The Master and Mistress were amongst 230 guests who attended a magical night at the Mansion House, inspired by the heritage of the Lady Mayoress who comes from Bavaria.
They were accompanied by IPM Chris Searle and his wife Sue, who was part of the organising committee, and Lizzie Rudd who brought a team from Berry Bros and Rudd. The Mansion House transformed into a beer hall for the Bavarian Ball. Reflecting the German heritage of Lady Mayoress Elisabeth Mainelli, the fun-filled evening proved to be the event of the year taking guests on a joyride through Bavaria.
Highlights of the night included the free-flowing beer bar serving popular German beers: ; sharing platters of German-themed dishes curated by Austrian Embassy Chef Franz Schinagl in collaboration with Mansion House caterers Company of Cooks; and five-piece Oompah band The Bavarian Strollers, who provided a rousing soundtrack throughout.
Keeping spirits high and everyone on and off their seats, top Oktoberfest host Eva Von Schnippisch performed an unforgettable role as Master of Ceremonies, leading guests in a hilarious table dance and plenty of Ein Prosit toasts.
After dinner, festivities continued in the Salon. Dancing music was provided via Oompah pop tunes from the band and German fairground games like ‘strongman’, ‘ball in a bucket’ and beer stein holding competitions in the Drawing Rooms were led by The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress.
A silent Auction accompanied a live auction conducted by antiques expert and TV-Presenter Jonty Hearnden all contributed to the whole event raising over £55,000 for the Lord Mayors Appeal and seeing the Mansion House guests in the national costumes of dirndls and lederhosen contributed to a real fun evening.
