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2010 Annual Dinner

Your Committee is very pleased to announce that we shall be holding our popular Annual Dinner on Friday February 19th, 2010 at the Victory Services Club (the VSC), 63-79 Seymour Street, Marble Arch, London W2 2HF with dinner served at 7.30 p.m.

Dress for the Dinner is formal with black tie, Highland or lounge suit all acceptable. Members and their partners and guests are warmly invited to gather for pre-dinner drinks and pleasant conversation in the Trafalgar Room from 6.30 pm.

We are delighted to announce that our Guest Speaker will be the distinguished diplomat and Royal High alumnus Andrew George who will be looking back at the some of the lighter moments of a thirty-five year career in the Foreign Office. Posted to the British Embassy in Bangkok, he survived a number of attempts to unseat the Thai government and was the first official British visitor to Cambodia after the fall of the Khmer Rouge. His three years as Ambassador to Paraguay saw further excitements with the overthrow of one President and the assassination of a Vice-President. He was also involved in the search for the alleged weapons of mass destruction in Iraq before concluding his diplomatic career as Governor of Anguilla, a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. His talk promises to provide us with a fascinating glimpse behind-the-scenes of major world events.

The Trafalgar Room Bar will be open until midnight so be sure to take advantage of the extremely competitive drinks prices available and make the party go with a swing while auld acquaintance is being renewed. The price of the excellent three-course dinner is £45 and since demand for tickets is bound to be high, guarantee yourself a place at the party by making your cheque payable to The Royal High School Club in London and sending it to Alex Prentice, using the reply slip below.

The Victory Services Club is located just around the corner from Marble Arch underground station. Simply turn right out of the station, then after 100 yards cross Edgware Road and Seymour Street is the first opening on the left. The VSC is about fifty yards down on the left.

Those who wish to stay at the VSC should call Reservations on 0207 616 8335. Please tell Reservations that you are attending the Royal High Annual Dinner and you will be entitled to stay at the VSC for up to two nights. A double/twin room is £126 per night, including breakfast and VAT, and a single room is £73 per night.

For further information on all aspects of the Annual Dinner, please contact either Alex Prentice, Honorary Secretary, Tel: 01992 554854, or Al Senter, President, on 0208 673 6518.

We have posted our photographs from the 2009 Annual Dinner on photo sharing site Flickr.

Previous Events

Annual Drinks Party: Monday 9th November 2009

Once again, it is my great pleasure to announce that the Annual Drinks Party will take place at the Fleming Collection on Monday November 9th, 2009 from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm.

This year the Fleming Collection is hosting a very special exhibition: "The Face of Scotland: Masterpieces from the Scottish National Portrait Gallery". The artists represented include Van Dyck, Sir Henry Raeburn and Allan Ramsay, and the subjects range from royalty to such contemporary figures as Ewan McGregor and J.K.Rowling. This is a rare chance to see more than forty major portraits in a single collection and, as ever, there will be a lively and informative introduction to add to your enjoyment. It's an opportunity not to be missed.

As well as the chance to savour such objets d'art, there will be live music, generous amounts of fine wine, hearty sandwiches and snacks, and some great conversation with friends old and new. And the Club is delighted to report that the price of admission remains at £20 per head.

For those who are yet to sample the Annual Drinks Party, the Fleming Collection is situated at 13, Berkeley Street, W1, just off Piccadilly, and the nearest underground station is Green Park (Jubilee/Piccadilly/Victoria Lines) only 3 minutes walk from the Gallery. Come out of the station on the north side of Piccadilly and turn left, then take the first left into Berkeley Street and the Fleming Collection is a mere 100 yards down on the right hand side.

It's the more, the merrier at the Annual Drinks Party so feel free to bring wives, partners or guests to the party. My colleagues on the Committee and myself very much look forward to welcoming you to what is always a very special occasion.

Members Only

Sorry to be so secretive, but there was an exclusive members only event held in September, limited to the first 20 applicants. If you are already a member you should know what it was. To avoid missing out in future, make sure you join the club. (Subject to eligibility rules). Contact our Honorary Secretary, Alex Prentice at alex.prentice1@btinternet.com .

RHS London Club's Annual Dinner: Friday 20th March 2009

The RHS London Club's next Annual Dinner takes place on Friday 20th March 2009 from 6:30 for 7:30 pm on the eve of the Scotland vs England rugby international at Twickenham.

The speaker will be the economist and writer, John Kay, who publishes a weekly column in the Financial Times. His most important recent book was published in Europe in 2003 as The Truth about Markets . His new book The Long and the Short of It - everyone's guide to investment and financial markets - will be published in January 2009.

