Adrian Lyons, legendary doyen of the Railway Forum and career soldier, is to host the RailStaff Awards 2009.

Mr Lyons stepped down from a highly successful job as Director General of the Railway Forum three years ago.

Says editor Andy Milne, ‘We are thrilled that Adrian Lyons has accepted our invitation to host the RailStaff Awards 2009. His enthusiasm for railways and sound economic and social arguments informed a whole generation of politicians and civil servants to the extent that failing the railways as the political class did up until ten years ago is now no longer a feasible political option.’

Adrian Lyons was a career soldier and rose to the rank of major general, masterminding the Ministry of Defence’s strategic planning and logistics function. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport and also a keen writer.

Ventriloquist Paul Zerdin, will be entertaining railway staff at the RailStaff Awards 2009.

Since his first Royal Variety performance in 1997 Paul has appeared regularly on shows such as ITV’s Tonight at the London Palladium with Bruce Forsyth, The Big Stage, The Freddie Starr Show, LWT's top rated Christmas shows, Shirley Bassey’s 60th Birthday Special, Richard Digance Christmas Special, ITV’s You Bet, BBC1's Generation Game, ITV’s A Royal Gala, Carlton TV’s Stand Up at Jongleurs, BBC TV's The Stand Up Show, Paramount Comedy’s ‘The World Stands Up’, ‘Late Night With Jerry Springer’, Ch.4’s The Big Breakfast, ITV’s This Morning, BBC1’s Children in Need and Open House with Gloria Hunniford.

He was the first outright winner - by over 100,000 votes - of the Big Big Talent Show on LWT. He made his TV debut as a magician on BBC's Tricky Business. However, within 6 months he appeared as a ventriloquist on Hanger 17 and shortly after that landed a two year contract presenting the Disney produced kids’ programme Rise and Shine for GMTV. Paul can now be seen headlining regularly at the world famous Comedy Store, and Jongleurs Comedy Clubs. Paul has also worked on entertaining British troops in Iraq.

www.paulzerdin.com/r_sam/press.php

Sensational party band, Fully Funktional, will be appearing at the RailStaff Awards this October for the third year running.

The magic musicians have become firm favourites with rail staff and ravers alike. Says a spokesman, ‘A bunch of musicians that stand and politely go through the motions - we are definitely not! If you want to see horn players starting a conga-line, our guitarist encouraging guests to assist him in a wild solo, our singers serenading people even outside the room & our bass player doing the occasional backslide across the dance floor mid-song, then this is the band you need!’

Exuberance is the watchword. ‘We’ll wow you musically & exhaust you visually! We’ve done our research on the live music circuit & we’re pleased to say no one even comes close! That’s not to say we can’t tone it down & be well-behaved if you want something a little more low-key, mellow or sophisticated. We’re here to tailor the performance & music exactly to your specification. In our repertoire is a generous spoonful of every ingredient required for an unforgettable performance, from rock n’ roll, pop, funk, soul, disco, rock, big band swing & jazz. Whatever you like best, we’ll add an extra helping & keep you coming back for more.

Want Some A-List Name-Dropping? Our CV reads like the pages of Hello Magazine. Members of our band have played, toured & recorded with Tom Jones, Madness, Franz Ferdinand, BBC Big Band, The Four Tops, Charlotte Church, The Funk Brothers, Nancy Sinatra, Spice Girl Mel B, The Temptations, Barry Manilow, Gladys Knight, Johnny Mathis, Tony Hadley, Limahl, George Benson & many more. Tom Jones is a fan, ‘Bloody excellent fun, a brilliant band,’ says Tom. The band does costumed 60s & 80s sets, a 30 minute James Bond tribute plus sophisticated jazz ensembles. The band uses Shure radio mikes for front-line audience interaction.’

18:30 Arrival at the ICC where you make your way to Hall 4

19:00 Take your seats in Hall4 for your four course evening meal

19:15 Welcome by associate sponsors, ATOC and Network Rail

21:00 Charity Raffle in aid of Railway Children

21:15 Comedy from ventriloquist, Paul Zerdin

21:45 Awards ceremony, hosted by Adrian Lyons

22:45 Live music from our band, Fully FunKtional

01:00 END

Starter

Salad of galia melon, papaya and chervil, William pear and citrus poppy seed vinaigrette. (V)

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Main Courses

Pot roasted breast of chicken filled with a mushroom and tarragon stuffing dressed with Toulouse sausage and rosti potato.

Wild mushroom and brie wellington, cider and honey reduction with sage mash. (V)

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Dessert

Apple tart with blackcurrant ice cream and calvados custard

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A selection of cheeses from the cheese platter

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Coffee

If you have any special dietary requirements please email gemmak@railstaff.co.uk