Despite attending several beauty launches, a premiere, television screenings, showbiz events and fashion parties in my (relatively short) time as a blogger, I haven’t ever (or hadn’t ever) attended a ball before. Especially not a grand ball. So when Kelly emailed over an invite to Compare the Meerkat’s spy themed extravaganza, I couldn’t help but say yes. I love an excuse to dress up – especially when there is a ‘top secret A-List actress’ in attendance.
Held at the Troxy centre, located a five minute walk from Limehouse station (on the DLR), I almost jumped out of my skin upon arrival, when a shady looking man with dark glasses pulled me aside and asked me if I knew ‘the ambassador’. When it finally clicked the man was acting, and the guests were encouraged to play along, Max and I started to enjoy ourselves, rather than panic – and were delighted to have been given ‘special passes’ to the event itself, meaning we could sit at the very front. Themed to celebrate the launch of Compare the Meerkat’s new (erm meerkat addition?) Agent Maiya, a campaign fronted by none other than Liz Hurly, the entire ball was centered around Mission Impossible (as we were to later find out) and had many actors dressed up to represent characters in the film. We were officially, on a secret mission.
As one of the first guests to arrive (always the early bird), we were taken through the secret entrance on the side, through to the grand ballroom, which had been set up for the hundreds of guests expected to arrive. Greeted personally by the ‘ambassador and his wife’, we were guided down to the bar to grab a drink, before being seated at a table in front of the main stage. With jazz music filling the room, and guests dressed in black tie sashaying around the room, it really did feel like we’d been transported back in time, especially with the gorgeous 1920’s art deco features.
Before long, the very lovely Paula, who I had been speaking too on Twitter spotted me and came over, with her partner Daniel, to sit with us. As a fellow blogger (and if you haven’t had a look at her blog yet, please do – it’s fabulous), it was lovely to chat to Paula about events we’d been too and what we enjoyed most about blogging, over a few drinks, especially in such a lovely environment. We also spotted the lovely Kelly, who invited both Paula and I along – and had a chat about (again) our blogging experiences. Kelly runs her own blog too, and has some fantastic risotto recipes (which I still need to try out), so it was great to have an impromptu bloggers meet-up!
As the lights dimmed and the music stopped, a very beautiful Liz Hurley stepped onto the stage, in an emerald green dress, to introduce Compare the Meerkat’s newest arrival – Agent Maiya. Talking to the new meerkat on a large screen (which was slightly strange at first), Liz then introduced the next piece of entertainment for the night – Mission Impossible. Although she was in the room all of five minutes, which was a little disappointing as we were hoping for the opportunity to have a photograph with her – it was amazing to see the Gossip Girl, Austin Powers star in the flesh!
As Liz exited the room, Mission Impossible, with Tom Cruise started to play – with little pieces of the film acted out by dancers and performers in time with the on-screen action, and overall it was very entertaining. However after a few wines, I was a little fidgety and didn’t really pay attention to the movie, I will be honest.
Overall, I had a fabulous time at my very first ball – and can’t wait to (hopefully) attend another soon. It really was an event like no other, as it felt very grand and well thought out (even if I jumped out of my skin at first). All of the guests were treated like royalty and we were delighted to receive a goody bag at the end of the night, filled with an Agent Maiya toy, as well as a pair of her glasses (in human size, rather than meerkat).
Thank you to Kelly for inviting me! And don’t tell me you can’t wait to see the new advert after all of this! It’s here, over on the Compare the Meerkat website. Just don’t tell anyone I sent you.
