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Bill Bailey to host ‘Orange Tie’ ball

A charity ball hosted by the comedian Bill Bailey 
hopes to bring a hint of the exotic to a corner of 
Oxford next Saturday evening.
The Ball is advertised as ‘orange tie’ and 
guests will be expected to augment traditional 
black tie dinner wear with exotic accessories.
The ball will raise money for endangered Sumatran orangutans and their fragile natural 
habitats. The charity works to restore rainforests and work with local people to protect the 
orangutans’ habitat.
Guests will be welcomed to the grandeur of 
the Oxford Castle Quarter with traditional Indonesian music and dance courtesy of the Oxford 
Gamelan Society and offered a complimentary 
glass of champagne or mulled wine.
Following a three course meal, Bill Bailey 
will share stories from his travels in Indonesia, 
where he has seen orangutans in the wild. 
There will also be 
an auction for 
items such as 
signed books 
by David Att e n b o r –
ough, a 
stay in a luxury tree house, and a crash course 
in perfume design with Lush’s top perfumer.
Helen Buckland from the Sumatran Orangutan Society reassured guests that they would 
not necessarily be expected to wear an orange 
bow tie and said, “any tropical touch will do.”
She added, “We do hope that some guests will 
wear orange, and have heard that there’s been a 
flurry of requests for orange bow ties in Oxford. 
We are looking forward to seeing how creative 
our guests will be with the dress code. And if 
anyone has left it a bit late to find the perfect 
outfit, we do have an orangutan costume.”
She said she felt unable to comment on alleged physical resemblances between the animals and comedian Bill Bailey but did say, “We 
all share 96.4% of our DNA with 
orangutans, but perhaps 
some people a little 
more. Bill has said he 
does feel a certain 
affinity with our 
red-haired ape 
cousins.”
Tickets cost 
£45 and can be 
bought at www.
orangutans-sos.
org

A charity ball hosted by the comedian Bill Bailey hopes to bring a hint of the exotic to a corner of Oxford on Saturday evening.

The Ball is advertised as ‘orange tie’ and guests will be expected to augment traditional black tie dinner wear with exotic accessories.

The ball will raise money for endangered Sumatran orangutans and their fragile natural habitats. The charity works to restore rainforests and work with local people to protect the orangutans’ habitat.

Guests will be welcomed to the grandeur of the Oxford Castle Quarter with traditional Indonesian music and dance courtesy of the Oxford Gamelan Society and offered a complimentary glass of champagne or mulled wine.

Following a three course meal, Bill Bailey will share stories from his travels in Indonesia, where he has seen orangutans in the wild. There will also be an auction for items such as signed books by David Attenborough, a stay in a luxury tree house, and a crash course in perfume design with Lush’s top perfumer.

Helen Buckland from the Sumatran Orangutan Society reassured guests that they would not necessarily be expected to wear an orange bow tie and said, “any tropical touch will do.”

She added, “We do hope that some guests will wear orange, and have heard that there’s been a flurry of requests for orange bow ties in Oxford. We are looking forward to seeing how creative our guests will be with the dress code. And if anyone has left it a bit late to find the perfect outfit, we do have an orangutan costume.”

She said she felt unable to comment on alleged physical resemblances between the animals and comedian Bill Bailey but did say, “We all share 96.4% of our DNA with orangutans, but perhaps some people a little more. Bill has said he does feel a certain affinity with our red-haired ape cousins.”

Tickets cost £45 and can be bought at www.orangutans-sos.org

 

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