Luncheon with the Drapers

Yesterday our Clerk, Adele, and I were at a Court Luncheon of the Drapers Company by kind invitation of their Master and Wardens. It was not a small affair. This may be deduced when I explain that the Master proposed the toast to the guests, represented by more than 40 Livery Companies and 5 Draper related Guilds or Fellowships from around the country-Edinburgh to Exeter. I mean proposed them all individually by name, not en bloc, swiftly, charmingly, amusingly. I would not have believed it possible had I not heard it. A virtuoso performance.
It is of course always a pleasure to go to Drapers hall, probably the most magnificent hall in the City and I'm very pleased that we shall be holding our Bowden Charter Dinner there in October. The word opulent is not too strong to describe the hall-I doubt there's any scagliola here.

The pictures gracing the walls are wonderful but as readers of this blog will know from an earlier blog following a previous visit to Drapers it is the ceilings which fascinate me. Large oil paintings are of course splendid but you can see them in every stately home or National Trust property you go to. Not so with late nineteenth century ceiling frescos. The ones in the hall in which we were dining were Shakespearean with Titania and Oberon at either end and representations from the Tempest in the grand central panel. Knockout! But not sufficient to detract from from a beautiful meal accompanied by the kind of wines that only an ancient cellar containing generations of wine purchases can produce. Like the ceiling, heavenly.

Mansion House Scholars

The Mansion House Scholarship scheme is one the Marketors have supported for many years. It is a scheme designed to give scholarships in support of overseas students training for work and work experience in the UK's financial services industry. The majority of scholars take Masters' Degrees in financial services or related subjects.
This year the scheme reached its 100th award milestone since it started 12 years ago. Scholars number 100 and 101 are both Brazilian and were awarded their scholarships by Lord Mayor Michael Bear whilst he was leading a business delegation to Brazil. Both award winners will use their scholarships to attend the London School of Economics for post graduate study
On Monday I represented the Company at a Reception to meet the 2010 scholars and some from earlier years. The Chairman of the Trustees Julian Tregoning gave an interesting speech covering the width and value of the scheme and thanking Companies like the Marketors who support it. It is a charity which does nothing but good for individuals on the one hand and benefits the City long term on the other hand. It is one we should be very pleased we support.

Historical setting for an historical lunch

On Monday Marianne and I went to a splendid event in the Crypts of Guildhall. Pre-lunch drinks preceded a wonderful lunch presided over by our very own Adele Thorpe who is the current President of the Aldgate Ward Club. We were her personal guests. The occasion was the Civic lunch in the presence of the Lord Mayor, together with the lady Mayoress and Alderman Fiona Woolf.
Of the 25 Wards of the City Aldgate is, with Tower Ward, the Easternmost of the City wards. The Ward club traces its history back over three centuries so it was fitting to hold the lunch in the oldest medieval crypt in London. As the City changes so do the populations of the Wards and the City of London Corporation has undertaken a review of the internal boundaries of the City's 25 Wards and new boundaries will come into effect in 2013. One wonders with the sheer scale of some of the enormous buildings going up in the City, housing huge numbers of people, whether they might not comprise Wards themselves.
After lunch Adele gave a masterly speech, or should I say a Presidential speech, welcoming the guests--all in witty rhyme. It justified the terrific applause it received. Such hidden talent!
The Aldgate Ward club, if this was a fair representation of its social activities, would seem to be in rude good health.

