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Flying in a Spitfire, the finest banquet in London and ladies in not many clothes

You are here: Home / Blog / Flying in a Spitfire, the finest banquet in London and ladies in not many clothes

September 28, 2015 By Renée Leave a Comment

I do like an occasion to dress up posh!  And the Square Mile Salute was definitely one of those occasions.  This amazing evening saw the City of London come together for the finest banquet in town, in support of five military-related charities.

Imaginative Training | social media blog | social media training | Plain English training | Plain English editing | copywritingThe banquet was served in the splendour of magnificent Guildhall.  The raw beauty of its twelfth century crypt provided the setting for Monica Galetti’s caviar reception. The celebrity chef, presenter of Masterchef: the Professionals, provided an exquisite array of canapés – none of which, I’m pleased to report, ended up in my bra!

The elegant meal, served in the glorious Great Hall, was created by a team of chefs from the Birley Clubs and served in style with ambient lighting that reflected the medieval atmosphere enjoyed by kings and courtesans.

We ate in the shadow of rom_the_great_hallgargoyle-looking mythical giants, with gothic and Romanesque windows providing the colours of ancient stained glass. Monumental statues of British heroes peered down, possibly counting the bottles of carefully-chosen wine that accompaied each dish.

I didn’t meet a king there, but I did meet some charming senior military personnel involved with various charities linked to The Soldiering On Awards.  The event was organised by my friend and colleague Anne, and I couldn’t have been more impressed with the attention to detail, fabulous entertainment and flawless execution.

The evening’s after-party was held at Annabel’s, arguably one of the most elegant private members’ clubs in the world, with a three-year waiting list to buy your multi-thousand pound membership. Boasting a celebrity clientele over the past five decades that’s included Frank Sinatra and Elizabeth Taylor, I  didn’t get to meet any Hollywood stars, but I did manage to corner the evening’s very handsome host: Comic relief’s Come Dancing winner and former Royal Marine, Cassidy Little.  Or he cornered me, I’m not sure now.

Imaginative Training | social media blog | social media training | Plain English training | Plain English editing | copywritingWe share a love for Captain Picard and country driving – well, I don’t actually like driving, country lanes scare me a bit, but what’s a blind 70mph bend between friends..?  I do love Jean-Luc though, no question about that.  Martyn maneuvered Cassidy into agreeing to buy me lunch based on our conversation about sci-fi podcasts (lunch being a step up from champagne).  He wasn’t intentionally matchmaking; it was mainly because he wanted me to leave the club so we could share a taxi home before the 3am London cab rush.  We haven’t confirmed a lunch date yet, but I’m hopeful.  I’m recording his late-night TV chat show just in case!

Another charity evening followed on Saturday, when the gorgeous Hotties launched their raunchy 2016 calendar in aid of Soldiering On.  The launch party at Stringfellows in Covent Garden involved a steady flow of complimentary alcohol, teriyaki salmon served by hostesses in white fishnets and not much else, and an array of strippers, doing their stuff around the poles.

Imaginative Training | social media blog | social media training | Plain English training | Plain English editing | copywriting
Air Commodore Charles Clarke OBE and us

While you may be thinking this was not an appropriate place for a lady to spend her Saturday night, I should point out that I was, in fact, with my clients, so that was okay.  I was also with my sons, so possibly not quite so acceptable.  Although, we had a brilliant evening and they seeemed quite happy being there with me.  Yes, one of us danced around a pole on the main stage (and no, I’m not saying who it was).  No, no-one in our party took off their clothes.  Yes, we met some incredible people; yes, we helped to raise money for the charity; yes, I was the last woman standing that wasn’t a stripper or employee…  Tasteful? Some would say.  Tacky?  Not really.  Fun? Definitely!

The highlight for the four boys in my entourage was the honour of meeting Air Commodore Charles Clarke OBE, a war hero who survived being shot down over Germany and captivity at the notorious Stalag Luft III prisoner of war camp.  This awesome 92-year-old veteran has more charm and charisma than most men I’ve met, a razor sharp memory and a twinkle in his eye.  What a gentleman!  We sat together at a dinner a couple of years ago and have enjoyed various events to raise the charity’s profile together ever since.

