| The ninth month of my term as Master began on the day after the City Liveries weekend, June 24th. There were three events: the election of sheriffs at Common Hall in the Guildhall; a lunch after Common Hall at Wax Chandlers Hall; and an Armed Forces Flag Raising Ceremony in front of the Guildhall. Alex and I duly attended, in full regalia, for another traditional ceremony in the Guildhall and then joined several fuellers, including Past Masters Peter and Jan Harrison, who had also attended, for lunch. I was lucky enough to be seated next to Dame Fiona Woolf, the Master Wax Chandler, and we had an interesting conversation about the changes to the City over the last four decades, both having started our careers as City solicitors before 1980. She has gone on to have a very distinguished career, including as Lord Mayor and is also an honorary member of our livery. Rather embarrassingly, our conversation went on so long that the Clerk and I missed the beginning of the Flag Raising Ceremony, but I do not think our absence was noticed! Two days later, on June 26th, the Trustees of the Fuellers Charitable Trust Fund, to whom I am an adviser, held its quarterly meeting at Carmen Hall. Past Master Chloe Andrews-Jones chaired the meeting which, amongst other matters, reviewed which of the requests for grants should be successful and whether to renew or alter the regular donations. The emphasis remains on making donations that will make a difference rather than form a very small part of a significant public appeal. Particular attention was accordingly paid to the awards to our Military Affiliates and initiatives for students, including the Fuellers Arkwright Engineering Scholarship and City University prizes. The meeting also noted an increase in donations from Fuellers but it was stressed that further increases would be welcome! The following Sunday, June 30th, Margaret and I joined the Masters of the Company of Watermen and Lightermen and the Worshipful Companies of Water Conservators and Distillers as the City representatives supporting the Lord Mayor in a recreation of the ceremony of the inspection of the London Stones. The conservation of the River Thames was entrusted to the citizens of London by various charters from 1197, with the boundaries of the jurisdiction marked by a series of stones placed on the banks of the river. The Lord Mayor, accompanied by City dignitaries, visited the stones in the course of official surveys of the river. The City’s rights were claimed by the placing of the City sword at the foot of the stone while the Lord Mayor’s party drank wine to the toast ‘God preserve the City of London’, after which the date of the inspection and the name of the Lord Mayor were engraved on the stone. The ceremony was made redundant when jurisdiction over the river was transferred to the Thames Conservators in 1857 but its recreation this year was part of the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (see May 20th plaque ceremony, month seven). The four Masters, all formally enrobed, and three consorts accordingly met at Penton Hook Lock and embarked on the ‘Jubilant’ barge before being rowed (in rather tight accommodation) at the head of the flotilla following the Lord Mayor’s rather larger barge ‘Leonie’ to Staines, where we were met by the Mayor of Spelthorne and other local dignitaries. The inspection ceremony followed, after which we made the official toast with some excellent vintage gin provided by the Worshipful Company of Distillers. The ceremony was in front of a replica of the stone placed at Staines and we then walked to the local museum where the original stone is preserved and on display. The party then returned to the Leonie, where we witnessed a sail-by of a flotilla of local boats (including the ‘Jubilant’) before returning to Penton Hook Lock and enjoying a picnic lunch before disembarking for the return journey to Buckinghamshire. Traffic on the M25 was slower than our barge so we took a circuitous route round Slough but nevertheless made home in time to walk Mia and Theia, our labradors, after a rather extraordinary, not to say memorable, day on which we were, once again, lucky with the weather: sunshine all day. The next ten days were involved with family matters: a birthday celebration, a rehearsal dinner, a wedding at home, with 200 guests and 150 glamping in one of our paddocks, and then a cricket match between the families of the bride and the groom. The match was won in the last over when a ball was skied into the outfield only to be dropped…. and landed over the boundary for six! We then entertained the over 60 visitors from the USA as they left over the following week. It was all great fun and provided many happy memories.     |
| It was back to Fuellers business and the Midsummer Court and dinner held at the Innholders’ Hall on Thursday, July 11th. The Court meeting settled several important issues, including the importance of the bi-annual Duke of Edinburgh Future of Energy Conference (next scheduled for November 2026); a decision that the annual Ezra Memorial lecture should revert to being called The Fuellers Annual Energy lecture; the establishment of a new committee, chaired by Court Assistant Iain Poole, to organise events with embassies following the success of the breakfast at the Canada High Commission in May (see month 7); and the various administrative improvements described in my summer greeting circulated at the beginning of the month. The decision to drop Lord Ezra from the name of our future annual energy lectures followed the association of his and our names with coal allowing an academic faction to imply, in criticism of the lecture content, that we support fossil