DINE WITH THE DARWINS

The Galapagos Conservation Trust celebrated its 10th birthday and the 170th anniversary of Darwin's visit to the Galapagos with a very special event on 25 October 2005 at the spectacular Draper's Hall. Guests were invited to dine with descendents of Charles Darwin and we are grateful to the Darwin family for supporting this event.

The beautiful surroundings were enhanced by the 2000 Ecuadorian roses donated by Ecuadorian rose growers Tambo Roses SA (www.tamboroses.com), Florecal SA (www.florecal.com), Roses & Roses (www.roses-exp.com). We are grateful to His Excellency, the Ambassador of Ecuador to the UK, for his help in obtaining these fantastic roses.

The evening started with a champagne reception at Draper's Hall in the City of London, sponsored by Laurent-Perrier. The two hundred guests were then served dinner, accompanied by fine wines donated by Kendermanns Wines. During dinner, our guests were able to enjoy entertainment by the children of Fusion Academy.

The main entertainment though was a selection of readings from Darwin's letters, books and journals performed by some of the UK's leading actors. We are grateful to Michael Elwyn, Cherie Lunghi, Anna Massey, Sian Phillps, Robert Powell, James Purefoy, Alison Steadman, Toyah Willcox and Susannah York for kindly donating their time to our event.

An auction, with guest auctioneer Lord Archer - including 2 trips to Galapagos donated by Galapagos Classic Cruises and Select Latin America - also helped raise funds for the conservation of the Galapagos.

Of course the evening would not have been possible without the help of our fantastic volunteers. As a small team of 4 employees, we cannot hope to hold these events without their support. We would like to thank Michelle Cotteral, Jackie Deighan, Susan Edwards, John Mark Evans, Penelope Kellie, Cynthia Mayer, Nick Moll, Philippa Moll, Ania Mudrewicz, Vicky Rowley, Indu Ramaswamy, Jacqueline St Quentin, Mary-Ellen Taylor and Akemi Yokoyama.

The evening raised £51,500 and we would like to thank the following for helping us have such a successful event:

Alison Steadman	Mike Robinson and his wife	Cheryl Lunghi
Deborah Moggach	Robert Silbermann and Matthew Simkins	Toyah Willcox

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