THOUSANDS RAISED

AT GALA DINNER

 

 

 

The stars came out for a Gala Dinner to raise money for the Brian Clough Statue Fund in Nottingham. The event, held on June 7th, 2006, in the Ballroom of Nottingham Council House raised nine-thousand pounds. Barbara Clough was presented with a framed tribute from Sir Terry Wogan, one of Brian's favourite radio presenters. Mrs Clough is pictured receiving the souvenir from Marcus Alton from this website.

Mrs Clough was accompanied to the dinner by her daughter Elizabeth, son Simon and his wife and their son Stephen. After receiving Sir Terry's hand-signed tribute, in which he described Cloughie as a 'remarkable man,' Mrs Clough praised the volunteers behind the statue fund.

Mrs Clough told guests: "It has been a wonderful evening. You have worked so hard and I'd like to thank everyone who has been involved in helping to raise money. I'm sure we'll get there. Thank you all so much."

Mrs Clough receives Wogan tribute



Among the stars at the sell-out event were several of Cloughie's European Cup heroes. There were tributes from John McGovern, John Robertson and John O'Hare. They were interviewed by the host for the evening, the former TV sports presenter Dennis Coath of The Media Group.



John Robertson paid tribute



Said Robertson: "Brian Clough was an absolute legend. He was a great manager to play for. A statue would be a fitting tribute."



Dennis Coath talks to John McGovern



Good luck messages for the evening were also received from Forest hero Stuart Pearce, Bolton boss Sam Allardyce and Match of the Day's Gary Lineker. The special guest speaker for the evening was Forest legend and former Cloughie player Duncan McKenzie. Laughter filled the Ballroom as McKenzie told some of the stories from his career.

In one anecdote he described Cloughie's reaction when he asked for two complementary tickets for his parents for a Charity Shield match he was due to play at Wembley. The Master Manager replied: "If your mother and father won't pay to see you play, how can you expect anyone else to?" McKenzie went on to describe Brian as "the best manager ever." And he had a special message for the fund-raisers. "I wish you every success and I know you will reach your target."



Duncan McKenzie makes a point



Guests applauded a special appearance by members of the cast of the tribute play 'Old Big 'Ead in the Spirit of the Man.' They had just finished their evening performance at Nottingham Playhouse. Colin Tarrant, who plays Cloughie, told Dennis Coath he was pleased to support the fund, after taking part in the launch event a year before. "This is a tremendous cause and I hope it succeeds," said Colin. "It's marvellous to be a part of it and to see it doing so well."



Colin Tarrant talks to Dennis Coath



Dennis Coath & partner Lisa Foden





Dennis said the grand surroundings of the Ballroom were a perfect setting for the evening, as they had been the scene of many trophy celebrations for Brian Clough's teams. He also praised the hard work of the statue fund committee led by chairman Paul Ellis. Paul is pictured below receiving a cheque for almost three-thousand pounds from Alex Walker and Alan Fisher from the website Lost That Loving Feeling, which helped to sell the fund's badges and tickets for the dinner.



Paul Ellis (left) receives cheque



Paul thanked the leader of the city council Jon Collins for his personal support, as the authority not only backed the fund but administered it too. There were thanks also to the chairman of Nottingham Forest, Nigel Doughty, who had personally sponsored the dinner. In recognition, the statue fund has given a limited-edition framed Cloughie tribute to Mr Doughty. It was presented on the night to Forest's Marketing Manager Brandon Furse by Paul Lowe from the statue fund committee.



Paul Lowe (left) presents framed tribute to Brandon Furse



An auction of football memorabilia on the night raised more than two-thousand pounds. Items included a Gary Lineker signed 'Match of the Day' script from the 2005 FA Cup Final (£100), a book signed by Brian Clough (£140) an original oil painting of Stuart Pearce (£175) and a framed Cloughie tribute (£350). The evening had taken months of preparation. On behalf of the committee, Sarah Clarke received flowers as mark of a thanks.



Marcus Alton presents flowers to Sarah Clarke





Paul Ellis said: "It was an unforgettable evening which has given the fund a huge boost. We are so pleased that members of the Clough family could attend and it made it all such a special night. We are getting closer to our target and we are determined to succeed. My thanks go to everyone who has supported the event."