Twice a year – once in the summer and once in the winter – RNA members and friends gather together in the Royal Overseas League in Park Place, off St. James Street, in order to party, and party the RNA certainly does in style! This year’s Summer Party, which took place on the evening of May 18th, was no exception, and as I do every year after the party, I’m posting some of the photos I took during the evening. I very much hope you enjoy looking at them.
When I arrived at the Royal Overseas League a little ahead of the AGM, I repaired to the bar, and whom should I meet there, but …
Mandy Baggot, Kate Nash, Jane Holland and Gill Stewart
After the AGM, we headed for the room where the party was to be held. Because I got there before the party was officially due to begin, some of the photos below were taken before the room had filled up. But from the moment we arrived, the fun began.
Virginia Heath, Carrie Elks
The contenders for the Joan Hessayon Award, 2017
Peter Jones
Lynda Stacey
Jules Wake, Julie Stock, Jane Crane
Victoria Cornwall, Haydn Stacey, Morton S. Gray
Brigid Coady
Bernardine Kennedy/Marie Maxwell
Maggie Sullivan,Gill Stewart. Imogen Howson, Kate Johnson
Alison May, me, Maggie Sullivan, Gill Stewart, Imogen Howson, Kate Johnson
Publicist Katrina Power
Julie Vince, Maggie Sullivan
Kathryn Freeman
Henriette Gyland
Jenny Barden, Janice Horton
Janet Gover, me, Julie Roberts, Claire Dyer, Sue Mackender
Artist Charlotte Fawley, Eileen Ramsay
Leah Mercer, Henriette Gyland & Laura E. James listen to the Joan Hessayon announcement
John Jackson
Sue Moorcroft
Apologies that the following two photos are so indistinct. I wasn’t in the best place for seeing last year’s Joan Hessayon Award winner, Clare Harvey, make her speech and congratulate this year’s winner, Kate Field.
Kate Field (behind the podium)
Clare Harvey
Kate Macwhannell, Camilla Macwhannell
Susannah Hamilton, Jenny Barden, Jean Fullerton, Sara O’Keefe
Allie Burns, Sarah Bennett, Annie Lyons
Roger Sanderson, Norma Curtis, Jan Jones
I’ll leave the last words with Immi Howson and John Jackson, though I can’t imagine what John can be saying!
Over and out!
Excellent pics (and memories of yet another cracking RNA party)! As I remember, Immi and I were discussing nothing more exciting than transport arrangements for Conference. (I’m giving her a lift)
Actually, that IS pretty exciting!
John xx
Many thanks for enlightening me, John. I think I marginally prefer my imagined dialogue, though! 🙂
Great pics, Liz, thanks for sharing! 😉
I thought it a very nice one of you, Julie. It was lovely seeing you there, even if, as seems to be the case all too often, we didn’t see each other after our initial hello!
Thanks for posting such wonderful photos and happy memories of what was my first RNA Summer Party in London. So great to see you after such a long time Liz – and I’m so happy I got to catch up with some of those writer friends who attended – although seeing your pics made me realise that I’d missed saying hello to so many there whom I only know from Facebook and Twitter – like Immi for example!
It was lovely to see you, too, Janice. Whenever I look at the official RNA photos, I feel the same as you – I wonder at the number of those I’d missed. Maybe one of these years, I’ll catch up with everyone there. I hope so. 🙂
Thanks for the photos Liz. I couldn’t make the party this year so it’s good to see a fun time was had by all. Looking forward to catching up with people at the conference
I missed taking your photo, Lizzie. I normally take a very good photo of you, not that I’ve ever seen a bad photo of you – the camera clearly likes you. I enjoyed your photos from Romance in the Court, which sadly I had to miss, so we’re quits. 🙂
Thanks for putting photographs on, Liz. I couldn’t make the summer party, so it was extra nice to see everyone.
PS I shall be at the winter party.
I’ll see you there, Madalyn, and I’ll try to snap you for my post-party ‘gallery’. I shall be going to the RNA Conference in July, so if you’re going there, I might see you there. 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed looking at the photos, Madalyn. I try to put up a few pics after every such event, as much as anything for myself – I like looking back and reminding myself what fun it was. 🙂
What lovely pictures, Liz! And I love that one of John and me! (We might have moved on from discussing the conference to talking about beer and whisky at that point…)
Beer and whisky! Oh, yes, Immi; strangely, I think that far more likely than John’s claim that you were talking about travel.:-)
Nice seeing what I missed. Thanks, Liz.
Looking forward to seeing a few of you at the conference.
You were missed, Rosie! I look forward to seeing you in July, though. 🙂