Page 47 - The Cormorant 2018

The aim of the Dinner Night was simple; celebrate one of the British Army’s greatest victories in opulent style with great food, good wine, music, theatre and history...and also make sure that it was better than the Royal Navy’s Trafalgar Night!
The evening did not disappoint. Theatrically dressed to represent the Duchess of Richmond’s Ball and accompanied by the Defence Academy Players, Lieutenant Colonels Chris Wild and Will Hodgkinson did a superb job of recreating the build up to the battle with flare and style but were frankly outshone by Lieutenant Colonel Ru Streatfeild’s Napoleonic rendition enhanced by a French accent that Renée from ‘Allo’ Allo’’ would have been proud of. The Victory Dining Room has never looked so spectacular thanks to Kate O’Halloran’s event dressing team guided ably by the Chief of Staff for the evening, Lieutenant Colonel James Leask. Only a Guardsman could ensure such lavish style could be coupled with such military precision.
We were entertained throughout the evening by historical reflections from esteemed guests Dr Niall Barr and Major General (Ret’d) Andrew Sharpe and with rousing musical accompaniment from the Scots Guards Pipes and Drums and the Band of the Prince of Wales’s Regiment. Much to the frustrations of the bandmaster, our singing was unlikely to compete with the Military Wives Choir but we were given top marks for passion, heart and volume.
Joined for the evening by Lieutenant General James Bashall CBE, the night was a roaring success that certainly set the bar for the other Services
to aspire to and gave our International colleagues a superb flavour of how the British Army do dinner nights; in magnificent style with an abundance of pomp and ceremony to boot.
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