From Beijing to Bangkok; from Moscow to Manila… apart from sounding like the locations from a jet-setting James Bond movie, and all being cities that are home to wonderful schools in the Nord Anglia family, they are all cities that host annual British Balls.
To that list, can now be added Nanjing, as on Saturday May 15th, the city hosted its own fabulous “British Ball”, themed, coincidentally, around the James Bond movie, “Casino Royale”.
With the smartly dressed attendees mingling in a themed cocktail reception, there was plenty of James Bond’s sophistication on show, with guests taking the opportunity to pose for a photo or two against the Casino Royale backdrops before heading to their tables for the seated dinner.
The breaks in between the delicious 3-course dinner, prepared with care by the chef and his team from the Ritz-Carlton, also gave dapper M.C.s, Matthew Jones and Guo Xiao Min, a chance to ramp up the fun. Party-goers, who had been given a single playing card on their entrance, were challenged to find their table’s best poker hand and to match the bond theme tunes to the movies – all with generous prizes provided by the sponsors.
The delicate desserts were followed by entertainment from professional dance troupe, Lucky Girls, whose moves helped get the crowd ready for the live band, Studio 188, whose upbeat performance had even the most reticent heading for the dance floor.
Of course, no event themed around “Casino Royale” would be complete without a little bit of Las Vegas… and so, guests who felt lucky could take a chance on the green-baize tables. And whilst they weren’t actually able to gamble any real money or claim any winnings, the fact that all profits supported charity ensured an excited throng were happy to cheer every turn of a card, spin of a wheel, or roll of dice as if they had just hit the jackpot in Macau.
None of this could have happened without the generous support of all guests, our parents and of our Gold, Silver and Corporate sponsors; Bank of Nanjing, LG New Energy Solution, WeiGang Dairy, BlueStar AMG, AoYan Japanese Restaurant, IST MALL, Shinyway Emmigration and Guzi Clinics. But the real winners were the charity, Hopeful Hearts, whose life-changing work ensuring young hearts beating, received an amazing boost with a donation of 420,000 RMB.
