Dear Members,
What a fabulous dinner last Wednesday! The brilliant BBC singers started our evening getting us all in the festive spirit. Then, as is tradition after Christmas dinner we settled in for a TV double bill with two current leading ladies from our weekend evenings, Claudia Winkleman and Ruth Wilson. With a hot toddy in hand, Ruth carried on, her voice just about holding up long enough for us all to enjoy a funny, honest and insightful conversation. We heard about Ruth’s starring role as Mrs Coulter in His Dark Materials, as well as the fascinating story of her own grandmother, Alison Wilson, told so brilliantly in last year’s BBC Drama Mrs Wilson. We also raised a large amount of money for Children in Need, thank you.
We’ll be back on February 5th at our temporary home, The Berkeley – when after a sober January we will be bringing you posh G&T’s as we welcome the Founder and CEO of Fever-Tree, Tim Warrillow.
It was in 2003, Tim, a former advertising executive, looking for a complete career change decided he wanted to set up his own gin distillery, until his now business partner, Charles Rolls convinced him that reinventing tonic, not gin was where the money was to be made. After an 18 month quest for the right recipe that saw the pair travelling to the Democratic Republic of Congo to source quinine and hire plant hunters to find flavourings, in 2005 the Fever-Tree brand was born – named after the colloquial term for the quinine-producing cinchona tree (“fever trees”) in the Congo.
Tim’s a compelling speaker with an incredible story so I do hope you can join us – it promises to be a fascinating evening!
As always you can book online or write to Clare.
That just leaves me to wish you and your families a wonderful Christmas and I look forward to seeing you all in the New Year.
Best wishes,
Kerris Bright
Chair 2019-2020
MGGB