An on-the-spot report from NO-BIAS

From very early on, the dance floor took a hefty hammering with foot-tappers forging in to keep up with the swinging beat. It seems like the Christo Pietersz Six had set such a mood of Christmas and New Year' Eve in tandem that guests could not resist.

After that big bang of a dance session straight off the ranks as it were, Christo chimed in on the keyboad as the choir, led by Hyacinth Jones, chorused a melodious Joy to the World to commence the Sydney Bens carols for the night.

Yes, it was a slightly upbeat version of carol singing. But there was not a smidgin of doubt that all 260 guests, including the children, making a full-house at the Don Moore Centre, enjoyed the style with a resounding rendition vocally of some perennial favourites.

That done, emcee for the evening, Michel Jason came up with the good news. Dinner was next on the cards. As guests made their way to the magnificent spread of eastern cuisine by Dale Mendis' Caterplan, others were busy selling raffle tickets offering a fine array of prizes donated by Committee members and well-wishers.

Needless to say, there were many happy faces later on when the prizes were drawn and the many winners discovered that those numbered red, blue, black or green pieces of 40-millimetre square ticket butts had a significantly desirable value to them, meaning anything from a small electrical appliance to a desirable bottle of Wild Turkey.

It was a BYO night of course, but how about that Sydney Bens' Vino Benedicte 2007 Shiraz and Chardonnay? A great drop or what? That good stuff cam from Hope Wine Group of Pokolbin.

Now what about Santa? They all asked. There was some delay in getting the genial gent over on time. But it seems that Ronnie Almeida knows everything about freight and getting things from place to place by air – even sleighs with reindeers on leash and a fat old man to boot may have been something different to him. Somehow, Ronnie made sure Santa was there, ah well, a few minutes late, so what. Thanks Ronnie, the children were delighted.

What next? Dancing of course. And with such a great selection of dance music coming their way, there was no such a thing as tired feet. Everone wanted more, more and even more! But midnight was the deadline – ah, but we did stretch the minutes a little bit, thanks to our Treasurer Lionel Machado's charm and diplomacy.

What a night! It was a concerted service by a friendly committee led by an enterprising President Ranjith Velayuthen that put it all together. In addition to that, what really makes these Sydney Bens nights different enough to entice so many friends, well-wishers and their friends as well to attend, assured of a good night everytime? I heard someone say: “It is the Benedictine charisma.” Or is it the charisma of the Benedictines? But then you know where I am coming from!

Click here to view an album of 60 photos taken by Doug Jones