The Salters Hall in the City of London was host to the recent Worshipful Company of Actuaries (WCA) dinner on 1 February.
The Hall boasts an impressive collection of domestic salt-cellars and salts; a throwback to times when saltcellars were a status symbol and those who could afford salt stored it in grand containers.
During the evening, Bernadette Cleary OBE, founder of the Rainbow Trust, was one of the recipients of a cheque presented by Master John Lockyer, from funds raised at his charity gala banquet in September. The Rainbow Trust Children's Charity provides emotional and practical support to families who have a child with a life-threatening or terminal illness.
The Trust was founded in 1986 when Cleary was a friend to a neighbour in need. She found there were few services to support families with terminally ill children, and recognised that siblings of a dying child were often unintentionally marginalised with parents under enormous strain trying to manage their emotions and coping with day-to-day family life.
The Trust is contactable 24 hours a day for families in crisis, from diagnosis, through treatment and after bereavement. Rainbow relies almost entirely on voluntary donations to help around 1,000 families a year. Visit www.rainbowtrust.org.uk
Report by Marjorie Ngwenya