Celebrities Join The Button Club & male cancer charity Orchid, raising over £30,000 for the Charity
The Button Club, and male cancer charity Orchid, welcomed guests to a star-studded Valentine's fundraising evening, on Saturday 9th February, at Porchester Hall, Bayswater.
Brendan Cole from ‘Strictly Come Dancing', Princess Tamara Czartoryski Borbon, Hofit Golan, Liz Fuller, and Rick Parfitt Jnr., were just some of the celebrities who joined hosts Antonio Soler, Kaja Wunder, Henry Northcroft, and the debonair Quentin Holland, to help raise awareness of male cancers. Partygoers, romantics and lovers were treated to an entertaining dinner with a haunting performance from the beautiful opera singer, Summer. There was juggling by Stewart Pemberton, and a breathtaking acrobatics display by British acrobatics champions 2Xtreme. Sav, a self-proclaimed sleight of hand expert, provided table magic, and guests hit the dance-floor until the early hours.
Porchester Hall provided a romantic, gothic setting for the occasion. Blazing torches burned brightly outside the entrance, and once inside, as we made our way up the sweeping crimson staircase, waiters welcomed guests with Patron cocktails. Black tablecloths and white orchids adorned the dinner tables, and large black and white balloons floated like silicone balls above our heads. Low lighting, sparkling conversation and the clink of champagne glasses, made this a memorable night out.
A raffle and a silent auction boasted luxury gifts, including: a diamond pendant from the Bond Street jewellers, Boodles; pens from Cartier and Mont Blanc; a Chloe handbag; a shooting day; Michael Owen's football shirt; a Sunningdale golf day for 4; exotic holidays, including a World at Sea cruise; Cartier Polo tickets, memberships to the Harbour Club, Volstead, Boujis and Chinawhite; and a tour of the Houses of Parliament. Many other spectacular gifts were up for auction.
Angus Somerville, Chief Executive of Orchid, made a moving speech about male cancer, saying, "Orchid is delighted to have been beneficiary of the first Silicone Ball which raised over £30,000 to help research into the uniquely male cancers to give men a better chance of surviving testicular, prostate and penile cancer. The Silicone Ball has also helped to raise awareness of male-specific cancers like testicular cancer, which predominantly affects young men between the ages of 15 and 40. Over the last 25 years incidence has doubled, and though curable today, at least a quarter of all patients delay seeking treatment because of lack of knowledge or embarrassment, making treatment more complicated and distressing.
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The Silicone Ball organizers would like to thank the committee for their support: Antonio Soler, Kaja Wunder, Brendan Cole, Rick Parfitt Jnr., Quentin Holland, Tamara Beckwith, Giorgio Veroni, Maria Vega, Hofit Golan, and Andy Wong.
By Fiona E. Lister