The House Full sign was posted at Butchers’ Hall well in advance of the Renaissance Banquet which took place on Friday 29th October.
140 Liverymen and guests enjoyed a renaissance night to remember in the sensational setting of our Hall when, it can safely be said, the shackles were well and truly thrown off!
With Italian aperitivi, Dumenil Champagne aplenty and Paparazzi photographers parading the red glamour carpet, mixed with a generous helping of goodwill and fellowship the outcome was anything but subdued.
“Heads and Tails,” that familiar ice breaker, set the scene with a case of Dumenil Champagne going to the winner, Niamh Yandell, the last person standing. In true Butchers’ Company style the evening went from strength to strength….and never looked back!
The table centrepiece of Eucalyptus and fruit continued the true renaissance style and an Italian themed Four Course meal prepared by our venue management partners, Bovingdons, combined with some fine wine fuelled the evening.
Noise levels rose, the lights went down then the haunting tenor strains of Nessum Dorma rang down from our unique, and, wholly appropriate, Minstrels’ Gallery…. the Mezzanine floor.
Totally spontaneously our guest entertainers, a group of four singing waiters, had remained undetected and anonymous throughout the evening so far.
That anonymity didn’t last…. a medley of Italian songs and operatic serenades changed the tone and pace of the evening again. Classical renditions of La Donna Mobile and Funiculi Funicula kept the audience spellbound, while That’s Amore and Brindisi, the drinking song from La Traviata, had the audience on their feet.
Rapturous applause, cheering and shouts of “Bravo” rewarded the group and added to the enjoyment of the evening.
The Banquet concluded with three fabulous raffle prizes being drawn…somehow the top prize of a weekend for two in Florence, the cradle of the Renaissance, seemed very appropriate and even more exciting.
Feedback from the event has been wonderful.
WCB would like to thank the main event sponsor, Butcher’s Pet Care together with the host of other sponsors for their input into a most successful evening.
GRAZIE
WARDEN GWYN HOWELLS