This year’s event saw a long awaited and pleasant return to Slaley Hall Hotel, Golf and Spa Resort in Northumberland. Situated in 1000 acres of beautiful moorland and forest and perched on the cusp of the North Pennines Area of outstanding natural beauty this hotel offered guests the luxury of two Championship-standard golf courses, and a wonderful Spa and leisure facility which was well used over the weekend by our members.
The advantages of this venue are that it provides perfect facilities for the ball but its location also enables us to welcome members from across the North of England, from further South and Scotland too. Thanks go to all who supported the evening, but particularly to those manufacturers and distributors who booked tables to entertain both staff and guests. This event really is an opportunity for old friends to catch up and have a good time, but also for new business relationships to be forged.
The evening commenced with pre-dinner drinks, accompanied by guitarist Dan Whitehouse. After guests were called in for dinner, Richard Catt (CFA CEO) gave a brief welcome speech and announced the entrance of the CFA President Carl Harper (Westcotes Flooring Co Ltd).
After Richard’s welcome, Alan McEwan (F Ball & Co Ltd) the CFA Vice-President opened formalities by saying Grace before guests settled down to a delicious three course meal. At the end of the meal Vicki Styles (Instarmac Group plc) led the Loyal Toast to the King.
After coffee was served, Richard introduced Steve Kean (TradeChoice Carpet & Flooring) who proposed the toast to the CFA.
A raffle was held on the night with proceeds going to the President’s chosen charity, Hope House Children’s Hospices who received the fantastic donation of £902 thanks to the generosity of the guests and the companies who kindly donated prizes (a full list is given below).
Entertainment for the evening was provided by The Boogie Brothers, a five-piece high energy band, who gave a diverse set from motown and disco to rock and pop and had the dance floor rocking by the end of the evening.
Carl Harper said of the evening “This year’s CFA ball was an absolute delight for me and hopefully for everyone else too. It was truly a great evening, filled with the joy of connecting with so many members. I want to take a moment to express my gratitude for the tremendous support and look forward to an even more remarkable event next year”.
Photographs from the event are available for members to view and download in the members area of the CFA website www.cfa.org.uk/member-login.
Our thanks to photographer Josh Lawson of David Lawson Photography Studios for taking such brilliant photos on the night.
And finally, just to let you know that the 2024 event will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Chester on Saturday 12 October 2024. Put the date in your diaries and join us for this special occasion as we will be celebrating 50 years of the CFA – help us to make it a party to remember!
The CFA would like to thank the following organisations for their generous raffle prizes listed below:
Prize: Donated by: Winner:
Harrods Hamper Woca Denmark Rob Shirley
4 Ball @ The Belfry Instarmac Group Plc Simon Matthews
£150 M&S Voucher Hanson Plywood Ltd Dave Basra
4 Ball @ The Belfry TradeChoice Carpet & Flooring Stewart Bennett
£150 Love to Shop F Ball and Company Ltd Steven Dykes
Apple Airpods Pro (2nd Gen) Polyflor Ltd Melissa Charlton
Bottle of Whisky Headlam Scotland Cassie Kirkpatrick
£50 Amazon Voucher CFJ Denise Reynolds
Bottle of Champagne Darwin Clayton Dave Haworth
£100 Ultimate Lifestyle Gift Card Forbo Flooirng UK Ltd Jill Smith
Bottle of Champagne Darwin Clayton Trevor Duggan
