Anne Gilbert, managing director of the UK's Principal Investment Management, made a faux pas when she invited eight 50-something men to join her table at a charity lunch for Marie Curie Cancer in London.

When she arrived with her guests, she discovered to her horror that it was a ladies event: the rest of the 400 attendees were all women. The eight lucky men - who included Principal's chairman John Green and commercial director, Barry Aling - took it all in good part, even when they were dubbed the 'Viagra table' by Maureen Lipman, the actor and comedian who was the charity auctioneer.