Masters at Ironbridge

What do you call a collection of Masters. Is there a collective noun? I don't know. But this annual event brings together Masters from the majority of the Livery Companies. There were 90 of us last week-end. The purpose is for Masters to become familiar with each other in a purely social environment and have the opportunity, if so inclined, to talk about mutual Livery interests and issues. Principally however it is a social week-end with partners which starts with a black tie dinner on Friday night and ends at Sunday lunch time--for those with the staying power to survive the Ball on Saturday night. I am pleased to report that this very enjoyable week-end was an innovation instituted years ago by a Marketor, Sir Peter Gadsden who was Lord Mayor 1979/1980. It is pleasing to know that our reputation for being a sociable Company has real history.
The days are spent in an organised way exploring all that the Ironbridge Gorge and its museums have to offer. Which is a great deal. It was here within the dramatic gorge of the river Severn that the great iron master Abraham Derby perfected the secret of smelting iron with cheap and plentiful coke instead of expensive and inefficient charcoal. Britain and the world was never the same again. Ironbridge was the birthplace of the industrial revolution. The iron bridge itself, the first ever of its kind was a precursor to mass production iron and subsequently steel.
The gorge houses excellent museums and historic buildings including a large and remarkable tile museum so it is easy to see why it has been designated a World Heritage Site

Beating Retreat

The camera never lies. Or does it. Here is a big picture with, relatively, small people, simply because Horse Guards Parade is a quite vast area and will dwarf any group in it, even a large one. The soldiers and horses Beating Retreat last Wednesday were, however, anything but small. Sitting in the stands as we were, all 50 of us, the bands and horses were of course much closer (and bigger!) and the beating of the music, the sound of the marching and the ambiance of the event made for a viscerally thrilling evening.
Beating Retreat is an old system of recalling troops back to barracks, or their equivalent, at the end of a day's battle. Historically it was drummers and later buglers who sounded the Retreat. Today Beating Retreat is a magnificent spectacle with Corps of drums, massed pipes, mounted trumpeters and military bands evoking a sense of tradition and ceremony going back centuries.
This extremely popular event was preceded by an excellent carvery dinner at 86 St James's Street where we took over the upstairs restaurant for a convivial meal. The choice of venue was perfect for it meant we were within a very short walk of Horse Guards Parade. From this start to the final drum roll it was a stunning evening when even the weather looked kindly upon us.

Jailed and Bailed

Last week I was arrested. It happened like this. I was having a quiet coffee with some other Masters at the Sheriffs' invitation in Mansion House. Suddenly there was a huge racket as multiple whistles were blown. Was this a fire drill I thought. But no, in marched 4 policemen all in full Victorian police uniform. An Inspector then had the temerity to read out outrageous trumped up charges against each of us and we were arrested. A ball and chain was fixed to each person's arm and we were marched out into the street. There awaited us an early twentieth century coach, restored and an eye catcher as it drove us straight into the Tower of London.
Awaiting us were two Yeoman Warders with Halberds at the ready. We were unceremoniously marched, single file, across the central Courtyard and into the dining room of the Fusiliers Museum. Bread and water awaited. Things looked up. The water was golden and sparkled. The 'bread' was served buffet style. Fortunately I had bail, thanks to the generosity of all those who so kindly donated money against this eventuality. All the collected Bail money happily went to the Red Cross. Then, having had my photo taken, whilst holding a card with a number on it against my chest (such indignity!), and my fingerprints taken, I and my fellow Masters were allowed out into the sunshine. An unrepeatable experience for an extremely worthwhile cause.

Lunch with the Carmen

A delightful lunch last week at the annual Carmen's Master and Clerks' Luncheon held at what they call ''our nearest approach to a hall'' which is in fact the Officers Mess at Regents Park Barracks in Albany Street. It was a refreshingly different venue and an event enjoyed by thirteen Masters of different Companies, some now becoming old friends.
The Carmen are an old Company (founded in 1517) and indeed their claim to be the oldest transport organisation in the world is to be believed. Not that they haven't had their ups and downs. Whilst waggons, carts, packhorse and coach dominated City commerce for centuries the nineteenth century brought docks, steam and London's growth. The Carmen faded away and family ties were all that was left. The twentieth century saw resurgence and Carmen rebuilt their Company, regained a Charter, achieved Civic recognition and revived old traditions. Including excellent lunches!