The Asian Awards 2013 The Grosvenor Hotel
One of the best evenings for a very long time, all in aid of a fantastic cause -’Arms around The Child’, The Asian Awards beneficial partner. AATC works to provide a loving home, medical treatment, protection, respect and education for children who have lost their parents to AIDS or who are living in adversity including sexual abuse, neglect or exploitation. www.armsaroundthechild.org
This was a night spent with some of Asia’s most revered names from the world of business and entertainment, and also some very popular and well known British personalities. There was a speech by Olympic organiser Lord Coe, George Osborne and a video link from Prime Minister David Cameron, as he could not attend. I caught up with my soul singer sister Beverley Knight again, she introduced me to her new husband James O’Keefe and together they make a very attractive couple. I must say a very painful highlight was when Beverley got up to belt out a few of her most famous tracks, including a Bollywood rap twist to “Keep this fire Burning”. When I say painful I only mean this because it was inappropriate to get up and dance at this point, even though my legs were screaming under the table to go crazy and get me out of my seat!
I was shown to my table completely unaware that I would be sat with a random bunch of greats for dinner. On my right was Rebecca Choo ( Jimmy Choo’s wife) and to my left Gregg Alexander (singer/song writer from the’ new radicals’. Other faces sat with us were Annie Newman (interior designer and painter- favourite to the Beckham’s), Ellie Milner (rock chick and charity organizer for AATC) as well as several other wonderful people. We circled the table in a suitably fashionable musical chairs kind of way and shared plenty of laughs and great banter. I remember feeling particularly uncomfortable during a speech by Ben Kingsley when he accepted his award. He mentioned that his father was a rice grower; at the time I also misheard what he said however it was Gregg Alexander who quite loudly exclaimed ” Your father was a Spice Girl” followed by a great booming American HAHAHAHA! I have not had that moment where you find something so funny but you cannot laugh since school, thank you Gregg!
The food was spectacular and bang on theme; spicy, exotic and delicious though I could feel it coming through my skin the following day. There were many old acquaintances that I managed to catch up with such as Kanika Kapoor Asian pop new comer (Jugni Ji) who looked stunning, she gave me a hard copy of her single a year ago which is such a novelty now. Preeya Kalidas offered to swap her dress for my shirt! I remember commenting on the slinky back of her gown, she was a fan of the glitzy beads embellished down the front of my shirt which are always a winner. Emma Noble, model and actress, was a delight I said that she was wonderful up on the stage, she managed to do a very subtle pause and look up at the audience like Jet from Gladiators before she pounds you off the podium with one of those rubber batons!
I was there not only to mingle but I donated a print from my new collection called Epic as a contribution to the silent auction, which sat alongside many other fabulous pieces given from famous artists and sports personalities. This piece took me over 200 hundred hours to complete, it is made up of 15 pages that all fit together to make one large image. An illustration of a world of buildings and waterfalls, airships, steamers and vegetation all intertwined in to one. Not set in any time or place but imaginative and intriguing if I do say so myself. It is one of my favourites and there are a few variations of this on my website.
