Our third wine tasting at the Centre on 27th June was enjoyed by a record number of 62 participants. Another lovely sunny evening enabled us to gather in our refurbished courtyard where Jane Oliver, a virtuoso celloist, performed brilliantly (thank you again!), cold prosecco was served and welcoming speeches were made by Fred Lucas (Chair Trustee) and Denny Anthony (Youth Officer). Tim Syrad, our super sommelier, repeated the popular format of 2023 with blind tastings and a quiz. Once again Tim’s thoughtful cheese pairings accentuated everyone’s appreciation of the eight splendid wines which were sourced from Australia, France, Italy (the slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily), New Zealand, Portugal and Spain (all are available from timsyradwines.com).
Sales of raffle tickets (131), generous donations plus the proceeds from our blind auction of a VIP dinner for four at Michelin starred La Trompette (thank you very much Nigel Platts-Martin) and a VIP lunch for four at Villa di Geggiano (thank you very much Ilona Pacia) helped lift the total raised after costs to £10,700. This surpasses our target of £10,000 and means that we can confidently expand our Summer Residential to the Isle of Wight.
A very big thank you to all generous participants, our sponsors (Analytical People, Bown Design & Build, Cornel Lucas Collection, Helicon Health, King’s Tennis Centre, La Trompette, Plane Saver Credit Union, Villa di Geggiano and Whitman & Co.) and many kind donors including those who provided the four prizes for our raffle (Andy Gedah of Hair at No.3, Sandra Haining-Dunn and Trustee Jonathan Walker). Thanks also to Team Hogarth for their huge effort organising such a memorable and fun evening – a small team with big hearts! And, of course, a huge thank you to Tim Syrad who delivered another most memorable event.