fuels. We do not, of course. The Company is neutral and seeks only to provide information about energy and provoke discussion in a civilised and respectful manner. Unfortunately academia does not always behave in a civil manner, particularly in controversial areas. The late Lord Ezra had a well-known dislike of publicity, favouring instead discreet negotiations behind the scenes, so I feel sure he would have agreed with this approach, which, like the decision not to use our motto, may be reviewed in the future if circumstances and politics permit. The word ‘energy’ did, of course, replace the word ‘coal’ in our constitutional documents over thirty years ago… when my late father was the Master. The Court meeting also included the formal grant of Freedom and introduction to the livery of several new members with this more evidence that the reorganisation of the membership application process, combined with hard work by the members of the newly reformed Membership Group , of which Ash Shastri, our Junior Warden, is a very active Chair, is beginning to bear fruit. There is, however, some way to go so I encourage you to seek out new members among your friends and contacts, as well as become active, or, where applicable, even more active, in the Company’s affairs! My next appointment as Master was a week later, July 18th, when Alex, our Clerk, and I attended the Annual Service of the Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor in St Faith’s Chapel in the Crypt of St Paul’s Cathedral. This was an intriguing occasion, with many ceremonial formalities including flags, banners, swords and robes, all in a rather warm crypt: we were in the middle of a heatwave! The reception in the garden of Apothecaries’ Hall that followed was very welcome, not least as the guests included an increasing number of familiar faces. That all said, I was very happy to return to Buckinghamshire and an evening dog walk! The following Saturday, July 20th, Margaret and I were among the guests of the Worshipful Company of Carmen to witness the annual cart marking ceremony in the Guildhall Yard. The regulation of carts dates back over 750 years to the early days of the City, with the ceremony of Cart Marking evolving over time. We saw over 50 vehicles including handcarts, horses and carts, horse-drawn carriages, steam engines, military vehicles and motorcycles together with historic, vintage and specialist vehicles including the latest, powered by electricity and hydrogen. The vehicles entered the Guildhall Yard one by one, and, after paying the five shilling fee, were greeted by the Lord Mayor and the Master Carmen. As each vehicle was presented for marking a commentator told us about its history and relevance today. It was quite an exhibition, as was the lunch for over 500 in the Guildhall that followed! Margaret and I much enjoyed both carts and the meal, with our table including several familiar faces and thus making for an enjoyable afternoon.   The following day, July 21st, Margaret, Maia, Theia and I embarked on the second of our walks along the Ridgeway for Charity , this time at Crowell. This is reported, together with our walk on the following Sunday, July 28th, in the summary of our first six walks circulated separately and in the news section of the Fuellers website. All donations very gratefully received!Which brings me to my last event as your Master in July, a security conference at Mansion House on July 23rd which Ash Shastri, our Junior Warden, and I attended. It would be improper to provide any details of the content but we were both encouraged at the steps taken by the City Corporation, the police and the military special forces to prepare for a terrorist or other life threatening incident in the City as well as any demonstration that threatens to get out of hand. These precautions are necessary in the current political conditions as recent history makes clear that the City is in no way immune from such incidents. It is sad to end this report on such a note but there can be no excuse for failing to be prepared! August has always been a very quiet time for the livery community and this year is no exception. After our return from visiting family in America on August 22, we have two more walks planned for August as well as many further walks in September. The walks will be reported elsewhere and will appear in the news section of the Company website. My next appearance as Master is on September 5th when I hope to escape from the Tower of London courtesy the funds that you will be asked to subscribe for my bail. The first £1,500 raised will go to the Red Cross and the balance to the Fuellers Charitable Trust Fund. I appeal, once more, for your generosity! This report thus covers both month 9 and 10 of my time as your Master. My next report, the penultimate, will cover September, which looks like being rather busy, as well as my final report on the month of October as I hand over my post to the Senior Warden before the Installation dinner on October 31st. Events in those last two months include, in addition to the Installation dinner, trips to Hattingley Valley Vineyard on September 11th, the new introduction and welcome party for new members at Carmen Hall after the general Purposes Committee meeting on September 19th and the visit to the ‘Energy from Waste’ site at Greatmoor, near Aylesbury, in October, date to be confirmed. There is also of course, the remaining Ridgeway walks for charity by Margaret, Maia, Theia and I – and I hope very much that many of you will be able to support as many of these events as you can manage! FUTURE EVENTS Dates of future Company and City events are available by clicking here and also on the Events Page. |
