Southern Water

Guests celebrated summer in style at the Southern Water Charity Ball. The annual black-tie fundraiser was held at the Copthorne Hotel near Effingham Park. A Hawaiian themed event entitled Here Comes the Summer, it raised £75,000 which will be split equally between Cancer Research UK, the NSPCC and the RNLI. Guests were formally welcomed by Southern Water’s interim Chief Executive Howard Goodbourn and thanked for their help in raising money for three such worthy causes. Although the weather was a little overcast, they were treated to a scorching spectacle, complete with palm trees. As if this taste of Hawaii was not enough, a holiday for two to the tropical island was also up for grabs in a raffle. Music for the evening was provided by the Littlehampton Academy’s steel band and the Brighton Beach Boys. Over a three-course meal, guests were shown short films from each of the three beneficiaries, detailing the good work they do. BBC Southern Cou... more

Guests celebrated summer in style at the Southern Water Charity Ball. The annual black-tie fundraiser was held at the Copthorne Hotel near Effingham Park.

A Hawaiian themed event entitled Here Comes the Summer, it raised £75,000 which will be split equally between Cancer Research UK, the NSPCC and the RNLI.
Guests were formally welcomed by Southern Water’s interim Chief Executive Howard Goodbourn and thanked for their help in raising money for three such worthy causes.
Although the weather was a little overcast, they were treated to a scorching spectacle, complete with palm trees.

As if this taste of Hawaii was not enough, a holiday for two to the tropical island was also up for grabs in a raffle.
Music for the evening was provided by the Littlehampton Academy’s steel band and the Brighton Beach Boys.
Over a three-course meal, guests were shown short films from each of the three beneficiaries, detailing the good work they do.

BBC Southern Counties Radio presenter Danny Pike proved a lively compere for the evening and writer and presenter Simon Fanshawe oversaw lots of lots in the charity auction. While Olympic legends rower Sir Matthew Pinsent and swimmer Duncan Goodhew lent some sporting gravitas to the evening. They included an England football shirt signed by the World Cup squad, a centre court hospitality package for Wimbledon and tickets to see comedian Peter Kay at Wembley.

Later in the evening, a cocktail bar served fruity drinks with a punch while guests tried their hands at a coconut shy and their backs at limbo dancing. A midnight hog roast provided some late-night fuel for the dance floor, which remained well-populated late into the night.

Kevin Buck, Southern Water’s charity co-ordinator, said: “The success of this year’s ball is testament to the efforts of everyone who helped out.
“It was a great evening both in terms of the money we raised for the three very worthy charities and also for the enjoyable evening given to our guests.”

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