James smiles at the camera in his grey suit.

Local Fundraiser goes to Buckingham Palace for Garden Party

31 May 2017

James Clarke, Admissions Administrator at North Notts College, attended the Queen’s Garden Party at Buckingham Palace on the 16th May after receiving the royal invitation in acknowledgement of his charity work.

James was nominated by John Connolly, Chief Executive of RNN Group, for his charity work and for founding the Worksop’s Got Talent event. This spectacular showcase, which was held at North Notts Arena in November, celebrated the many talented people living in and around Worksop with profits raised going to the RP Fighting Blindness charity.

James attended the Royal Garden Party with his sister Emily and decided to stay overnight in London so they would be refreshed for the special day. The gates were opened outside Buckingham Palace at 2.30pm and they were led through to the garden area, where there was over 8,000 other people who were attending the event.

“There was huge marquees with tables topped with the most amazing food, so much so that it was hard to decide what to sample first!” said James.

“We had a fantastic time, the weather was sunny with a light breeze and I was just blown away with the whole experience of it.  After the buffet we had an hour for mingling and walking around the gardens, which were unbelievable and then the royal party came out at 4pm to the national anthem.  The royals attending the garden party were the Queen, Prince Philip, Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.”

“Kate and William came along our walkway and I felt star struck when I first saw them.” said James. “Kate had an aura about her and she looked amazing.”

“I was one of the youngest people there and felt a little guilty as I have only just started my charity work and many people who have been involved in charity work for years don’t always get recognised as I have, so it made me very humble and I really appreciated being there and realised how lucky I’ve been. We had a brilliant day and it was a day that I will remember for a very long time.”

Worksop’s Got Talent – the event that James was nominated because of – is returning on Friday November 10th 2017 at North Notts Arena. Auditions are open now, via www.worksopsgottalent.co.uk and tickets will be released very soon.

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