We rounded off the season on 2nd July with ‘a touch of ermine’ as Baroness Patience Wheatcroft, former Sunday Telegraph editor and now Conservative peer in the House of Lords, was our guest of honour. Patience – as she insisted we call her – delivered a speech with a wonderful mix of highly amusing anecdotes and serious thinking on government policy. She ended with a plea for business leaders to do more to engage with schools and young people – it was a powerful vision.
It was my final dinner as Chair, and it gave me great pleasure to hand over the reins to Andria Vidler, the CEO of Centaur Media, who delivered the vote of thanks and dropped some tantalising hints about the guest speakers she has in store for us next season!
Mhairi McEwan
Chair, 2013-14