Kidney Kids Scotland - James Bond - Charity Event
On the 18th of September 2008 a very Glamorous, James Bond themed event took place at the Airth Castle Hotel in Central Scotland with approximately 160 guests in attendance. The Castle resort sits majestically overlooking the River Forth and the countryside of the Fourth Valley. This luxurious historical venue was the perfect setting for such a wonderful and worthy event. The main aim of the event was to raise funds for a kidney dialysis machine for Yorkhill Hospital in Glasgow, Scotland.
The event was planed and organised by the team at "Forth Valley Jobs" in conjunction with the charity "Kidney Kids Scotland". Kidney Kids Scotland was founded as a Charitable Trust in July 2000 with the specific aim of helping children with renal disease and their families. They also support hospitals all over Scotland supplying them with much needed machinery and funding. The funding by the N.H.S. in Scotland for renal paediatric care is insufficient to give the quality of service that "Kidney Kids" believes Scotland's youngsters are entitled to.
I was contacted by "Forth Valley Jobs" some two months ago and informed of the OO7 themed event which was in the planning stages at the time, They had saw my James Bond props and collectables website, I was ultimately asked if I would create some James Bond themed prop displays for the event to give the evening and the venue that "Planet Hollywood" feel as it were. I was more than happy to be part of such a fantastic occasion. The day before the event I practiced many different scenarios of displays and went through a very lengthy decision process of which props to display and how to display them. Eventually I decided on a nice selection of items which the guests at the event could relate to and recognise from the James Bond film series. In one display case was my replica of the famous white Bikini worn by Ursula Andres as Honey Rider in Dr. No. The second cabinet was filled with famous items and weapons used by numerous Bond villains. Odd Jobs deadly Bowler Hat, Scaramanga's Golden Gun, Rosa Klebb's knife shoes, Jaws metal teeth, a Live and Let Die display featuring the Rolex watch, Shark Bullet and Tarot Cards and a Casino Royale display with Bonds Passport, Silenced Walther PPK and some screen used Casino poker chips. My Props and displays got a lot of attention and praise from many of the guests which I was delighted about, many believed some of the props were the originals, which is the biggest compliment for any prop maker to be paid.
After I finished the James Bond props display, ABC Events then arrived and outfitted the function room with a wonderful array of Bond film poster, Display stands, Black Jack, Poker and Roulette tables and even a James Bond themed target range for guests to show off there marksmanship skills. I then went and got changed into my Dinner suit for the evening's event. Soon after getting changed, I received a call from Colin Anderson from the Bo'ness Motor Museum to say he was arriving very soon with the Aston Martin. I did not want to miss its arrival; I was waiting at the reception area of the hotel when I heard the beautiful roar of a true legendary British sports car coming up the long forest covered Drive way up towards the Castle, this was possibly the coolest and most classy arrival to any Bond event which I have seen. After the car was parked up for display beside the reception area, more guests started arriving and the beginning of the event was getting closer.
Everyone from inside the hotel came out to admire the car and get photos taken with it in true Bond style. Colin was reluctant at first to pose for a OO7 style photo with the car however after I politely asked many of the female guests to join in the photo he soon got into the James Bond frame of mind. After a few glasses of champagne in the reception area all of the guests began to move in towards the main event. Colin said jokingly to me as we were walking towards the main function room, you are looking like Sean Connery in his younger days "From Russia with Love" era and I am looking like Roger More in his older days "A View to a Kill" era.
In the main function room, all of the Dinner table's featured James Bond film names. I was seated at "The Living Daylights" table. The event began with an exquisite Dinner prepared by Airth Castle Hotel's outstanding and award winning Chefs. For starters is was a delicious broth soup with bread rolls, the main course consisted of chicken and a small portion of stuffing, mashed potato with a side of fresh vegetables and salad and for the desert was an orange flavoured soufflé with a chocolate sauce. The entire meal was presented beautifully and very well done. During the dinner the James Bond themes could be heard throughout giving a very classy feel. During dinner "Jim Mcmail" a professional Rat Pack signer and tribute act entertained the diners with songs from Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Matt Monroe.
The event seemed to get better and better as the night went on. After Jim Mcmail finished the audience was treated to more fantastic music this time from a young rising star in Scotland, "Keith Jack" one of the stars of BBC's hit musical talent show "Any Dream Will Do" he sung tracks from his up and coming Album, including a fantastic song entitled "Dare to Dream" which was written by Don Black especially for Keith's Album. Don Black was responsible for many hit Bond themes such; Thunderball, Diamonds Are Forever, The Man with the Golden Gun, Surrender from Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Is Not Enough In collaboration with composer John Barry.
After the musical acts were finished, next up was the charity auction. Many exciting donations went under the hammer. Such as beauty Spa treatment weekend breaks, IPods and other electronic gadgets, Professional Photography Photos shoots, a signed guitar specially donated to the auction from world renowned Scottish band "Franz Ferdinand" which went for over £1,000. The only James Bond item which went under the hammer was a specially made Prop Replica "Odd Job hat" from "The QUARTERMASTER" which was created in conjunction with "Nick Bennett" from James Bond Toys.net unfortunately Nick could not attend the event but he did get a nice mention along with myself for the donation of the hat to the auction. Before the auction got underway "Karen McFarlane" from the Kidney Kids charity very kindly modelled the deadly Odd Job hat. The hat sold for over £200 along with its certificate and documentation. After the auction, there was a raffle and names were randomly drawn out of a non lethal hat, amongst many of the raffle prizes were, event passes to Knockhill Racing Circuit, Passes to the Bo'ness Motor Museum and a host of other great gifts. Following the raffle the guests were then let loose on the casino tables and the shooting range, with all proceeds from the casino tables going to the Kidney Kids charity fund, so for the first time ever, loosing at Roulette and Poker was not such a bad thing.
The event went on long into the early hours of the morning with everyone enjoying the thrills and excitement of the "Casino Royale" theme. I blew most of my chips on the Roulette table which I thoroughly enjoyed. As the mood and the setting were just right, it did feel like being in a James Bond film and as everyone was in the same frame of mind, this added greatly to the authentic atmosphere. Between the Shooting gallery and the Casino, a fantastic evening was had by all. With many great memories made for all in attendance.
I would like to give my sincerest thanks to everyone who worked hard on the organising and the work that went into making this event so special. A big congratulations is in order, to everyone who attended and made the event so Glamorous, Thanks to all the guests for making the effort in looking very suave and sophisticated. Thanks to ABC Events for supplying the James Bond displays, themes, decorations and Casino. Big thanks to Colin Anderson for adding that very special touch of Bond style and class by displaying the stunning Aston Martin. A very Special thank you is in order to "Jane Muirhead" for overseeing the entire event and making sure everything ran smoothly. Congratulations! Jane, you did a fantastic job and my best wishes for future. And finally a big Congratulations and thanks to the "Kidney Kids Scotland" charity. The entire event was for you and I hope that all funds raised at this event will go a long way to helping children in need of the medical care and equipment that you provide. You are a true inspiration and I hope that you will continue to progress and grow in size with funding and support. A truly worthy and excellent charity! Thanks to the manager of Kidney Kids, Mrs Sheena Dunsmore for attending, it was a pleasure to meet and chat with you, and good luck with the future.
Michael ................ The Quartermaster
