275 people gathered to share a wonderful dinner with each other in the Dover Town Hall

275 swimmers descended on Dover Town Hall for the 2013 CS&PF dinner; our largest dinner ever.  The evening was fantastic, and enjoyed by all.

Cliff Golding was, for the first time, allowed to enjoy his meal and did not have to be the Master of Ceremonies for the evening.  Replacing the Great Cliff Golding with one person was just not an option, so we had to blackmail close friends, Rob Ouldcott and Kevin Blick, to take it on.  They were excellent, and well received.

As always, the raffle was popular with diners, and with the CS&PF matching whatever was raised, £3,590 was collected for the RNLI.  This is almost a thousand pounds more than the 2012 dinner!  Some of the prizes were most generous, the top one being a swimming holiday kindly donated by SwimTrek.

Over the past 2 years £6,225 has been raised for the RNLI; a charity close to the hearts of the swimmers, supporters and pilots alike.

An army of knitting ladies had knitted 'little swimmers' which were placed all around the hall on the tables.  Swimmers were invited to buy them at the end of the evening.

Before and during the dinner, 'K' Blick, wife of M/C Channel Swimmer Kevin Blick, had put a display on of her Channel Swimming artwork, which was simply stunning.  We are trying to pursuade her to produce quality prints we can buy!!!

The announcement of the relay and solo swimmers of the 'Class of 2012', along with the awards was a highlight for most.

A MASSIVE thank you must be extended to Michelle Toptalo, Emma France and their team for organising such an amazing evening for us all to enjoy.