The Datebook Datebook Autumn 18 Calendar of Events | Page 9

Fund-Raising Garden Party
A
fter days of what
seemed to be unending
hot and sultry weather, I find
myself in a secret garden on
a cool and beautiful summer
evening. Actually, I’m in
College Garden overlooked
by the venerable buildings of
Westminster School and
although we are in the heart
of Westminster near one of
the busiest roads in the
Capital, it is beautifully quiet.
I am at a Garden Party in aid of
Passage which is a wonderful
charity which seeks to help the
homeless.
They run the largest resource
centre for homeless people in
the UK …. giving access to
food, showers and clothing as
well as housing advice, health
care, training and employment
services. They also operate
street outreach services,
homelessness prevention
schemes and accommodation
projects. The Passage’s modern
Slavery work (which address’s
the links between homelessness
and modern slavery) operates
nationally in helping
organisations deal with the
issue, as well as contributing at
an international level to address
this problem.
The Passage and The Goring
Hotel, in collaboration with
Above & Below: A delightful Garden Party for a worthy charity.
other hotels, founded a Hotel
School to encourage homeless
people into hospitality industry.
The School offers a short
introductory course that covers
all aspects of the hospitality
industry, from front of house to
catering. Its success has led to
it becoming a charity in its own
right.
Back to the Garden Party:
When all the attendees had a
drink in their hand, there were
speeches by Lindsey Hall, the
Lord Mayor of Westminster,
Mike Clarke, Chief Executive of
The Passage, and The reverend
Professor Vernon White, Sub
Dean and Canon of
Westminster.
The catering, which was
plentiful and very good indeed,
was provided by the Passage’s
own caterers overseen by Head
Chef Claudette Dawkins who
has been with the organisation
for 19 years. Members of the
Hotel School served the drinks
and there was a first class
Salvation Army Orchestra that
played both old time and
modern day classics.
Then as everyone was finishing
their supper an announcement
was made by Antonio Oriando,
Chair of the Night Under the
Stars Committee, about
another fund raiser in
November 2018 at the Festival
Hall
(www.southbankcentre.co.uk/w
hats-on/118993-night-under-
stars-northern-lights-2018).
All in all it was a delightful,
quintessentially English
occasion which raised just
under £25,000 and, just as
the results of the raffle and
silent auction were about to be
announced, there was a
thunderstorm complete with
torrential rain, thunder and
lightning. Some hardy souls
remained outside under their
umbrellas but the bulk of the
quests scurried for shelter in
the catering marquee.
A wonderfully, dramatic end to
a perfect evening.
LIN KENNEDY
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