With our usual rain soaked summer, bbq's have been few and far between, yet none do it better then the Irish Hospitality Institute. Back on the 19th July they managed to steal a clear sky from the heavens to host a fantastic evening on the lawn in front of the Fitzpatrick Killiney Castle Hotel.

The red carpet was well and truly rolled out for us (actual red carpet!) as we arrived at the castle. Natasha Kinsella (CEO, Irish Hospitality Institute and Sponsor of the Hospitality Management Skillnet) greeted the guests on arrival. It was great to meet Natasha, developing relationships through networking is what NEO is all about.

For those of you who eat things with faces, there was a fantastic selection of meats on offer. I filled my plate with haste and sat down to tuck in. I ended up sitting next to Dolores O'Connor from Ambassador Recruitment (Hotel & Catering Specialists) and some of her colleagues. We spend most of the night discussing strategy to help me pass my driving test!

Nicky Logue (General Manager of the Fitzpatrick Killiney Castle Hotel) also spoke for a bit to welcome everyone to the hotel. All in all this was a great evening and it was the perfect way to celebrate those rare days of good weather that we have had this summer. Sign me up for the bbq 08.

I had asked Clara Clark to check our the RDS for the Dublin Horse Show this year, as I couldn't make it myself. [editors note: Conor was not intending to attend Ladies Day as Sarah was unwilling to lend him one of her hats] Well, she had a great time and sent us in her account of the day:

Ladies Day at the Dublin Horse Show! On with the dressy summer suit, husband dons the Louis Copeland suit and the designer tie, and off we go to the Show. The sun shines, the horses gleam and every lady, from age two and upwards, has dressed up for the occasion. There is a long queue to get in to the RDS. I hear people say, “two adults and five children”, so the Irish family is alive and well. Inside, the halls are thronged. There is every sort of merchandise - horsey, arty, furniture and food, holiday and novelty interest - for sale on the stands. Massaging chairs, lacy scarves, sugary sweets – and that’s just for the horses! Beautiful leather saddlery, neat riding gear and snug jackets, everything a well-dressed rider could want is available to buy. Out in the show rings, elegant, polished, high-stepping horses are put through their paces by smoothly groomed riders. Horses are very much a girly thing. But the boys and men are well represented, especially in the international competitions.

The Ladies Day judging goes on for hours, as a long queue of ladies of all ages, in floaty, summery dresses, make their way towards the judging stage, to be interviewed and assessed. Hats are spindly, colourful and vertical, as are the very high heels which somehow survive the soft grass.

Fake tan is de-rigeur; hardly surprising, given the lack of sunshine in our summer to date. The large entry conveys a great sense of self-confidence as well as a healthy interest in the very generous prize fund by sponsors Evian. As we approach the main arena to watch the Power & Speed competition, two mothers of small daughters are chatting. They are reminiscing about their own childhood Horse Show memories: “My mum used to lay out our outfits for the whole week”. Now they were enjoying watching their own 10-year olds living this magical experience for themselves.

I am sure that we have all done this in the past. Gone shopping for venues for various events. I've actually found that it can be great fun, what better way to see what is out there. This month though I struck gold! Whilst looking for a venue to host our fund raiser on the 6th September (BOOK HERE!) the steering committee for the events industry skillnet suggested a few places, one of which was The Vaults, in the IFSC. So off I went to ring them and set up a meeting. Lo and behold, Jennifer McCormack, their Sales and Marketing Executive had done the same Event Management Course as myself and had Clyde Carroll (Chambers Ireland) as a lecturer also (small world!).

With the information in hand I went down to see this amazing venue.

After talking with Sarah McCrory and Jennifer McCormack in their sales office I was convinced that this was the perfect venue for our DaVinci Experience night. The Vaults are new members to NEO and I'm sure after the FUNd raiser you'll all agree with me about what a fantastic venue this is. For more information, check out their listing on the NEO Ireland website.