From the desk of Penelope Alice, Britain’s most fabulous PA: CWT Business Travel Journalism Awards

I do like to get my glad rags on of an evening, so I was delighted to be invited to attend the Carlson Wagonlit Travel Business Travel Journalism Awards at the spectacular Magazine Restaurant located inside the Serpentine Sackler Gallery. The evening started off with some delicious sushi-style canapés, which went down a treat with a few glasses of the fizz on offer.

Before dinner, we had the opportunity to admire the fabulous space designed by architecture supremo Zaha Hadid, an impressive, billowing structure currently featuring an exhibition by Cerith Wyn Evans that fuses sound, light and text to stunning effect.

Once seated we heard from our host for the evening, Steph McGovern, a business reporter on BBC Breakfast who regaled us with stories of being molested by farmyard animals in the course of her career.

Then it was time for dinner, with delicate lobster up first followed by a tasty selection of autumn vegetables with duck egg (I swapped to the vegetarian option after the main course of Gressingham duck turned out to be a trifle pink for my liking – I could swear I heard it quacking…) The dessert of chocolate, nougat and coffee mousse proved to be a winning combination.

On to the main event and Steph kicked off the nominations with the award for Best Newcomer and worked her way through the 18 categories with admirable alacrity, meaning that the proceedings wound up in plenty of time to grab a post-prandial drink at the bar.

All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable evening thanks to CWT’s generous hospitality – and, who knows, we may even win something next year!

This blog originally appeared on the PA Life Club site. To read more of Penelope Alice’s blog entries and get access to a range of fantastic benefits, including discounts and special deals at dozens of selected retailers and venues, as well as exclusive monthly competitions, networking events and 50% off PA Life’s new training courses, click here: palife.co.uk/pa-life-club