The Fairy Tale Ball

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In aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital & Bishopsgate School

Charity ball raises £42,000

Exceeds all expectations

The Fairy Tale Ball, held at Wentworth Golf Club on 12th March 1999 in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital and Bishopsgate School, exceeded all expectations in raising the staggering sum of £42,000, thanks to the entirety to the generosity of the guests attending the ball and the sponsors who provided a dazzling array of prizes and auction items...

The evening started with a champagne reception at 7.15pm and the hall quickly filled with a cacophony of noise. Bishopsgate orchestra, conducted by Christopher Page, provided music whilst Hills and Saunders photographed the arriving guests. Stuart Hall called the guests to dinner shortly after 8.00pm and guests were treated to a sumptuous menu of poached salmon, breast of chicken and the world famous Wentworth Sticky Toffee Pudding.

During dinner guests were able to purchase stars from the Wishing Tree, which had over 150 prizes, for modest sums and all won prizes worth well in excess of their outlay.

Guests also had the opportunity to participate in a silent bid the star attraction of which was an evening dress from Roland Klein and modelled during the evening by Erica Roberts.

After dinner Roz Cliffe spoke of the efforts of Great Ormond Street and their desire to raise £10,000,000 each year to provide family support services, buy the best in new technology and carry out research. Nick Bonham then took the floor with a lengthy list of football memorabilia, exotic holiday and outings. Bidding was ferocious for all the items, several of which fetched thousands of pounds each.

Past and present members of the cast of the West End musical, The Bubby Holly Story, performed a number of songs from the show. This gave the partygoers their first opportunity to let their hair down on the dance floor, though Stuart Hall soon ended the merriment to begin the Bingo game.

The unskilled mob had no chance as Start Hall called the numbers at a blistering pace although a winner was eventually found winning a fantastic trip to the Cipriani in Venice. The second Bingo card was scrapped in favour of a game of heads and tails. The head to head final was hotly ‘contested’ by ‘Cheating Liz’ and ‘Cheating Patsy’... with Patsy eventually claming the prize. Being the good sport she is, Patsy graciously handed the prize back to Stuart Hall for auctioning.

Trevor Sylvester, the DJ for the evening, then had almost everyone on the dance floor. With the ball ending around one o’clock, everyone was ‘partied out’.

That is when most of the guests went home? Not quite, a small group (no names) partied on until dawn (and we have the photographs to prove it!)

- Ringwald

Also covered by OK Magazine, organised by Red Canyon. Pictures in OK Magazine, by Michael McGourty

Entertainment, cast of musical, The Buddy Holly Story, provided by Sarah Howkins of Red Canyon.