‘Don’t photocopy your arse at the Christmas party’ is one of those pieces of advice many people get early in their careers.

Don’t arse around on Facebook if your boss is giving evidence at a war crimes tribunal in The Hague is another pearl of wisdom that one London agency learned from this week – before the watching world. Pictures of Premier Model Management’s apparent ‘blood diamond night’ were shown to the court as evidence during the hearing, in which former Liberian premier Charles Taylor faces numerous charges, some relating to the alleged exchange of so-called blood diamonds. The evidence centred on Facebook images and comments from agency staff, who had allegedly thrown an apparent party in the office following Naomi Campbell’s appearance at the hearing last week.

Agency boss Carole White stood ashen-faced as she was presented with the evidence in the ‘dock’ on Monday. And who wouldn’t? She said she didn’t use Facebook herself, but the realisation that many of her staff had seemingly been highly and inappropriately active on it was both swift and clear.

So of course, not being a dick on Facebook when it comes to work matters goes without saying, particularly when your boss is due to take the stand before the world’s media in extremely contentious circumstances.

The point here, really, is that what goes on at the office party must stay at the office party. Alternatively, if it will become public knowledge somehow, it is best to control its dissemination rather than wait to be rumbled.

With this in mind, here are my memories of Speed (and, previously, Rainier) staff Christmas parties since inception:

1998: London, Mezzo as-was, seafood platters galore, no scandal
1999: Boston, the infamous ‘don’t be sick in the van’ trip with Julie Skinner
2000: London, the shameful four-hour walk home by way of Essex
2001: London, barge racing in Uxbridge then wigs and cigars in Camden
2002: Rome, the toga and gruel party with rooftop strategy meeting
2003: Sussex, the dinner of speeches at the spa
2004: London, the drunken gongs and him vs her casino afternoon. And the octopus on the shoulder incident
2005: Seville, Marlin PR’s Sam Grace left hanging on the hotel gate and the scary suburban disco
2006: Florence, the subterranean osteria and the seedy basement club
2007: Krakow, the ‘German stag do’ club and a stupid MD not bringing a coat when it was -10
2008: Catania, the extreme fish restaurant, extreme drinking and Sophie Hodgson drunk on the plane
2009: London, John Brown’s bold conversations with doormen and desperate drinking bids

2010? Barcelona beckons.