Roaring Twenties Ball a Roaring Success!

The rain may have been pouring down, but it did little to dampen the spirits of the 300 people inside Exeter’s Sandy Park for the Dream-A-Way Roaring Twenties Ball.

It turned out to be another roaring success, with many people wearing authentic twenties suits ,hats ,dresses and feather Boas! “The room decorations were superb” said one ball go-er; “it really created a great atmosphere, and the food was top drawer too”.

The crowd included the captain and some of the Ship’s company from HMS Defender, who had just completed a 500 mile cycle ride raising more than £2000 for
Dream-A-Way, one of the ship’s chosen charities, and joined in the ball enthusiastically.

There was “Dream-A-Way Bingo", a Silent Auction and a Grand Auction which included a couple of shirts signed by Football legends such as Pele and Messi, a superb oil painting of the Queen by local artist Don NICHOLSON as well as the chance to get VIP treatment with the directors at an Exeter City or Exeter Chiefs match.
There was also a fun casino (sponsored by WESTEXE Group and SPIRE Chartered Accountants) and the chance to dance the night away to live music provided by the Lateshift (sponsored by George and Rob from the Timepiece nightclub).

A great time was had by all, and the fundraising total has exceeded a record breaking £17,000!

Dream-A-Way Chairman Jeff Merrett said : “It really was an amazing evening. The room had been amazingly decked out by EVENT DECOR8 which added to the enjoyment of our ball goers. The food was superb and we were all looked after like royalty by the management and staff at Sandy Park. There were many highlights with everyone generously supporting Dream-A-Way With the generosity of many local companies our auction raised almost £10,000 alone with the top lot being the chance to visit HMS Defender and enjoy a silver service lunch with the Captain.
The evening’s success was entirely down to the enthusiasm and hard work of the Dream-A-Way Dream Team. We would like to thank all of our generous sponsors and particularly all of the party goers who freely handed over their hard earned £s to support Dream-A-Way!”

Claude, Comedy Waiter up to his usual tricks at the Ball!

Commander Nash who attended the ball said '’My Ship's Company and I are immensely proud of our relationship with Dream-A-Way and the City of Exeter - those who attended the Ball on Saturday had a fantastic evening. We think of ourselves as Exeter’s own ship and so the Ball was a great opportunity not only to meet all those people from the city who make the charity a huge success, but also to raise money and support such a worthwhile cause. I am delighted that my team were able to contribute towards the great work that the Dream-a-way team do in the South West, and as HMS DEFENDER enters service, we look forward to enjoying a long and fruitful relationship with both the City of Exeter and Dream-A-Way’'

A full range of pictures from the Ball can be seen in our Gallery.