Review: Hawks’ and Ospreys’ Charity Ball

For £40 ANNA WILMOT had a great time amongst the swarms of Blue, at this year’s Hawks’ and Ospreys’ Charity Ball

Blues brownies Cambridge University casino champagne charity ball Hawks ospreys Union

Saturday 9th October, £35 for members, £40 for non-members

As Week 5 rolled around, all the best sporting types in Cambridge (and me) donned their bluest blazers and headed to the Union for the annual Hawks’ and Ospreys’ Charity Ball. But the night really was one for everyone, sporty or not. True, there were swarms of blue blazers milling about the place, but, despite having dropped any semblance of a sporting career before leaving school, I never felt out of place.

Getting into the event was very speedy and we were quickly presented with our tokens for food and drinks that evening. Postponing the champagne, I made a beeline for the food. The queues were, happily, very short and I was quickly tucking into a sizeable burger. While it was satisfying, it didn’t taste extraordinary and was even a bit dry, but I quickly rectified this with slathers of ketchup. I heard good things about the hog roast but they ran out before I could sample any.

This happens if you try to play rugby in a Tux

Having eaten my fill, I went on a hunt for the champagne and was gratified by one of the roaming waitresses eager to refill empty glasses. The dance floor where the champagne was circulating was pretty packed so I went to sample the cocktails. The decor in the Neptune bar was, like the rest of the rooms, pretty simple, but I appreciated the flattering coloured lighting. The cocktails themselves were delicious, but the queue was long and they cost me two of my precious tokens so I stuck to the Union bar after that which was stocked with standard pints and spirit/mixers.

There was plenty to occupy the ball-goers, including the Churchill Casino, which was a huge crowd-pleaser and was packed throughout the evening. I also tried my hand at the bucking bronco, but failed pretty miserably. After that I settled for munching on some candy floss as I watched others take a whirl at it (one poor bloke tore through his trousers). I hear that there were also brownies going, but I didn’t spot any.

Gambling is fun

The live entertainment started with the Caius Men followed by a Jazz quartet during the champagne reception. The pace picked up with Shooting Suns, followed by The Orphans of the Beefy Incident, who churned out a number of Cindiesque tunes. Finally, after the raffle, DJ BJ finished off the evening – his was my favourite set, but mainly because he let me press a couple of buttons on his awesome music box. Despite these pleasing tunes, the dance floor was not always packed, and at one point it was totally empty but for two brave dancers. Wristbands also got people free entry to Kuda after the event ended at 2am, but I didn’t quite make it that far.

Impressively this guy kept his drink upright despite a drunken fall

 

Predictably, the night was not as lavish as one of the May Week events, but I was glad to have spent £40 on what I thought was a truly enjoyable evening – the perfect cure for those Week 5 blues.