Barwell & Earl Shilton Masquerade Ball

Barwell & Earl Shilton Lions raised a massive £3,400 by holding a Masquerade Ball in November.

Over 200 people attended and were entertained by DJ Simon & his excellent disco. In addition, Matthew Ford, a local singer (who has been compared to both Frank Sinatra & Matt Munro) gave 2 separate one hour performances.

Matthew, who appears with the BBC Concert Orchestra, was named the best UK male big band vocalist in 2006 & nominated for the UK Male singer of the Year in 2007. It has been such a treat to be able to hear him sing at our functions; his music being enjoyed by all.

Of the £3,400 profit, £1,700 will be donated to the local Air Ambulance and the rest used for local charities.

The Leicestershire/Derbyshire & Rutland Air Ambulance is a service that relies totally on donations and costs £1.5 million per year to run. The service covers a total of 2100 square miles over the three counties and serves over 1.4 million people.

£1,700 was raised from silent and regular auctions, both of which were very popular. There was a succession of wonderful prizes including: tickets to Graham Norton’s TV show plus a tour of the studios & drinks in the Green Room with Graham and the other guests; a pampering day including a hair cut & massage; tickets to see Evita on stage; 2 signed Gordon Ramsey cookery books; and last but not least, a nodding Buster (the dog) from the Paul O’Grady show.

A chocolate fountain also proved very popular with guests, who now have to diet ready for next year, when our most difficult task will be working out how to better this year’s event!