Pre-season get-together at The Dorchester

The SaVVy Club^® enjoyed a fantastic pre-season get-together at arguably London’s most exquisite and exclusive setting, The Dorchester Penthouse.  From the terrace, we marvelled at the views across the rooftops of Mayfair, whilst enjoying fine wine and canapés served by a host of excellent, highly skilled Dorchester staff – it is such a joy to be served properly by people with respect and immense skill.

Close up entertainment was provided by magician Graham Desmond and caricatures were drawn by Simon Elinas. A superb group photograph by expert photographer, Mark Turnbull, provided a souvenir for everyone.

Four entrants of The SaVVy Club® Ultimate Events Competition attended and Rebecca Yewdall was presented with a bottle of champagne in special recognition of her entry.  Kim announced that the competition would continue in 2008 and that a number of universities planned to incorporate the competition into their curricula.   

We also recognised The SaVVy Club®‘s chosen good cause The Mineseeker Foundation and its initiative The Sole of Africa.  Sadly, founder Mike Kendrick, the advertising magnate turned ballooning expert and close friend and confidant of Sir Richard Branson (it’s Mike you see on your screen when Sir Richard’s balloon gets lost again) was unable to attend due to a complete telecommunications failure at Mineseeker HQ in Bridgnorth, Shropshire. The SaVVy Club® friend, John L. Evans spoke on Mike’s behalf about his love of ballooning, his fantastic life story (so far) and (movingly) about the work and aims of the foundation.   

You can enter The Sole of Africa’s fantastic ‘Lowest Bid’ competition to win a Safari of a lifetime at: http://find.yoursole.org/

 

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King Tutankhamun and I

I had been looking forward to the King Tutankhamun exhibition immensely. Ancient Egypt has held a fascination for me since my school days, therefore I was thrilled to have the opportunity to actually see for myself some of the treasures from King Tutankhamun’s tomb.

The rather dull and overcast day couldn’t dampen my enthusiasm as I met my fellow intrepid travellers at Waterloo Pier. The journey via the Thames Clipper lasted about 40 minutes and it was wonderful to see an illuminated London through the windows. Eventually The O2 became visible through the darkness, but before we entered the exhibition we stopped for a drink at Inc. Brasserie. I couldn’t help but wonder at the suitability of the venue for such an historic exhibition. The bright, stark interior of The O2 seemed far too modern to house 3000-year-old antiquities.

As I entered the exhibition, I donned my headphones and allowed Omar Sharif to explain the context of the exhibits. This audio tour was invaluable as it provided the historical background of not only the Royal family but also of daily life in Ancient Egypt. This included a rather compelling yet grisly description of the mummification process. The exhibits were displayed in rather plain rooms and, despite the piped Egyptian music and atmospheric lighting, I felt that something was missing. The exhibition was in two halves: the first was very much concerned with Tutankhamun’s unpopular father Akhenaten, his beautiful wife, Nefertiti, and the scandal surrounding their adoption of a new religion. The second half was dedicated to Tutankhamun and Howard Carter, including rare newsreel footage and photographs of the excavation. However the journey between the two was via stark corridors and brightly lit stairwells. I think the sheer modernity of the venue was too much of a contrast for the antiquities, however the treasures on display were breathtaking. The sheer beauty of the mini-sarcophagus designed to hold the young king’s viscera once they had been removed from his body, with its intricate workmanship and near-perfect condition, was awe-inspiring.

After the exhibition I met up with our group at Tapa Tapa, which proved to be another adventure but of the gastronomic kind. I was overwhelmed by the sheer quality and quantity of dishes that were brought before us and the staff were extremely helpful and friendly. For me, the highlights of the meal were a special oak-aged ham from Bilbao, superb large king prawns in a special ‘San Miguel’ batter and a rather delicious chocolate dessert, which were all washed down with fine wines and lively conversation.

As always, all good things had to come to an end, so at 10pm it was time to board the ferry once more and return to Waterloo Pier. I thoroughly enjoyed the evening with The SaVVy Club and was glad that I had been able to see the boy king’s treasures.        

By Sally Ormond
The SaVVy Club

 

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London Art Fair

Are you passionate about art? Whether you are an experienced collector or just starting out, London Art Fair is the only place to indulge your love for art. Within the spectacular venue of the Business Design Centre, Islington, there will be over 100 galleries displaying exceptional work from Modern British artists and international contemporary talent to celebrate the Fair’s 20^th year. The Fair’s commitment to support and enable contemporary artists and galleries to bring the most challenging and interesting art to the public’s attention is reflected in the Art Projects section. Also present will be Photo50 which was launched in 2007. Within this section 50 photographs will be displayed from a range of UK and international galleries which will all be for sale. They draw together diverse ways that artists are working with photographic images within contemporary art.This year the London Art Fair’s official charity is the Terrence Higgins Trust who, in 1982, made a promise to fight the spread of HIV and to support those affected by the AIDS epidemic. In celebration of this, there will be an exhibition and auction entitled ‘Promises’ of themed work by leading artists including Tracey Emin, Mona Hatoum, Martin Parr, Richard Wentworth and Paula Rego.  The SaVVy Club^® is privileged to be able to invite its members to the Private View evening on Wednesday 16^th January 2008. This invitation-only reception is a perfect place for those working in the City and their guests to network and enjoy art at their leisure in an informal atmosphere. There will also be an opportunity to chat and compare your aesthetic tastes after the viewing during supper at Frederick’s restaurant.Places are limited so early booking is recommended.

