When the challenge goes out to drink in the cause of raising money for charity, it is heart- warming to see the legal profession respond with such vigour.

Around 2,000 people attended the highly successful annual Legal Charities Garden Party held last month on the north lawns of Lincoln's Inn - organised by the City of Westminster and Holborn Law Society - and between them they bought 1,234 bottles of wine, including a whopping 833 bottles of champagne, a 10% rise on last year.

The money raised was split between six charities, including the Solicitors Benevolent Association and LawCare (see [2003] Gazette, 31 July, 16).