134. Restoration Work at The Painted Hall, Greenwich

Those of you who attended my Installation as Master last July will recall that the event and the subsequent dinner were held in the beautiful Painted Hall in Greenwich.

This hall, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, was originally intended as eating space for naval veterans living at the adjacent Royal Naval Hospital. The walls and ceilings were painted by James Thornhill, and such was the scale and intricacy, that his work took some 19 years to complete.

Immediately following our Installation Dinner on 1st July 2016, the Painted Hall was closed for three years of restoration work to Thornhill’s paintings.

An enormous scaffolding structure, some 20m high, has been constructed in the Hall to give the restorers access to the paintings. Fiona and I arranged to visit the restoration work and were given a guided tour which was both fascinating and awe inspiring. For those of you that are interested, I would thoroughly recommend booking such a tour by going on the Painted Hall website.

Photographs show the Painted Hall before restoration works commenced, our guide describing some of the hidden secrets of the artwork, and the Master on the scaffolding platform immediately adjacent to Thornhill’s ceiling.

133. The Lord Mayor’s Big Curry Lunch

This is the tenth year that the Lord Mayor has organized a “Big Curry Lunch” with ABF, The Soldiers Charity, to support soldiers and veterans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. The event is held at the Guildhall and well supported with generous sponsors. Additionally this year, Prince Andrew was there to lend his support.

The total funds raised in the first nine years were £1.55m and this year the Lord Mayor has set an ambitious target of taking that total to £2m.

Several members of our Company attended this year including our Clerk (Ralph Riley), Mike & Sandra Williamson (Thames Warden), Court Assistant David Richards and me. We all enjoyed a delicious curry lunch and financially contributed via collections, silent auctions, champagne bars and a prize draw – all skillfully designed to raise as much money as possible for this great charity!

The Worshipful Company of Water Conservators also makes a donation and I was delighted to hand the Lord Mayor a cheque for £500 with more to follow from our collection at the forthcoming Election Court Lunch.

It was a wonderful opportunity to meet so many serving full time and reservist soldiers.

Photographs show the Royal Reception invitation card & event brochure, and presenting the cheque to the Lord Mayor.

132. Meeting with CIWM’s Chief Executive

You might recall from Blog No 117, I reported that Court Assistant David Richards is working with a couple of professional institutions to see how we can tap into their new Senior Members as a potential source of recruitment for our own Company.

Earlier this week David met with Dr Colin Church the CEO of CIWM (Chartered Institution for Wastes Management) to discuss this further, and Ralph Riley (our Clerk) and I briefly gate-crashed the meeting to offer support.

The meeting went well and David will hopefully be able to report some new initiatives later this year. Well done David!

Photograph shows Dr Colin Church.

131. City, University of London – Rector’s Dinner

The Rector of City, University of London is the Lord Mayor, Alderman Dr Andrew Parmley – as Master Water Conservator and part of the Alumni I was invited to attend the Rector’s Black Tie Dinner earlier this week.

This splendid celebration of education in the City of London, was held in the Mansion House with over 250 people enjoying excellent food and wine.

The Lord Mayor, a passionate teacher gave a rousing speech on the importance of education to society and he was followed by Clare Verga, the Principal of the City of London Academy, based in Islington. This Academy is supported by both the University and the City of London Corporation and is in one of the most deprived areas of London. Clare gave an impassioned description of how she has turned the Academy around since her arrival in 2012 to become one of the top performing schools in the UK with 92% of students going on to University. Clare was followed by Sophia Kichou a recent graduate from City, University of London who gave a vivid description of her life living in hostel accommodation and balancing two jobs with university life to enable her to support herself. Sophia successfully graduated in 2016 and is currently part of the Speaker of the House of Commons Parliamentary Placement Scheme, working for an MP. It was an inspirational speech and she rightly received a standing ovation.

Many thanks to the Lord Mayor and the University for including me in this stimulating evening.

Photographs show the invitation and menu card and the Lord Mayor addressing us all.

130. The “William Charter” 1067

The year 2017 marks the 950th anniversary of the oldest document in the City of London’s archive – the “William Charter” given by William the Conqueror (King William I) to the City of London in 1067, just a few months after the Battle of Hastings.

The Charter, written in English and confirming the legal rights of the citizens of London, is on display in the Guildhall Art Gallery until the end of April. It is a very small document (written on animal skin parchment) measuring not much more than 125mm x 30mm and contains just 63 words.

Earlier this week I attended a panel presentation in the Guildhall Old Library, given by three distinguished academics – Professor Nicholas Vincent (University of East Anglia), Professor Caroline Barron (University of London) and Dr Nick Holder (University of Exeter). It was a fascinating presentation which explained some details of day to day life in London in the 11th century, how the Charter came to be written and how it has survived for 950 years.

Many thanks to the City of London Events Team for organizing this excellent event and for inviting me.

Photographs show the beautiful stained glass windows in the Guildhall Old Library and a copy of the Charter (together with an explanatory note from the London Metropolitan Archives).

129. Organ Recital by the Lord Mayor

Despite having a fantastically busy schedule, the Lord Mayor still finds time to practice his first love of music. Alderman Dr Andrew Parmley is an accomplished organist and on the evening of the United Guilds Service he gave a 45 minute recital in the lovely St Stephen Church in Walbrook in the City of London.

This event was well attended by Master’s and their Consorts and we all felt privileged to hear the Lord Mayor (who is an Honorary Liveryman of our Company) play. The recital comprised of a wide range of 9 pieces and he deservedly got a standing ovation at the end.

What a talented man.

Photographs show the interior of St Stephen Church, the recital programme and the Lord Mayor playing the organ.

128. United Guilds Service and Luncheon

In 1943, during the darkest days of the Second World War, the Great Twelve Livery Companies decided to hold a service in St Paul’s Cathedral to help lift the spirits of the City of London. This Service, known as the United Guilds Service has been held in March every year since then. It is one of the few occasions where the Livery Companies and Guilds of the City gather together as a whole.

The Service is a colourful one with the Lord Mayor forming a procession with his Sheriffs and the Clergy, and all the Masters and Prime Wardens wear their full regalia. Each Livery Company has its own allocated row in the Cathedral and this year ours was full with Company members and their guests.

It has become a custom for livery companies to arrange a luncheon after the Service and this year we combined with the Worshipful Company of Insurers to dine together in the Members Private Dining Room at the Guildhall.

It was a very convivial occasion and many new friends were made.

Photographs show the Cathedral, the Order of Service, the Members Private Dining Room and the Master with the Master Insurer

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