Some 80 Society members and guests packed John and Ruth Paterson’s barn at Cranbourne Farm, Sutton Scotney, for a memorable evening of wine tasting and entertainment on 12th November 2011.

Following a champagne reception Douglas Paterson, the Society’s Chairman, welcomed everyone to the event and briefly reviewed the Dever Society’s 20-year mission to protect Hampshire’s rural heartland. He went on to outline the evening’s entertainment and introduced the renowned pianist Chisato Kusunoki, who began with a fluent rendition of J S Bach’s Partita No 1 in B flat.

Richard Harvey opened the wine tasting with a characterisation of two great value white wines. As head of Bonham’s international wine business and one of just 288 Masters of Wine worldwide, Richard would give us his authoritative assessment of eight different bottles throughout the evening, culminating in two sensational Christmas wines. Between courses, Chisato Kusunoki played music by Schubert, Chopin and Moszkowski.

After the wine tasting, the Society’s President, Khalid Aziz, gave his personal view of the Coalition Government’s controversial draft Planning Policy Framework, as well as the ongoing development proposals for Barton Farm. He also paid tribute to Douglas Paterson and his team for mounting such a successful evening and thanked our hosts, John and Ruth Paterson, for the use of their splendid facilities.

Before the grand finale Phil Dowson, the Society’s Treasurer, led everyone in a hilarious game of ‘heads and tails’ – an unusual twist on more conventional raffles that ended with the presentation of a magnum of champagne to the lucky winner.

Finally, Chisato Kusunoki accompanied Gisele Edwards in her breathtaking aerial performance on a rope suspended from the top of the roof in the centre of the barn. This stunning conclusion to a memorable evening was rewarded with a long, standing ovation.

• The evening raised close to £2,500 for Dever Society funds.  Particular thanks are due to Piers Methuen of Elliston Fine Wines for supplying the evening’s wines, as well as to Richard Harvey, the performers and their sponsors, and John and Ruth Paterson.