Jubilee Ukraine Dinner

Covid and its aftermath robbed us of some of our main fund-raising events, so Harrogate Brigantes were delighted to arrange a Charity Dinner in Harrogate on 17 June 2022 in aid of Ukrainian refugees.

The venue was the Cedar Court Hotel at the end of the hottest day of the year so far. There were ninety of guests, including sponsors, friends, members of other clubs and of course a good slice of our own membership. The theme was the Queen’s Jubilee, so we had stirring music, the national anthem, lots of bunting and, of course, the Loyal Toast. The food was delicious, our guest speaker, Look North Presenter Harry Gration MBE, gave a fascinating and amusing account of his 42 years with the BBC, ranging from fund-raising with the Look North team to reporting on the withdrawal from Camp Bastion, and then he and President Les conducted an auction with skill and aplomb.

There was a lovely atmosphere throughout the evening, people were very generous and we made over £5,000 in aid of Ukrainian refugees.

Thanks to Mike Hammond, Tony Doveston, the President and the entire team who worked so hard to ensure the evening was a success.

Footnote: we were shocked and saddened to hear of Harry Gration’s sad passing a few days after our event. Our thoughts are with his friends and family and we are hugely grateful in the role he played in helping us raise £5,000 for Ukrainian refugees.