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Fancy a drink at The Dorchester?

Dear friends of The SaVVy Club^®

Want to know more about The SaVVy Club^®? Curious about what the club can offer you? Why not come and see for yourself.

The SaVVy Club^® invites you to join us for pre-season lunchtime drinks at the Penthouse of the Dorchester, Park Lane, from 12pm to 2pm, this Thursday, 22nd November. The event is in support of our chosen causes the Mineseeker Foundation and The Sole of Africa.

The Mineseeker Foundation is dedicated to raising funds from Governments, commercial concerns and funding agencies to deploy its unique airborne mine field surveying and mapping systems and enable the eradication of land mines and, through The Sole of Africa initiative, return liberated land to food production.The patrons of the Mineseeker Foundation and The Sole of Africa include Nelson Mandela, his wife Graca Machel, Queen Noor of Jordan, Brad Pitt, Sir Richard Branson and John Paul Dejoria.

http://www.thesoleofafrica.org.za/

http://www.mineseeker.com/

Come along and enjoy this excellent opportunity to meet The SaVVy Club^®, find out about what we can offer, support our chosen causes, and meet some new and interesting people at this invaluable networking opportunity in the fabulous surroundings of The Dorchester, just before Christmas.Please let us know by return (RSVP) if you can join us as places are limited?

We look forward to meeting you.

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Groucho Theatre Club – ‘Alex’

Groucho Theatre Club – ‘Alex’    Wednesday 28^th November 2007    

We are thrilled to be able to offer you a ‘proper evening out West’ in conjunction with The Groucho Club and the Arts Theatre (WC2H 7JB).

 

Join us at the Arts Theatre at 7.15pm for what the Telegraph described as “an evening of irresistible merriment” as you sit back and watch Robert Bathhurst as ‘Alex’, the City’s most famous investment banker, on stage.

 

After the performance the evening will be rounded off with a two course meal including wine at The Groucho Club for much reminiscing about the good old days of expense account lunches and vast bonuses. We are delighted to announce that we shall also be joined by the creator of ‘Alex’, Russell Taylor.

 Tickets for this evening of mirth and merriment are strictly limited therefore we highly recommend that you book early to ensure your seat.

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“Gold… everywhere the glint of gold…”

Dear friends of The SaVVy Club^®,

We’ve done it again!! Be amongst the first in London to experience Egypt’s golden age and see the treasures of the world’s most famous pharaoh, Tutankhamun.

In 1972, on a worldwide tour to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of the discovery of his tomb, the treasures of Tutankhamun came, for the first time, to London and the British Museum, causing unrivalled excitement. During a 6-month stay, over 1.7 million people visited the exhibition, a record number of visitors to the Museum or any exhibition in London to this day. Tutankhamun’s spell was cast over the entire population of Britain.

Now, 35 years later, he’s back. Artefacts exhumed from the tomb of the Egyptian boy king are to be exhibited at The O2 and The SaVVy Club® Members and Guests will be able to see them in their unrivalled splendour.

For the lucky few, Tuesday 20th November will begin at 4pm:

A small group will board a boat at Waterloo pier and cruise, like Howard Carter up the Nile, to Queen Elizabeth II. There we will disembark to ward off the heat of the day and indulge in drinks at the cool, slick, good-looking, Inc. Brasserie before entering the magnificent audio-guided exhibition.

The memories are still vivid for the people who in 1972 queued around the British Museum to pay their 50p entrance charge, some of them waiting over 8 hours to get inside. Once inside the museum, the specially designed exhibition was crowded and stuffy at times, a constant movement of people making it possible to take only brief glimpses of some objects. The claustrophobia added to the atmospheric display. For once, heads of the king, and postcards of his jewellery, outnumbered Union Jack t-shirts and models of London double-deckers on the stalls outside.

This time, The O2 will stage the exhibition of a lifetime, with space and time to see and enjoy, to marvel and wonder at the craftsmanship, the opulence and the mystery of the time of the Pharaohs.And it doesn’t end there; the evening will be rounded off with a super meal at Tapa Tapa. For those still hesitant about making the commitment to join The SaVVy Club^®, here is an opportunity to enjoy a SaVVy experience at a special guest price.

Full members price is £180 (inc VAT).For this event only, guests are welcome at £195 (inc VAT).

If you are interested, please email kim@savvyclub.co.uk before Friday 16 November.

 

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