The Great Southern Business Money Commercial Finance
Dinner
10 February 2005
It only seems like yesterday that I sat down to
write the article on Business Money’s last dinner in Manchester and
here I am again with the fond memory of an evening amongst friends
from the world of commercial finance.
I arrived in the foyer of the hotel early and was
not surprised that a number of the guests had made the same prudent
allowances for rush hour traffic. I found myself swiftly furnished
with ale and on the receiving end of the first unrepeatable tale of
the evening. You know who you are and I thank you…for the beer.
The tone for the evening firmly set, I headed
upstairs, a cold one in hand, to join the rest of the team. As I
reached the first floor of The Hilton, London Paddington the crowd
was bubbly, and so was the bubbly. The photographer was already
snapping away and we had just about enough time for a Business Money
group shot before it became too crowded.
After ample mingling time and ampler quantities
of champagne, the sell-out crowd moved through to the Great Western
Suite. The tables all carried the familiar purple and silver
balloons of dinners past and the sound of conversation filled the
room as people waited patiently for food to arrive. There was an
unfortunate delay in the food due to staff shortages, but it was
well worth the wait once it did arrive. There were many who thought
that the networking time between courses was deliberate, so perhaps
there is something in it after all!
Dinner over, our editor took to the stand. His
suggestion that the menus should carry a warning for deep vein
thrombosis raised the first of many laughs and if there was one
consolation for the delayed food, it was that Bob cut his speech
short as a result. Scott Jenkins followed with a few words to
introduce himself. Scott has only recently joined the team and is
already making his presence felt. His managerial talents will play a
pivotal role in the future of the company. He describes himself as
Business Money’s answer to the surgeon, Harvey Jones. I cannot say
that I’ve met the man, myself, but from what I have seen of Scott in
this short time, he must wield a pretty mean scalpel.
Kate Sharp had also agreed to address the room
and was surely the reason why there was silence during the speeches.
It was the hushed anticipation of a crowd awaiting a star performer
and they were not disappointed. There were some very flattering
comments about Business Money during her witty and lively
presentation and, if anyone was wondering, no, no money changed
hands! Thank you, Kate, for agreeing to speak and thank you for your
kind words.
Last, but by no means least, we were treated to a
performance by Patrick Tansey, a professional after dinner speaker
who rounded proceedings off beautifully. There was the usual
migration to the event’s temporarily erected bar until 2.00am and
then some nifty negotiating by Sophie Grove saw to it that another
bar downstairs – one that had already closed – re-opened to keep
everyone topped up until breakfast. I don’t know how she does it…she
just does it!
Photos from the event are available for purchase
through
www.simply-photography.co.uk.
The next dinner is scheduled for 15 June and will
be held at The Britannia Hotel, Birmingham. Tickets, priced at £106
+ VAT are on sale now on a first come, first served basis. Anyone
interested should call Sophie Grove on 0800 783 2030.
Ben Lefroy
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