The stars are shining

Good morning to you all. As promised here is the result of last night's Deloitte Scottish Financial Services Rising Star Awards 2007. The finalists were:

Carol Anderson
The Royal Bank of Scotland plc
Laura Anderson
Dunfermline Building Society
Mark Gross Bank of Scotland
Stuart Wardhaugh
Bank of Scotland

The winner was Stuart Wardhaugh of Bank of Scotland. Congratulations to you Stuart.

The award for best presentation as voted for by the large and enthusiastic audience and winner of the Fairbairn Trophy was Laura Anderson of the Dunfermline Building Society. well done to you Laura.

The esteemed Judging Panel were:

Miller McLean (Chair)
Group Secretary and General Counsel, The Royal Bank of Scotland plc
Ben Thomson
Chairman, Noble Group Limited
Rob Topley
Partner, Financial Services Practice, Deloitte
Simon Thompson
Chief Executive, The Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland

The event was held at the National Galleries of Scotland, a splendid venue in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle. Guests enjoyed a lovely dinner with "Baked Sea Bass with Pancetta" as the main course. Yum Yum I hear you say! My favourite was the desert "Strawberry Tart with strawberry mint salsa and chilled strawberry soup" Yes, the kind of thing you would normally have of an evening!

I am sure that Scottish Banker will carry a report in a future edition and there might even be photographs including the Sea Bass. Well on that Nigella Lawson moment it is time I departed.

Michael ( I thought Sea Bass was a musical instrument)