After months of planning and preparation, the BCS calendar culminated in our main fundraising event of the year - the BCS Charity Ball.

Over 150 guests joined us at The Brewery to eat, drink and dance the night away and help raise money for the Chinese Mental Health Association (CMHA).

Here's our report of the event - and don't forget to give us your feedback in the forum.

It's official, the BCS is blessed with good fortune! For the third year in a row, and after an August that will be remembered for its copious rainwater, the heavens cleared, the sun shone its golden rays, and guests convened at the Brewery for the 2004 BCS Charity Ball.

At the entrance to London's 'unique events venue', a man dressed in top hat and tails directed guests to the Charlotte Room for a drinks reception where they mingled, complimented each other on their impressive DJs, evening dresses and ball gowns, and then were strangely offered coloured pieces of card by Yvonne from an ice-bucket. No, these were not free tickets to the next BCS event: This was a little 'find your partner' game which involved seeking out other guests holding similarly shaped pieces of card that would fit yours, and the first group to find all 6 pieces of their jigsaw won prizes of chocolates that, well, even the Ambassador himself would have approved of!

As guests tucked into their food, they also had a Conundrum Game to keep them occupied. The idea was to use the initials of your fellow guests and try to make the longest word possible. As realisation dawned that some were sitting on tables full of L's and W's, a few guests resorted to online assistance and even asking for favours from the judge to come up with a word. But in the end, two tables emerged as the joint winning wordsmiths. Sadly there could only be one winner and after a bout of 'paper, scissors, stone' the Tang table emerged victorious with their word 'confection'. Their prize, appropriately enough, was a box of luxury Godiva chocs, whilst the equally brainy runners-up Xia (who funnily enough had scored with their word 'chocolates') were awarded a bottle of wine!

As we finished off our tea and coffee and listened to a speech from the CMHA's Mr. Shun Au, the format of the evening was looking very similar to previous years and guests might have been forgiven for expecting a Charity Casino to appear after dinner. However what they got instead was a new ceremony which included somebody bizarrely walking around the tables with photographs of slaves stuck to their heads. Yes this was the Charity Auction featuring the much heralded 'Slave Auction'!

Conventional items up for grabs in the auction included dinners at exclusive London restaurants the Oxo Tower and Harvey Nichols 5th Floor and entry to the prestigious Wentworth golf course, which were all subject to some very competitive and exciting bidding.

But what really got the crowd going was the 'slave' auction where some brave volunteers offered to do anything - within reason - in exchange for the highest donation to the Chinese Mental Health Association. Bidding was surprisingly healthy for the slaves, particularly Golf Instructor Stephen, and for those who had volunteered to be slaves but could not attend to parade themselves, some large blown-up photographs of them were handed around the tables for inspection and then 'modelled' by one of the comperes of the evening, to great general amusement.

Click here to see the Ball gallery.

Many congratulations to Carolyn, Kenny, Steve, Justina, Angeline and Karen who are now the proud (temporary) owners of their very own charity slaves! Please treat them humanely!

By the end of the auction the crowds were so charged up from repeatedly raising their arms, laughing and generally cheering that they were itching to get onto the dancefloor as the band for the evening - Jumpin' - launched into their first set of songs designed to keep the party spirit going.

There were some audible cries of protest when the band stopped so that the raffle draw could take place, but with 13 fantastic prizes to give away with a combined value of over £1000, we felt this was a small price to pay.

Congratulaions to some of our prize winners: Wendy and Danielle, who both won £100 vouchers to spend in Selfridges; Edward who picked up the multi-region DVD player + DVD gift vouchers; Ellen who won £200 of travel vouchers; Jenny who was delighted to win a £150 Hakkasan voucher; and Kay who got the star prize, the £400 digital camera. Other guests also went home with bottles of wine, Wing Yip and Benihana vouchers and even some pairs of compact binoculars.

With the prizes handed out, the live music then went on until 1 a.m. and guests continued to dance or relocate to the Charlotte Room to cool off, enjoy a drink from the bar or even play some of the games we had laid on.

Once again, as the night drew to a close, there were complaints that the evening was ending far too soon but I guess this was a compliment on another event greatly enjoyed by all.

Thanks to the staff at the Brewery, to the band Jumpin', and of course the Ball Committee of the BCS for their many efforts in making the evening what it was. Also many thanks to the generosity of all our guests who, through the raffle and auction, raised over £1700 for the Chinese Mental Health Association.

We would also like to say a huge thank you to our generous sponsors who helped to make the 2004 Charity Ball such an enjoyable and unforgettable event:

If you were at the Ball, don't forget to give us your feedback in the forum. A full gallery of pictures from the Ball is now available.

See you all at the next BCS event!

Chinese Mental Health Association (Registered charity no. 1058934)

Founded in 1992, Chinese Mental Health Association (CMHA) is a registered charity providing services and supports to psychologically distressed Chinese and their families. It is the only specialised charity of its kind in the UK. CMHA provides free direct services such as Advocacy, Information, Housing advice, Counselling, User Social Group and Carers support to help sufferers combat isolation and encourage integration back into the community.