Wine, winning and Winn

Last night Ian and I spoke at the National Housing Federation's What We Are Proud Of awards dinner for the East of England region. And what a night it was.

Our appropriately-named MD, Nicola Winn turned up to support the proceedings (otherwise known as checking that we didn't say anything overly embarrassing). The reference to 'hanky wanging' went down pretty well despite a couple of pronunciation scares, and my teenage adoration for the mighty Kajagoogoo drew the expected response.

Of course, an after-dinner slot like this is essentially a pretty light-hearted event; the real highlight of the evening was the amazing award presentations which have done so much to transform people's lives... and that's ultimately what the housing sector is all about.

Well done to all of the presenters for their hard work and brilliant achievements. The winners, Flagship Peddars Way, delivered an excellent and moving presentation on the Oak Trees independent living scheme. The resident presenters in particular were living proof of the qualities we attributed to winners, namely memorable, passionate and focused.

Best wishes,
Kerry