What a wonderful night last night at the Banquet  .Over 100 people attended the event at Painters Hall . Lis and really enjoyed ourselves and appreciated the efforts which people made in organising and attending .I include the texts of my speeches

(Wardens, Liverymen, Freemen, Ladies & Gentlemen)

It is my pleasure to welcome you all here this evening . With my new found bilingual skills Hello, Good, Evening , Welcome . Helo, Nos Da , Croeso

To use the words of our alderman, you are all most welcome  emphasizing that all most is two words and not one

Before I say anything more about our guests I would like to take this opportunity to say something about the company . We are in very good heart and I am very pleased that we have a very active programme of engagement with the membership this year . Inevitably with so much activity there will always be challenges to deal with, but I would much rather deal with the sins of commission than the sins of omission and by golly we have lots of commissioning going on. I encourage those members present who have not become engaged so far to do so .

There are many things which I ought to mention but I do not have time . One which might interest our guests is our book . It is called Reflections on Water . This will be made up of individual views and experiences of water . They may be technical ( although not too esoteric) reflective , personal- with essays , poems, papers or anecdotes . It will involve contributions received and promised so far from perspectives as diverse as technical leaders on lighthouses through to the views of eight year children on reservoirs . So guests please do contribute – we really do want a diversity of views, thoughts and experiences .

So whilst I am talking to you as guests may I repeat my special welcome to you . Your presence adds lustre to our evening , but ,may I be very selfish for a moment and say that on behalf of the Members present with guests who are partners – domestic partners – how much we appreciate your support throughout the year . Welcome to our personal guests , Sue and Peter Cook who many of you will know were active in the Company but moved to France to be with their family , and our son Robert .

Lis and I are having a great time representing the company and by being strict on what we eat at home we are keeping our weights down . We could not do what we are doing without the support of the Wardens and our clerk Ralph Riley . Thank you all .

Now finally may I welcome our principal guest Sir Richard Dearlove . He has a very distinguished career in intelligence finally as C the Chief of British Secret Intelligence .He is currently the Master of Pembroke College Cambridge where I am sure that he is known appropriately as M,. although I have never heard him called that . His challenge is the same as mine and that of Masters of all Livery companies – how to honour tradition whilst encouraging change and experiment in this modern world .

I now come to the toast which will be in tap water – what could be a better expression in our belief in water conservation than doing this .It is genuine  treated Thames water supplied at fantastic value for money by Thames Water .

Sir Richard will respond to my toast on behalf of all the guests and so may I ask the members of the company to join me in that toast …….. the Guests

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Sir Richard’s speech  referred to his life in the Secret Service and as Master of Pembroke and shared his thoughts on combining innovation and tradition. He concluded by referring to some issues on water conservation and fishing on the River Tamar and complimented the progress which had been made in co-operation with organisations like South West Water . He stressed the importance of conserving our natural assets. I responded briefly by referring to the new approaches to natural resources management as is demonstrated by the initiatives in Wales and the current reviews in England.

   

Sir  Richard that was a most interesting speech and we will add that to the compendium of views which we are collecting on this topic throughout the year . You honour us with your insights .

 I conclude by thanking the Worshipful Company of Painter Stainers for the use of their Hall – it is magnificent and  by thanking the staff for their attentive service and by thanking the caterers for the delicious repast .May I thank Huber for providing sponsorship for this evening

And of course on your behalf may I also  thank our singers from the Guildhall School of Music who entertained so well  with Welsh songs and sea shanties .

It is my bittersweet duty now to bring matters to an end this evening and to invite you to join me in a stirrup cup . The flower arrangements are constructed in a way which allows the ladies to take home individual posies . Lis and I thank you  once more for coming and we wish you godspeed and safety for your journeys  home.