Turf's Up!!

There's something particularly English about a Day at the Races.

Goodwood, Epsom, Aintree and Newmarket are all iconic English Sporting Venues providing a memorable opportunity to entertain staff, clients and colleagues. But, there's more to a day at the races than the top meetings held at the leading venues. There are some highly cost-effective events to be had by entertaining at some of the country's smaller racecourses such as Lingfield, Plumpton and Lingfield Park.

We regularly take groups - from 12 upwards - to racecourses throughout the country. We cater for top of the range meetings such as Cheltenham, The Derby and Glorious Goodwood; summer evening meetings at both Goodwood and Folkestone; as well as regular weekday and weekend meetings at most other courses.

Our favourite is Goodwood - particularly on Ladies Day. Widely regarded as the world's most beautiful racecourse, Goodwood is set high on the South Downs - the perfect place to enjoy horseracing and socialising at its very best.

Now's the time to start planning your summer event - so why not consider a day at the races? All our trips are catered for individually with a bespoke itinerary and package which includes:

Travel to and from the racecourse

Breakfast or pre-departure refreshments or optional meal stops

Optional packed lunch

Optional breakfast stop
Admission to the racecourse

Post race picnic or barbecue
Welcome aboard pack
The services of guides throughout the trip

Why not contact us for your next Day at the Races?

What's your era?

Finding the right music for your conference or training event can be difficult. The choice of music is subjective - and if you have delegates covering a wide age range it can be tricky finding common musical tastes!

We organise entertianment at many events and in our experience, deciding the musical input is often made easier by getting some agreement on musical tastes by era. So, a good old fashioned Rock 'n' Roll band playing 1950's covers usually apeals to most tastes - although, naturally, the more mature will find it more to their liking. One of the best 50's rockabilly band around, Lucky Strike are on our recommended list as are The Drifters - still drifting after more than 50 years!



Similarly there are some great bands from the 1960s still touring and playing to the coporate market. Bands such as The Merseybeats and The Searchers, after some 40 years on the road know just how to put a great show on - and, of course, the music is considered by some to be timeless!

Moving on to the 70's and its an opportunity for Glam Rock and Glitter to make an appearance - the choice of original artists isn't as great as it could be, but, once again, if you're to pick an original artist rather than tribute, you're pretty certain to get highly polished entertainment. We've used bands such as The Rubettes - and they certainly know how to put on a show! Remember those white caps? Well they're still around.



Then its on to the 80's, a much-maligned era but one that is now providing some great acts for the corporate market - there are enough Bee Gees, Elton John, Eagles and Bon Jovi tribute acts to fill a Convention Hall and bands such as Go West and Haircut 100 are now available again.

The problem era though is the 1990's - with a paucity of both original artists and good tribute bands available. That said, tributes such as Fake That and Noasis are still good enough to provide great post conference entertainmnet.

If you'd like to know more about choosing the right entertainment for your event, why not get in touch with us?

Christmas is coming ....

We've almost finished our Christmas season and we're delighted to have been involved in a number of different types of events.

In the Nice Work (a Diligence sister company) diary this month we have a couple of shopping/wine and dine trips to Northern France. Channel hopping will always be popular here in the south east, with a number of companies using it as a vehicle for client entertaining and staff rewarding. Our favoured destinations are Northern France, using Montreuil-sur-Mer and Le Touquet as a base, and Bruges.

We've also got Christmas Quizzes, Race Nights, Casino Nights - and even a night of Snail racing for one Kent-based client.

So, if you’re looking for something different to reward or entertain your staff or clients, you should talk to Diligence. We’ve got the ideas, we’ve got the experience; and we’ve got a pricing structure to suit all budgets.

We can help you devise a special incentive scheme for your clients or customers, providing guidance on setting your objectives and measurement criteria as well as sourcing the rewards to fit within your budget, whether these are gift or experience based.

Diligence can manage the communications and keep you informed through effective reporting of what items have been used, how many and at what value.

For experienced based rewards, we can offer a range from Party events to special overseas conference and incentive trips.

Our free venue-finding service will help find the right place for you to celebrate your event for staff and customers. We actively manage the arrangements both prior to the event and on the night, to ensure that your function meets all your objectives.

For more information, click here to visit http://www.diligencegroup.co.uk/

The thrill of the turf!

We have extensive experience of working with companies on entertainment evenings and entertaining clients - and, indeed we have over 20 years experience of working with clients in many different industry sectors.

On the other hand we also have many years experience of presenting entertaining, fundraising events for charities, community groups and social clubs. For instance, our Race Nights are extremely popular and we are one of the leading presenters of Race Nights in the south east.

We have successfully adapted the Race Night formula into an entertaining team-building or corporate event. An evening with a mixture of races - including horse, pig and dog races - is an entertaining way to socialise with clients or colleagues.

We provide branded 'Fun Money' and chips for your guests to use - either betting as individuals or betting in syndicates. We also offer a wide range of betting options including Win and Each Way bets; Dual Forecast (bet on the first two horses to finish the race); a Jackpot and an accumulator on two or more races.

Written instructions are provided for guests and we also, if required, provide a running score of winnings so that your guests can see how they are performing in relation to their competitors. There is an element of skill - not just betting (which is pure chance) but on choosing both they type of bet and how much to place on each bet to maximise their chances of finishing ahead of their competing syndicates.

We provide suitable prizes for the winning punters or syndicates - and we also present booby-type prizes for during the evening. We will also provide each syndicate with a Race Card - with race sponsors and horse names that are branded to the company and its guests and which are appropriate to the evening - allowing you to name horses or owners after your guests or their companies. If you are using syndicates, we can also provide signage for you.

The cost for such an evening is relatively modest and includes all the personalised race cards and branded fun money.

Certainly worth considering as part of your 2008 entertaining or teambuilding plans.