Two special events in succession for Lis and me
Last night (8th Nov )was  a very special dinner at Stationers Hall in honourof His Majesty King Michael of Romania to celebrate his 75th year as a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order  given by His Honour  Sir Gavyn Arthur . It was a splendid  and colourful affair with the Guard of Honour provided by the Company of Pikemen and Musketeers of the  Honourable Artillery Company . Sir Gavyn's speech stirred us all with the brave exploits of the King during the dark years of Fascism and Communism in Romania.

Afrter an overnight stay in London  , we went to the Silent Ceremony at Guildhall this afternoon .This is the installation ( Admission ) of the new Lord Mayor , Roger Gifford .Again lots of pageant . The robes for this ceremony are dark which contrasts with the scarlet used for the election - and today there were no posies - I am going to find out why there are these differences.Looking forward to the Parade tomorrow  . We are really enjoying the tradition of the City.

The start of a challenging week
Today in bright sunshine I placed across of remembrance on behalf of the Company  in the ceremony of the Opening of the Garden of Rembrance in St Pauls Cathedral .It was very moving and the memories of the sacrifices put all our problems into their proper perspective . But in many ways the sombre  mood was mixed with the brightness of the honour in the sacrifices that were made . Once more we see  opposites co-existing in life . Wardens - you do not need black ties , ordinary ones preferable a company tie will be fine

Then on to one of the last functions for the Lord Mayor - a lunch provded by Trinity House for the City of London Corporation . I was there as an Associate Brother but I was able to wear the badge of the Company with pride . The food and companionship were splendid .

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

……………………………………………………………….

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.

Biodiversity of River Thames continues to improve

On Saturday the 27th October Lis and I went to Denton Gravesend went to the 40th City of London Fishery Research Experiment Organised by the City of London Corporation,

the Thames Angling Preservation Society and the Environment Agency.Additional funding is provided by the Fishmongers’Company and the Port of London Authority.

Yet again it was very jolly event not spoiled by torrential rain !! As usual the lunch was most enjoyable.  The following text is abstracted and added to from the brochure provided for the day.

The City of London is involved via its Port of London Health Authority and the base for the experiment and  the lunch is its Denton office .

The  first Thames Fishery Research Experiment took place in February 1966 and was organised by the Thames Angling Preservation Society with the Greater London Council and the PLA . There were over 500 participants and 578 fish were caught. The experiment was repeated in 1970 and

the City of London became interested in 1971  and after the GLC withdrew , the first

 joint experiment  was arranged  in 1973. It became an annual event which is now in its 40th year.

At the 1966 experiment, stewards were instructed to register fish that were caught before returning them to the river. This practice has now been adopted at similar events all around the country.

The Thames Angling Preservation Society also pioneered the zoning and points system used in the competition today. Judging is based on the greatest variety of fi sh caught and a scoring

system is used which was originally devised by Dr Wheeler of the Natural History Museum. The system rates fish according to scarcity and significance in the context of a cleaner river.

The results of the 40 Fishing Experiments have demonstrated that the River Thames has recovered since the 1950’s & 1960’s when a person was placed in quarantine if they fell into the

water! Over the years, Dick Hodges and Reg Butcher of the Thames Angling Preservation Society have been key figures in organising the annual competition and their hard work and enthusiasm

continues to be greatly appreciated by all who take part. Reg has a long history with the river, having begun working on barges as a teenager. In 1966 he caught the first cod in the Thames for 100

years, from Gravesend Promenade. He also featured in a 1970 film about the Thames.

I became involved again in 2006 when I joined the board of the PLA and by 2007 we , the Water Conservators,  had introduced the Biodiversity Prize ,one of our miniature tankards , for the catch which best demonstrates the continuing improvement and conservation of the River - we thought that this captured the original spirit of the competition .

Eight teams compete for the Lady Howard Trophy which is awarded to the team with the highest

number of points.

Th e teams were:

Charles Stanley Angling Team

CoL Invitation Angling Team

Essex County Angling Team

Kent Angling Team

PLA Angling Team

Porth Health & Environmental Services Committee Team

Public Services Team .... winner presented by  the present Lady  Howard , former Lady Mayoress of London and daughter in law of  the previous Lady Howard  

Thamesiders Angling Team

Fishmongers’ Cup

Anglers compete individually for the Fishmongers’  Cup which is presented to the angler who has caught the largest and/or best fish during the competition ..... winner Rick Hodson of the PLA team with a whopping 9 lb cod ! presented by a representative from the Fishmongers

Bio-diversity Award

Th e Worshipful Company of Water Conservators  present an award for the catch which most demonstrates continuing healthiness and improvement of the River Thames .... winner Phil Baxter of the PLA team prize presented by Peter Matthews Master Water Conservator

PLA Schools Trophy

The  following teams competed:

City of London School

City of London School for Girls

Gravesend Grammar School ... winner presented by Peter Matthews

Best individual catch by an adult  won  Paul Longmuir – Public Services Team

Best individual catch by school team – Matthew Perry – Gravesend Grammar

The event was rounded off with a vote of thanks from the Captain of the Essex County team

A week late but better than never .
Last Wednesday 17th, Lis and I went to the Founders' Lunch at Butchers' Hall . We had a delightful time and the food was excellent . It was good to meet friends of many years standing .The opportunity to dine there is available  and perhaps we ought to make more of it . I am late with our report because I went straight off to Cardiff and I have been tied up ever since . Back off to Cardiff again tomorrow !

October 10
Another busy day . Lis and I had been in Wales for over a week and came back this morning to Denbies wine estate  near Dorking for a lunch organised by Roger North our Fleet Warden and his wife Chris. We missed the vineyard tour but enjoyed the food and company of about 30 others . This proves that the notion of regional  Company lunches is very good and we will have more . Well done and thanks to Roger and Chris. 

Roger and Chris dropped me off  at Dorking Station , now changed into black tie and I made my way to the  Worshipful Company of Musicians Annual Masters' and Clerks' Dinner in Armourers Hall. The Master is of course Ald Andrew Parmley  , who we all know from our Company , and he gave a most witty speech in response to the guest speaker Sara Mohr-Pietsch radio three presenter and broadcaster . She was a former pupil of the Master and beween them they recalled some very happy days .A very entertaining duo - thankyou . The surroundings and the company of fellow members of the Livery made for a memorable evening

Finally thank you to Chris and Roger who agreed to step in for a very early morning event on the 12th - the send off of the taxi drivers sponsored trip to Paris from Docklands  - we all  contributed with the collection from the Installation lunch .

Tradition and innovation once more in partnership

Today I went to Common Hall at Guildhall  for the purpose of electing the Lord Mayor . It was spectacular . All the gowns , uniforms , hats , bonnets and badges made a very colourful occasion .It really brings home the tradition of the City . Alderman  Roger  Gifford was elected . Congratulations ! He will be very good - I heard him speak at the Paviors dinner - check one of my earliest blogs. But I was also fascinated by the Report of the Livery Committee  . It recommended that the practices of the City be brought up to date in respect of the election and appointment of auditors of Chamberlain's and Bridgemasters' accounts . There was no hint that ....things had been done differently in the past and so change was not appropriate . We can all learn from this and if there are things in our Company which need improving, we should not flinch and we should follow the lead of the Livery Committee and Common Hall .