A musical treat

There can be few more exquisite settings than Banqueting House, with its Rubens ceiling and magnificent columns, where last night I attended a concert given by the Oxford Philomusica conducted by Marios Papadopoulos, with a virtuoso solo by Ruth Palmer. The concert was followed by a dinner and auction, which raised £85,000. The final auction item was a dinner for ten, cooked by Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir Aux Quat'Saisons, with a piano recital by Maestro Papadopoulos accompanied by Ruth Palmer on violin, which fell to Peter de Savary for £30,000. My charity auction figures are down this year, so it was good to see that there are still people who are willing to part with their money for a worthwhile cause.