The location for the Annual Dinner will be the Victory Services Club (VSC) in Seymour Street just a short walk from Marble Arch underground station. This will be our first Annual Dinner at the VSC but we know of its reputation as a private members club with 24,000 members, excellent catering facilities and very reasonably priced accommodation. We also expect to be joined at the Annual Dinner by a good number of our friends from the RHS Edinburgh Club who will be down in London for the rugby international. Please put this date in your diaries and Alex Prentice will be sending out further details before Xmas 2008.

Annual Drinks Party: Monday 10th November 2008

View the photos of the Fleming Collection Drinks Party 2008

Our Annual Drinks Party was held, once again, at the Fleming Collection's gallery in Berkeley Street, Mayfair on Monday 10th November. There seemed to be a really good buzz about the place. We enjoyed wine, food and a guided introduction to the works of the Scottish Artist Joan Eardley (1921-1963) by one of the Fleming Collection's curators.

The fleming collection website has a short piece about the Joan Eardley exhibition.

2008 Annual Dinner

Annual Dinner 2008 - View the photos of the pre dinner ..then the dinner and speeches

Your Committee is very pleased to announce that we shall be holding our popular Annual Dinner on Friday March 7th, 2008 at the Cavendish Hotel 81, Jermyn Street, London SW1.

Tickets are available for members and their guests, from the Honorary Secretary, Alex Prentice

Dinner will be served from 7.30 p.m. but members and their partners/guests are warmly invited to gather from 6.30 p.m. in the First Floor Lounge for relaxed drinks, good conversation and some infectious sounds courtesy of Calum Lindsay (fiddle) and Andrew McMenamin (guitar).

We are delighted to announce that our Guest Speaker will be George Pascoe-Watson , the distinguished journalist, RHS FP and Political Editor of the Sun. No doubt George will be reflecting on his days at the High School in the 1980s and taking us on a guided tour behind the scenes at Westminster and down the corridors of power.

The Hotel bar will be open until 2:00 a.m. so be sure to allow time to linger in the Lounge to renew auld acquaintance.

Demand for this very special evening is bound to be high. The price of the three course dinner plus coffee and chocolates is ?40 so, to be sure of your seat, please make your cheque payable to ?The Royal High School Club in London? and send it to Alex Prentice, at 4, Archers Close,? Hertford, Herts.? SG14 3BD.

Annual Drinks Party

View the Photos from this event

You are most cordially invited to the Annual RHSCL Drinks Party to be held on Monday November 5th from 6.30. pm to 8.30. pm.

Once again we are returning to the prestigious Fleming Collection at 13, Berkeley Street, London W1. This autumn's highlight at the gallery is a major exhibition of the work of the celebrated nineteenth century artist William McTaggart, who is often dubbed The Scottish Impressionist and is recognised as a forerunner of the French Impressionist School. Among the paintings, watercolours and drawings assembled for the Fleming Collection, McTaggart's mastery of the landscape and the seascape will be particularly evident. This is an invaluable opportunity to see the first comprehensive gathering of McTaggart's work since a major exhibition in Edinburgh in 1989.

As ever there will be a brief but highly entertaining and informative talk on McTaggart given by Selina Skipworth, the Keeper of The Fleming Collection. Don't miss this chance of catching up with Royal High friends, old and new, over a delicious selection of sandwiches and canapes and a choice array of the finest wines.

Tickets are once more priced at ?20 per head and you are most welcome to bring friends or family to the event. An order form will be sent out with a letter which you will shortly be receiving from us.

I'm looking forward enormously to catching up with you all on November 5th. It promises to be a great evening. Please let me know if there are any other details you need.

With many thanks and all good wishes

Annual Dinner 2007

Our popular Annual Dinner was held on Friday 2nd February 2007 at the Cavendish Hotel, 81 Jermyn Street, London SW1. Guests are gathered in the Electra Room for drinks, conversation and the sweet sounds of Emma-Jane Thommen, the club's very own sultry singer-songwriter.

Our Guest Speaker was the screenwriter Glenn Chandler, creater of STV's Taggart, who recalled his days at the High School in the 1960's and taking us behind the scenes of one of the world's longest-running detective series.

Photographs from this event can be viewed using this link .

Drinks Party 2006

The Annual Royal High School Club in London Drinks Party took place on Monday October 9th. This proved to be a most enjoyable event with copious quantities of wine and canapes served by the attentive gallery staff. Now you can view the photographs from the evening.