Cape Town - After spending an evening with Tim Harris, the City of Cape Town’s head of investment, Sheila Belcher was full of praise for the man many call “the sexiest man in politics”.
“His good looks have not gone to his head; he was so gracious.”
Belcher, from Edgemead, became the envy of many Harris fans this weekend when she won a lucky draw to sit next to him at the Iris House Parisian Winter Wonderland Ball fund-raiser.
It was a special moment for Belcher, whose son Ruan is one of the children to benefit from the work done by the children’s hospice.
“It was a wonderful evening. I felt so humbled and privileged to be in the company of such a couple.”
Although Harris would be Belcher’s “date” for the evening, he was also accompanied by his wife, Cara Louise.
Harris told the Cape Argus before the event that they were looking forward to the evening, and had lined up the grandparents to babysit for their “double date”.
Belcher described the couple as “lovely and clearly so much in love”.
Belcher’s R100 entry in the lucky draw won her a seat at the main table, with high-profile guests such as Premier Helen Zille.
While the food and the company were “wonderful”, the highlight of the evening was undoubtedly at the end when the Harris’s said their goodbyes.
“As they left Tim’s wife gave me a hug and said I was an inspiration to women,” said Belcher, who could not believe that she was being complimented.
The event, which included an auction, raised R120 000 for Iris House. This included substantial donations of R20 000 from the FW de Klerk Foundation and Zille respectively, said founder Sue van der Linde.
The money will go towards the renovation of the hospice building, and the work done by the volunteers to provide community-based care for children with special needs and life-threatening conditions.
The charity caters for families in the northern suburbs, Mfuleni and Vredenburg.
Belcher said she hoped the event, and the publicity Harris had generated, would raise awareness of the work done by Iris House.
Last year, 93 registered families benefited from its services.
Cape Argus