Playr' diner
BLACK TIE by Hannah Firman
The Players' Dinner comes round far too quickly for my liking, marking the winding down of the season and only a couple more weeks of polo left... leaving most of us wondering what on earth are we going to do with no polo?!
However, it is always a great evening and this one was no exception. It provides an opportunity for the players, social members and their friends to get together and celebrate yet another fun season at HPC.
In true Ham style, players and guests were greeted with champagne and canapés and in no time at all clusters of people gathered around the bar launching into conversations (no doubt about polo).
It is always slightly odd seeing the players out of their whites, themselves groomed instead of their ponies, black tie gear on; some of us barely recognisable.
Guests were seated and they tucked into a delicious four course dinner accompanied by plenty of wine, as the wine flowed so did the conversation.
The Chairman presented the thoroughly deserved awards. It is great to see fellow players and friends get recognised for their efforts on and off the field. Will Healy, Charlie Ham, Stephen O'Kane and Freddie Ventura all certainly deserving theirs. And Annie presented her trophy, ‘Most Improved Lady Player’ to Becca Drake.
Sarah Tallents, the driving force behind the charity Polo Pastures, spoke about her charity which finds homes for retired polo ponies and money was raised for this very worthwhile cause.
It was then Benjie Davis turn to step up and present the Billy Awards and get then get the auction going. Auction
54 HPC • THE LONDON POLO CLUB
items included a Mark Beaumont Photography Session (his work is simply stunning if you haven’t seen it), Lucy Dowie Polo Lesson (an amazing teacher; I need a lesson from her), Cowdray tickets and Guards tickets.
Pledges amounted to £1,790 and the auction raised £1,050!
Max Stacy's hair then went under the hammer for auction - arguably the most memorable moment of the evening. Perhaps Max's new haircut had something for him being turned away from Raffles a few hours later?
After dinner the music came on with guests choosing songs from the DJs CD collection...
A few of us managed to carry the party onto Raffles, needless to say there were a few weary looking members the next morning at chukkas in need of a Deliveroo to the club.
All in all, the evening was a great success with achievements recognised and thanks to the generosity of the guests a considerable amount was raised for charity. I for one am looking forward to the next years!
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76
