Over 600 people joined in with this annual spectacular and became part of our extended family to help mark the start of the Christmas festivities. Many of our regular supporters have been coming for over 20 years; that in itself must say something about the reputation of Berwick Kaler’s writing, directing and acting.

We have received some very favourable feedback from our supporters:

“Many, many thanks for remembering us again this year, we had a wonderful time and really enjoyed the panto. The York Ebor & County Round Table Panto evening has firmly become part of our family Xmas celebrations and we are very grateful for the opportunity to buy tickets.”

“Brilliant fun as always” 

“May I add my thanks to (name removed)’s in congratulating you all for the effort you have put into making this Dress Rehearsal night a resounding success. The sale of tickets, the raffle and the spirit were top class. York Against Cancer will be very pleased because of the number of times they were mentioned. RTBI must be very proud of you all.”

“We all enjoyed it very much; we are still children at heart!!!”

“A great night was had by all! Plus…… for the first time since in around 30 years of trying….. I finally caught a Wagon Wheel !!!!!!”

… and from some of the people we have helped:

“We have received outstanding feedback from those who had the pleasure of visiting the theatre last week. You have helped make this Christmas a very happy event for those children and young people who have expressed this experience as being:-  “fantastic – amazing – awesome – exciting”

Why not join us next year for this exclusive opportunity to see the full un-edited version before the doors open to the general public?

“Head barman” John Melody serving at York Charity Beer Festival 2012

Thanks to all those who attended the 2012 York Charity Beer Festival over this weekend (7 & 8th September). We hope you enjoyed the event. We know we did!

We are still in the process of counting up and working out the final total but already we can confirm that the beer festival will have raised over £4,000 for local cancer charity York Against Cancer and we expect this figure the rise as further donations come in.

This could not have been achieved without the efforts of all those who attended, supported, sponsored and helped out in the planning and running of the beer festival.

We will shortly be posting  further details of the beer festival and some photos (if we can find any that aren’t blurry!).  However, in the meantime, we would like to thank all of our business sponsors who kindly supported the event. Details of all our sponsors can be found here.

In particular, we would like to thank York Brewery and Jan and all her staff there for all the invaluable assistance and support they have provided to us both in the run-up to the event and throughout the beer festival.

Special thanks are also due to Kev and his staff at Brigantes for allowing us the use their upstairs dinning/function room and for providing the excellent food throughout the festival.

We’d also like to thank Denison Till solicitors for sponsoring the beer glasses, Fulprint and Wood Richardson for printing and sponsoring the tasting notes and flyers respectively, SAY Scaffolding for building and sponsoring the beer festival bar and Phosys for sponsoring and designing the tasting notes. Thanks also to York’s newest brewery, Urban Brewhouse, for kindly donating a barrel of their smoked porter, Smokestack Lightning and to Streamline taxis for their sponsorship and donation of £1 of every taxi fare to and from the beer festival over the entire weekend.

Finally, thanks to all those in York Round Table  for giving up their time to put on a great charity event. A job well done gentlemen!

The man from Round Table (Dave Posliff) says “Yes!”

We have 15 beers racked, 6 to go on the pumps (initially Jaipur, Loweswater Gold and Schiehallion), 4 ciders and 2 perries. We have also been gifted a barrel by Urban Brewhouse (a new microbrewery behind the Junction pub in Leeman Road).

Gentlemen, I think we have the makings of a beer festival!!

A full list of the beers and ciders at the 2012 York Charity Beer Festival is set out on our beer festival pages.

The tour was conducted by Alan Rose, Chairman of York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and various members of the different departments of the hospital. It provided a fascinating insight into the work of the hospital and gave us the opportunity to visit areas of the hospital not usually open to the public. These areas included accident & emergency, the haematology laboratory and (appropriately the final destination on the tour) the hospital mortuary!

Tablers Geoff Stockill and Martin Frost during a visit to the new bereavement garden at York District Hospital, which was funded by a donation from York Round Table.

The visit also gave Tablers the opportunity to visit the hospital’s new bereavement suite, to which York Round Table donated £10,000 in 2010/11 to enable them to build a new bereavement garden.

York Round Table and York 41 Club would like to extend our thanks to Alan, Lucy, Mandy, Martin, Kevin and all the other staff at York District Hospital who helped make the tour such a unique and interesting event.

And this bring to mind the parallel events of Thursday, of which this accurate and unembellished account will be immediately recognisable to all those who were present.

AND SO IT WAS that the forces of 41 Club drew up in full battle array along lane 11 and called out to the army of Tablers assembled yonder on the opposing lane 10 and said:

“Send forth a champion from amongst your people that he might fight our champion and decide this matter. If he be able to defeat our champion then we shall forever be your servants”.

And then, behold! Out of the camp of the 41ers came their champion who was named Rawnsley. And he was a giant of a man who towered 3 feet above his fellow 41ers (well, David at any rate). And he carried with him a huge bowling ball the weight of which could crush a man in two.

And he did rain down strike after strike.

And on seeing this Frost and Posliff and all of Table were dismayed and greatly afraid. And a low groan of despair passed through their massed ranks.

Then stepped forward a brave youth named Upton (who was no Jessie) and said unto the men of Table:

“Be not afraid of these old men who would seek to destroy and humiliate you (as they did at our last cricket match through knavesish tricks and blatant cheatery). I shall go forth and meet their champion and shall smite him!”

Then did Upton go down to a rack that was close by and choose from it five smooth balls and went forth to join battle.

And as he walked up the 41ers did laugh at the youthful Upton and thought themselves assured of victory.

But then Upton loosed a ball from his hand and sent it hurtling towards the pins where it struck with such force that it reduced them to dust and came to rest deeply imbedded within the wall behind.

And at that Rawnsley collapsed to his knees in anguish and a sudden silence fell upon the ranks of the 41ers for they knew most assuredly that their duly appointed champion had been defeated.

Then did Mooney step forward in submission and say for all to hear:

“I appreciate that Adrian had the highest total individual score over the two games.”

And he continued thus:

“And therefore we irrevocably and unconditionally accept that we were beaten, nay crushed, in accordance with all the laws of God and man, which we did all expressly agree to at the outset. Let no man doubt what he has seen here this day. For truly, Upton is a son of Table”.

So is it written.

It is fair to say that not only did the participants enjoy a fun evening but also got the opportunity to learn yet more interesting facts about the city ofYorkand its history!

A great evening in the Golden Slipper on Goodramgate playing “Killer Darts”. A good attendance with 9 members turning out.

In the first game, ”Dead Head Flower” Posliff swept to victory as most of the members of Round Table arrived. The second game (a tussle between six players), the ”Dead Head Flower” was once again victorious in the final shootout over “Fat Belly Bucket Gut” Fildes. In the final match, eight players battled it out, ganging up on Posliff and knocking him out in the early rounds. Finally, “Polished Horn” Hardy took the last game with a tremendous set of three arrows, rubbing it in about how well he’d done the last time we’d all played for good measure.

The evening was polished off in good style with a meal at an Indian restaurant.

Once again, York Round Table will be hosting the Charity Preview Performance of the York Theatre Royal pantomime on Wednesday the 14th of December 2012.

As usual, our thanks must go to Berwick Kaler and the York Theatre Royal for making the tickets available to us. Please contact us to book your tickets.

You can read about this charity on our Chairmans Charity page.