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Those who attended the breakfast in June learnt quite a lot about managing their hard earned money, Paul Overy, financial guru, from Dublin, gave us all plenty to digest along with our delicious breakfast provided by Bentleys.
Main lesson learnt was “Want sound financial advice – you have to pay for it”
Paul kindly donated copies of his book “Tricks of the Rich” to those who attended, so that we could pick up some new ideas. His book is still available to WIN members at a discount, please contact www.pearsonbooks.com
Since then, we have come across a financial service run by women for women and would recommend that you have a look www.independentwomen.co.uk
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Another coup for WIN, when Ros mentioned we might have a surprise guest we were all not only surprised but thrilled when 70’s legend DONOVAN did a set, it was mellow but not too yellow.
The Third WIN Shebeen was a great night. Edward Bracken and his fantastic staff made us feel very welcome at the Gore Hotel and WIN are all very grateful to Rory Godson of Powerscourt for their most generous sponsorship.
The level of buzz the top range of the decibel metre from the off and once supper had been enjoyed, the show began under the leadership of Ros Hubbard. Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Grieg were our MC’s for the evening and they were wonderful hosts. Tamsin made us all cry when she read Seamus Heaney’s The Spirit level and Stephen proved himself completely wrong when he said that he hadn’t learnt anything from his previous years doing the job when he then proceeded to host comically and brilliantly Read the rest of this entry »
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His excellency the Irish Ambassador, Bobby McDonagh and his wife, Mary, generously hosted a Reception for WIN members at the Embassy in Grosvenor Place on the 16th November. It was a delightful evening and gave the WIN membership the opportunity to meet and greet each other in the beautiful environs of the Embassy ballroom. The Ambassador spoke warmly about the work of WIN and all that it has achieved to date. On behalf of the WIN committee Mary Clancy expressed her gratitude to the sponsors and WIN members who had made it possible to donate the sum of £25,000 to the Irish Youth Foundation this year and a cheque for that amount was handed over to Jim O’Hara , a trustee of the Foundation. Mary advised the reception that this brought the cumulative WIN donation to the IYF to £315,000. Jim O’Hara expressed thanks on behalf of the Foundation and then spoke very wittily about the ‘joys’ of being married to a member of the WIN committee!! Patricia McEntee rounded up with the evening with an impassioned plea to the WIN membership to recruit new members, “Life is a lottery and you cannot be a winner if you are not part of WIN”
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Once again the wonderful Baroness May Blood hosted a fascinating evening in the Atlee Rooom at the House of Lords. This year the Irish Times newspaper generously agreed to sponsor this event, but sadly the Editor, Geraldine Kennedy, who was scheduled to be a keynote speaker had to pull out at the last minute. Paddy Lennon extended sincere apologies on her behalf.
Nonetheless we had an excellent line-up of speakers. Naomi Long, the newly elected MP for East Belfast and former Mayor of Belfast, spoke about her career to date and her reasons for getting involved in politics. She was followed by our very own WIN committee member, Ros Hubbard, who talked about her very interesting career working as a Casting Agent on films such as ‘The Commitments’ and ‘Lord of the Rings’. She was spellbinding. Finally, Baroness Blood herself enthralled us with both amusing and poignant tales of her life as a Union activist, a community spokesperson and her unexpected elevation to the peerage. She was honest and straight talking as well as funny and unpretentious.
The evening ended with a lively question and answer session whilst the excellent House of Lords staff made sure we had plenty to eat and drink. This event is always a sell out and Baroness Blood has agreed to host another reception in 2011 in the Atlee Room on the 18th October 2011.
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On September 19th, WIN held a very special tour around some of London’s most interesting buildings old and new as part of the London Open House weekend. Our tour was led by WIN member Angela Brady who not only is an award-winning architect but has just been elected President of the Royal Institute of British Architects –the second woman and the first Irish person to hold this prestigious post in over 130 years. 25 WIN members and guests enjoyed an inspirational tour of The Maggie Centre at Hammersmith Hospital, designed by Lord Rogers, An extraordinary private house in Westbourne Grove designed by Stefan Bednarsky, and the beautiful Leighton House in Holland Park, the former home of the artist and collector, Frederic, Lord Leighton. We repaired in true WIN fashion to the Pelham Hotel in South Kensington for a champagne afternoon tea. This is the first time that WIN has organised an event around the London Open House weekend and as we have had so many requests for a repeat next year, Angela has kindly agreed to lead a tour again for WIN in September 2011.
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Andrea Corr, Andrew Scott and Dermot Crowley
John Dwyer, Cecilia Gallagher, Vince Power and Ros Hubbard
Bloomsday falls on June 16th – the date on which James Joyce set his hero Leopold Bloom a’wanderin’ the streets of Dublin back in 1912. Since then, Bloomsday has been celebrated by lovers of Joyce and Irish literature on this date around the world and WIN has been celebrating Bloomsday for five years now. Our 2010 event took place at the Pigalle Club on Piccadilly and once again we are indebted to Vince Power and his team at the Pigalle for their incredible support. John Hubbard wrote and directed the performance and we were blown away by fabulous talents of Dermot Crowley, Andrew Scott, Olivia Caffrey and Mark Dugdale and the wonderful Rod Melvin once again accompanied the singers and played some gorgeous music.
We would like to especially thank our very generous sponsors, Vestra Wealth Management and their very charming Senior Partner, Mathew Osabase not only for their support but also for a very good speech!
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On the night of March 17th, St. Patrick’s Day, WIN once again stormed the beautiful Gore Hotel with over 100 guests to celebrate the national day with a great party. Edward Bracken and his team at the Gore once again acted as the best sponsor and hosts we could ask for and a great night was had by all. Ros Hubbard invited a glittering cast of performers and under her direction, we all enjoyed performances by Angeline Ball, Jessie Buckley , Pat Shortt, Rita Hamill, Chris O’Dowd, Dominic West and Rod Melvin . Stephen Mangan was our fabulous MC and we also enjoyed a surprise visit from some of the younger members of The Irish Harp orchestra. Our wonderful Irish Ambassador, His Excellency, Bobby MacDonagh and Mrs. MacDonagh came and stayed for the whole show and we even persuaded the Ambassador to perform a party piece at the end of the night.
After the show we all retired to the library where we all sang until the small hours – in fact we saw the sun come up. Heads were sore and throats hoarse the next day but it was a great success and we will do it all again in 2011.
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Tea and Tate Event
WIN members enjoyed a glorious Sunday afternoon at the Tate Britain Gallery on Sunday 7th February 2010. Our very own WIN Blue Badge Guide, a member of the premier Institute of Tourist Guiding, Rosaleen McEwen, prepared a bespoke tour of a gallery that has been the home of British art from 1500 with paintings by eminent artists including Turner, Reynolds, Constable, Gainsborough and many more. In one and half hours Rosaleen skilfully captivated the group with a selection of famous paintings tracing the relevant history and society of each artist. The event was a sell-out and the lucky 25 then enjoyed a sumptuous afternoon tea in the Rex Whistler Dining Room generously sponsored by Rosaleen and all washed down with delicious champagne graciously sponsored by Cate Carroll, another WIN member. Sincere thanks to Rosaleen and Cate for a very special afternoon.