Thursday’s auction saw someone SMS-SPITFIRE-PILOTS-DAY-FOR-TWO-Image-1bid £25,000 to meet Charles and take a flight in a spitfire, and another lucky person can win this in a raffle (email me please, if you’d like tickets).

I did think about closing with a wartime tune today, but this hit won out.  Tina Turner is a lady who’s fought and won her own battles, and this song can play in circles around your mind today, just like it did in mine during the furnace-like ride home on the London Underground.  “I’m your private dancer, a dancer for money – I’ll do what you want me to do.  I’m a private dancer, a dancer for money and any old music will do.”

I’m not a private dancer but I am a private ghost blogger.  If you’d like help to create a regular on-line presence and increase your website’s SEO, give me a call.  Or message me here: @WeekendWitch.

 

(With thanks for the Guildhall pic, courtesy of www.guildhall.cityoflondon.gov.uk.)

Category iconBlog Tag iconbusiness,  charity,  social media,  social networking

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Renée is an amazing writer who is the author of some fantastic blogs… very informal and conversational, she talks TO the reader rather than at them. She uses a lot of humour, she doesn't take herself too seriously and isn't scared to laugh at herself; a bit of naughtiness included too for added spice(!)… I asked Renee to help me understand SEO and how to improve my site. We had a one to one session in which she explained in detail everything I needed to know. Her explanation was clear and fully understandable, which was great for me as I had no previous knowledge of SEO or social marketing. I left our meeting confident of what I needed to do in order to boost my site, which is exactly what I wanted to gain from the session... Renée is the most friendly and professional person I have ever worked with. She is an asset to any company and brings a new insight into training. I would strongly recommend Renée to any company wishing to grow and to improve staff performance… Renee is the ultimate networker and is happy to share her contacts for the benefit of others. She is very knowledgeable and has a great network of contacts... Renée creates fantastic web content and writes our twice-weekly blog. Being results-driven, she has succeeded in increasing traffic referrals to our website and raising us swiftly through Google rankings. She also runs our social media marketing campaigns effectively and handles all related staff training in a relaxed and lively manner. She’s great to work with and bakes nice cakes!... I have received great compliments about Renée from those attending the Mildmay Job Clubs... Renée has made valued contributions to our key School Policies (such as The Equality and Diversity policy and The Learning and Teaching policy). She is extremely professional, she has a great eye for detail and can empathise with the target audience. She ensures what is written is a true reflection of what is going to happen or what needs to be said whilst encompassing all stakeholders in the process... Renée’s writing is clear and concise and we have used this in our accountancy practice to produce professional letters to our clients that they can understand. All our team are unanimous when we say Renee is a pleasure to work with and we are looking forward to continuing our strong relationship... A professional and well organised outfit that exceeded expectations. Excellent feedback from the client group who asked for more of the same... Renée has a very good reputation among learners and staff. Her learners benefitted from her expertise. She has a very good outcome from her learners. We are very happy to have Renée as part of our team at Redbridge Institute of Adult Education... Renée has a very relaxed style and is able to get on with colleagues at all levels. She is able to engage very diverse audiences when training, which she delivers in a very user-friendly way. I am more than happy to talk to any potential clients…Personable, expert, high integrity... Delegates came away from the training sessions with vital new skills and a better understanding of how they could communicate more clearly… Renée was able to run these sessions in such a way as to make them both informative and enjoyable. I was remarkably impressed with Renee’s professionalism and expertise and can honestly say that she helped us achieve 100% of the targets we had set ourselves. I would have no hesitation in recommending her… Renée demonstrates outstanding oral presentation skills and has an enthusiastic approach to the subject which promotes motivation and participation between learners... Highly effective identification of individuals' learning needs, excellent support provided as appropriate: one-to-one or as a group...
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