History
The Dewi Morris Curry Club started in 1996 as a benefit dinner for the
retiring Dewi Morris. Charlie Womersley decided to have a curry lunch
rather than the rubber chicken and soggy broccoli circuit that was the
norm at the time.
Three hundred and fifty rugby enthusiasts from corporate Manchester
packed into the New Century to enjoy an Asian feast cooked by the
Gaylord restaurant in Manchester. The whole event was a great success
for Dewi, the venue and guests.
Six months passed and Charlie and Dewi got together to see if they could
get the idea of the Dewi Morris Curry Club off the ground. The Shere
Khan in Rusholme was approached, the speakers booked and Dewi and
Charlie held their breath!
Firstly the principal guest speaker world cup winner Joel Stansky from
SA cried off 2 days beforehand because his work permit had expired and
he was deported! The staff carried on as normal as if there was no
speaker, the sound system was run through a karaoke cassette machine and
the phone rang throughout!
However the 90 guests enjoyed Eurosports Mark Robson, comedian Jimmy
Bright the excellent food and the craic. Next to appear was David Lloyd,
former Lancashire\England cricketer and then a first class umpire. Again
the staff carried on as if it was a normal lunchtime! However, the 100
or so guests entered into the spirit of things and it was deemed a great
success.
Charlie then decided that this was a formula that might just work,
sponsorship was found in the form of Nick Payne from newly formed Nikal
Ltd who are now very prominent property developers throughout the North
West. The first charity that the Dewi Morris Curry Club supported was
Cancer Research.
So, a star was born…….three changes of venue due to a number of reasons, not least space, has brought us to where we are today, some 50 lunches
later! Over £40000 has been raised for a number of locally based
charities including Lords Taverners, Wooden Spoon, NSPCC and Cancer
research.
Dewi continues to host the lunches and
we have been entertained by a plethora of sporting greats including Dean
Richards, Paul Merson and Geoff Miller and also the nation’s top
comedians including
Dr Kevin Jones, Billy Bean, Gary Marshall,
Sean Styles and Rob Woodward.
Future plans include the launch of the curry club in other cities
including Liverpool, Leeds and Birmingham.
Photos
Snapshots from 3rd December at EastzEast, Manchester
Click on the thumbnails to get the full picture!
Muse
Berymans Lace Mawer
Brown Shipley Nexus
Cooper Williamson
Premium Credit
Claphams
NatWest
ADT Workplace DMIB
Trident
Top Table
Thanks to
Snapshots from 26th February 2009
Snap shots from 4th December 2009
Snap shots from 6th November 2009
