gloucester, Stroud, Cirencester, and Cheltenham.
The village is so historic that it’s mentioned in the Domesday Book. At that time, it was called Greenhampstead, which actually sounds a lot cheerier.
Miserden is small. There are less than 100 residents, one family owns all but two buildings (the pub and the church), and until recently, it was known for having ‘worse internet than Mount Everest’.
The village now has super-fast fibre-optic broadband, and as a result, the village stores experienced a sudden upsurge in demand for tissues and pot noodles. Joking aside, the swift adoption of fast internet has not only been significant for the residents, but it’s also allowed the estate to lease buildings to businesses that rely on the internet.
Why Miserden?
Well, as you’ve can see from the pictures, Miserden is a heart-warmingly quaint, quintessential slice of idyllic England.
The Guardian called it “The living embodiment of nominative determinism”, meaning that it was either miserable or full of cheapskates, depending on how they were pronouncing the ‘Miser’ part. In reality, it’s not miserable at all!
As I write this dispatch, I’m looking out of the window at a horse casually trotting down the street while some chickens potter about by the bus stop. Was I to crane my neck a little, I would see the local (and only) pub, serving up cream teas, ales, and homecooked food.
The picturesque countryside is a walker’s paradise. I’m not a big fan of walking, but Scout (the adventure dog) and I regularly run through the woodlands, garnering insight into how the country may have looked before human intervention.
The office itself used to be an old school. Actually, it used to be a new school, and then it became an old school. It was used as a location in the film Cider with Rosie, and it’s now a spacious office. It’s now called the Club Room.
Having more space has also allowed us to branch out into innovative new technology areas, such as virtual and augmented reality.
If you’re an enthusiastic student looking for work experience, get in touch to find out about placement opportunities.
