Bradford St James Wholesale Market Annual Dinner 2010

We were delighted to join guests at the recent Bradford St James Wholesale Market Annual Dinner at the spectacular, historical Midland Hotel, the entrance of which is a beautifully preserved nostalgic walk down rail station memory lane!

Always assured of the warmest welcome from key FPC member Bradford Market, we spent a fabulous evening in the company of Tenants' Association Chairman and MD of Burbank Produce, Simon Kershaw and his wonderful wife Jane.

It was great to meet up with old friends - especially Donald and Rosa Grimshaw (front left of the above picture) who have been involved with the market for nearly 40 years. This remarkable couple hold a very special place in the hearts of the tenants of the market and also in ours at the FPC - Donald is a longstanding, well respected supporter of the FPC and continues to champion our cause. We were thrilled that both he and Rosa remain in good health and were looking forward to their European tour (driving through 3 countries visiting their many friends)! A wealth of experience of the wholesale trade, their stories of times past in the market are both fascinating and entertaining but it is their knowledge and passion for the industry which are so very impressive.

The support of local charity SNOOP was simply amazing, with almost £10,000 raised in aid of incredibly dedicated people who work so hard to support families and assist in the care of special needs children. A moving video highlighted one of the great projects aimed at improving the quality of life of these local children. Across the city SNOOP work in conjunction with the Council, public transport and shop owners - the children carry identity cards containing contact telephone numbers and this simple but effective initiative allows individuals to travel around independently and confidently, knowing that if they get lost or frightened, a shop keeper with a recognisable sticker in the window, or a bus conductor, will be on hand to help and will contact the centre. It was great to meet the representatives of this worthy charity and one of the highlights of the auction was to hear a spectacular rendition of Mac the Knife from Noel Kershaw, definitely a hidden talent!

Amongst other guests, we particularly enjoyed catching up with included Empire World Trade, Glasgow's Fresh Direct and Carmichael.

Thank you Bradford Market for a superb evening, great food, great company, great hospitality!

We expect to be back at Bradford Market later in the year with an FPC Supply Chain visit.