53. Presentation Dinner of the Lord Mayor Elect

Following the election of Alderman Andrew Parmley as the next Lord Mayor (see my blog no 43) and before he takes office on Friday 11th November, he has to obtain the Approbation of the Monarch. This is the Queen giving consent to his appointment and is achieved by a ceremony at the House of Lords where the incoming Lord Mayor is “Presented”. This year, the ceremony took place on Monday 17th October and was followed by a Presentation Dinner (see photograph of menu card) for those associated with the new Lord Mayor.

Andrew Parmley is an Honorary Liveryman of our Company, and our Clerk and I were invited to this prestigious dinner which was held at Vintners Hall (see photograph) in the presence of the Lord Chancellor, Elizabeth Truss MP (see photograph).

By ancient custom a silver bowl containing rose water is circulated after dinner and before the speeches.  By dipping the corner of your table napkin into the rose water and patting it behind your ears you allegedly stimulate the nerves in this region which through their connections soothe the digestive organs! It didn’t work for me!

A toast to the Lord Mayor Elect was proposed by Alderman Sir David Wootton and Andrew Parmley responded with his usual good humour. Musical entertainment was provided by the Kaleidoscope Saxophone Quartet.

A great evening and many congratulations to Andrew Parmley.