Tales of camaraderie, punch-ups and heroism on the rugby pitch featured at last week’s annual Bristol Property Agents Association annual dinner in Bristol, where former England international Martin Bayfield entertained the 500 or so guests, and Jayne Rixon took over from Andrew Batchelor as president of the association.
As a forward for England, Bayfield (pictured right) won 31 caps and played in the 1995 Rugby World Cup squad in South Africa. And at 6′ 10″ and weighing 20 stone, his physical presence provides him with another dimension to his career: that of body double for actor Robbie Coltrane, who plays Hagrid the giant in the Harry Potter films.
Bayfield, who was Batchelor’s choice as guest speaker, also revealed himself as a dab hand at accents on the evening, with Ireland, Wales, New Zealand and Yorkshire in his linguistic repertoire.
Following Bayfield’s anecdotes, outgoing BPAA president Batchelor delivered his final speech and handed over the chain of office to Jayne Rixon, who will be the first woman president in the association’s 65 years. As Batchelor pointed out, women got the vote in 1918, Margaret Thatcher became the first woman prime minister in 1979 and the final frontier, BPAA president, has now been reached.
We wonder who Rixon will choose for her speaker at next year’s annual dinner.
