| 17 April 2008, 10:16 am |
| Glasgow Dinner Raises Nearly £100,000! |
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| This year’s Glasgow Spoon Dinner was hosted by the BBC’s John Beattie at the Hilton on 28th February, sold out to a packed house of some 740 hosts and guests, most of whom seem to have regular place settings year on year. Supported by the SRU and Glasgow Warriors, some of whom joined us for the evening under the watchful eye of their coach Sean Lineen, the evening swept along at its normal frenetic pace. |
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| Warrior’s Daryl Gibson, Kelly Brown, Kevin Tkachuk, ‘Still Game’s’ Sanjeev Kohli, Al Kellock and England cricketer and selector Geoff Miller |
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 Wooden Spoon in Scotland raises approximately £200,000 each year and supports disadvantaged children locally – presentations were made at the Dinner to Hazelwood School and Sense Scotland who are benefiting in the amount of £50k and £30k respectively on projects in the Glasgow area. Special mention was made of two teenagers, Conor Docherty and Ciaran Pryce, recently seriously injured playing rugby, and a special donation of £13k was raised on the night (with a contribution from the charity ‘Hearts and Balls’) towards the SRU Trust which will be passed on to them to help with their rehabilitation.
First up on the night was shopkeeper Naveed from ‘Still Game’, alias Sanjeev Kohli (or is it the other way around?) – Willie Allan hit the floor in between with the Auction, haranguing the good and the great, bruising egos and emptying wallets – the legendary Geoff Miller, England and Wales cricket selector, tied up the innings nicely.
Over the years we have come to expect good speakers and entertainment and I think most would agree that that’s what we got on the night. It is tricky to keep things fresh but JB came up trumps big time this year – the band Middle of the Road, a number by Michelle McManus and finally Scotland No8 Kelly Brown, just returned from the game against Ireland, belting out Mustang Sally – that is going to stick in the mind for some time! Another great night….and the important bit….we matched the £90,000 raised last year for disadvantaged kids in the West of Scotland.
All Black Daryl Gibson was there as our guest - a hard man with a delicate touch which few rugby supporters ever see – he summed up why it is all worthwhile ‘…. I hadn’t realized how much work Wooden Spoon does and I’m surprised and grateful to see your involvement with Yorkhill as it was the ICU there that saved our newborn triplets 6 months ago…’ Spoon made a significant contribution to the Sick Kids Hospital two years ago. I forgot to ask if they are boys, but if they are, let’s hope that they play for Scotland in a few years time!
A big thanks to all our supporters and sponsors, in particular to Brian Gibson of Gibson Pension and Investments who has been Principle Sponsor for 7 out of the 8 Glasgow Dinners.
Dave Young
Spoon Glasgow
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| Author: Suzanne Doyle-Morris |
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