Sadly I wasn't able to attend the annual APSCo ball which took place a couple of week's ago. However, Fiona Lander kindly held back on the imbibing in order to write one up for us!
This really was an enchanted evening. Greeted by handsome and beautiful Gondoliers singing opera and plying champagne, the evening, sponsored by 1st Option, boded well for the APSCo Venetian Masquerade Ball in aid of ChildLine at the Intercontinental Hotel last Friday. Five hundred glamorous guests were ushered off by Gondoliers (aka ChildLine Volunteers) to choose exotic masks; fabulously feathered or gorgeously sparkling and even Nasone Style for those brave enough!
Once masked, more champagne sipping in the reception room (later to be transformed into a buzzing casino) followed. Soon everyone moved into the marvellous banquet hall bedecked with colourful silk garlands of purple, red and green, Venetian statues and a scene depicting a canal in Venice with a real gondola as the backdrop for the stage. Dazzling table decorations featured bejewelled glasses and gorgeous ostrich feathers reflecting the colour theme with flashes of bright orange giving the ambience a carnival feel.
The festivities burst into action with the announcement of the 2009 Awards for excellence sponsored by SmartWork.com. The worthy winners were: Innovator of the Year - OrangeGenie, Recruitment Sector Service Provider of the Year - Lander Associates (commendation Parasol), Recruitment Company of the Year - Hobson Prior (under £20m), CBS Butler (£21-£100m) and Volt Europe (over £100m), Individual Contributions - Francis Lewis (partner at Blake Lapthorn) and APSCo Chairman Richard Herring. Ann Swain APSCo CEO received a standing ovation with her well deserved award for her 10 years of successfully leading APSCo from its inauguration to the key position it holds today.
Next, a delicious 3 course dinner with luscious litres of Italian wine flowing. Relaxed and ready for more, guests, splendid in all their finery, then participated in the Champagne Diamond Draw, a raffle and an exciting Charity Auction where competitive philanthropists battled it out for prizes including a Caribbean holiday and a long ‘five star’ weekend in Venice.
Dazzling after dinner dancing was complimented by visits to the casino, a karaoke studio and a stroll round the silent auction prizes which included an original lithograph by Picasso.
In all a phenomenal £60,000 plus was raised for the NSPCC’s ChildLine, thanks to the generosity of the guests. Gondolas were called at 2am and a surprisingly large number of the guests were still there till the end which is always a sign of a fantastic evening that people didn’t want to end. Sera fantastica! Non lo abbiamo desiderato concluderci!