Delighted to report that Forest’s 40th anniversary dinner at Boisdale of Canary Wharf next week is fully booked.
Tickets were strictly limited and last week we reached capacity - almost 200 guests.
We considered giving every guest a Forest-branded Zippo lighter but at £36 each that was too expensive.
We looked at promotional ashtrays but suppliers repeatedly told us, “We don’t sell ashtrays any more.”
Instead we’re giving guests a 52-page photo journal featuring pictures taken at various Forest events over the last 15 years.
They include images of broadcaster Andrew Neil addressing 400 guests at the Savoy Hotel in London in 2007, and Hockney (again) with Greg Knight MP at a Forest reception at the Houses of Parliament in 2011.
There are photos from two campaign launches - Save Our Pubs & Clubs (2009) and Hands Off Our Packs (2012) - and other events including The Freedom Dinner and Smoke On The Water.
Most of the pictures were taken by Dan Donovan who has been part of the Forest family since 2007.
It was difficult choosing which photos to include because there were so many but on the lighter side the image below is one of my favourites.
It was taken at the Eurostar terminal at St Pancras where we were filming a video for Forest’s ‘No Thank EU’ campaign against the revised Tobacco Products Directive.
It’s not the most flattering (of me!) but it sums up, I think, why I'm still doing this job after 20 years.
Working for Forest is a serious business with a serious message but it can also be great fun and Dan's photo captures one of many funny moments.
Forest Unfiltered, a photo journal featuring the photography of Dan Donovan and others, will be available at our gala dinner next week.
At the same time an electronic version will be available for download via this blog and the Forest website.
