Installation
My installation on 30th May at Apothecaries Hall was a splendid event, masterminded with his usual precision by the Clerk. I was very impressed by the turnout with a full house for dinner which was both a compliment to me and a compliment to Graham in recognition of all the great things he did for the company in his year. My inheritance is rich one. Besides the human contingent I was flattered to have a private guard of honour before me at dinner in the form of four, impressively dressed teddy bears courtesy of my wife, Shirley, and Liveryman Nigel Israel.
Lunch with the Top Ten
The following day the Clerk and I were back at Apothecaries Hall to retrieve the Apollo Mace which had been carried with such distinction the previous evening by Liveryman Robert Wilde-Evans. Keen to maintain the environmental credentials of the Company I decided that rather than use a taxi, we would propel the mace back to Hoare’s Bank on a sack barrow. As it turned out the sack barrow from the Shakespeare Tower in the Barbican, where I live, was just the right size. As you may have noticed, the mace lives in a box which resembles a small coffin: fortunately, the Clerk and I were not mistaken for a latter-day Burke and Hare as we processed up Fleet Street.
That job done, we attended a lunch given by the World Traders at Information Technologists’ Hall – once a pub and one of the smaller livery halls tucked behind the Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great. The lunch was for Masters and Clerks of the livery companies ranking 100 and above. We were all made most welcome by the Master of World Traders, Michael Larsen.
Into the Dragon’s Den
My next event took me to a company that is yet to obtain livery status, the Company of Entrepreneurs.
The Entrepreneurs Award in Social Innovation is a unique initiative created by The Company of Entrepreneurs which aims to support and accelerate the growth of businesses that are focussed on making a positive impact on society. EASI offers applicants the chance to win a £10,000 grant, together with a package of high-level business support and access to a world-class network of entrepreneurs.
Eight finalists, whittled down from over one hundred entrants, presented their projects with the winning prize going to Elizabeth Beh of Tresacare, a social enterprise that helps care workers to stay happy and resilient in their jobs.
Turners House and Marble Hill
My first Arts Scholars visit as Master was a day by the Thames enjoying two private tours, the first to Turner’s House and garden, designed and built by him in 1813, followed by a visit to nearby Marble Hill House and gardens, a Palladian house built in the 1720s for Henrietta Howard, mistress of George II when he was the Prince of Wales.
Needless to say, the event was perfectly organised by the Events Committee: a perfect balance of education, entertainment and fellowship.
Dulwich Picture Gallery
On 18th June Shirley and I were guests at the preview of Yoshida: Three Generations of Japanese Printmaking which will form part of an Arts Scholars event in September (already sold out). Featuring over 75 exquisite prints, this exhibition journeys from the rich, nostalgic landscapes of the prolific artist and patriarch of the family, Hiroshi to the abstract work of the family’s later and current generations.
The Dulwich Picture Gallery has been the beneficiary of a covid recovery grant from the Arts Scholars charity which allowed it to develop and implement a new emergency plan. It was good to meet several staff who had received training as a result.
Brigantes
Not the ancient British tribe but the association of City of London Liverymen in the North whose 2024 breakfast (meaning luncheon) was held in the splendid surroundings of the St George’s Hall, Liverpool.
Having spent much time in that city in the 1980s I was particularly pleased to be back there. The Arts Scholars were well represented as the guest speaker was Liveryman Wendy Joseph and I was delighted to find myself seated beside Wendy Levy and her husband Mark, together with Miriam and Stephen Kramer. Another guest on our table was Past Master David Roberts of the Worshipful Company of Parish Clerks, of which I am also a member, as is Past Lord Mayor, Alderman Sir Andrew Parmley, FRCO who played the magnificent organ in the hall as part of our entertainment.
Fish and Chips
Having got back to London that evening I was able to join the Fish and Chip lunch at the City University Club the next day. If you have not been to one of these please do go – they are a model of conviviality. And if you have been then please go again. It is a particularly good way to engage potential freemen in the company in an informal and inexpensive way.
Not the Ironbridge Weekend.
Every year, the City of London Livery Committee organises a weekend “away” for Masters and their consorts. For many years this took place at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum in Shropshire. Since Covid it has gone further afield and was in Glasgow last year and will be in Aberdeen in 2025. But in 2024 it went no further than the Tower of London.
Proceedings kicked off on Friday evening with a barbecue at Haberdashers’ Hall. Saturday was given over to various visits. Shirley and I were assigned to a group that visited the London Metropolitan Archives, the location of which was, fortunately, well known to me, as the coach driver managed to get lost! After luncheon in the Tower of London we were off to Goldsmith’s Hall for a private view of the exhibition Silver in the Fast Lane before dinner in the old library at Guildhall. The old library is the setting for the biennial Red Cross Christmas market so I found I was sitting on the spot usually occupied by the Wax Chandlers from whom I buy candles, whilst table nine had the honour to be placed on the exact site of the Arts Scholars’ stall.
After an interesting breakfast meeting on Sunday to discuss philanthropy in the City we moved to the newly restored St Lawrence Jewry for a service of Matins at which Dame Sarah Mullaly, Bishop of London preached.
Election of Sheriffs.
The Brigantes breakfast, livery weekend and election of Sheriffs are usually spaced apart. This year they were telescoped, so having drawn breath on Sunday evening I was back at Guildhall on Monday morning for the election of Sheriffs. This entailed processing in robes and I am very grateful to have had the expert help of our Beadle, Nick Gilbert to ensure everything was in place as I led the procession into Guildhall alongside the Master Nurse, Colonel Jane Carey-Harris.
After a very pleasant luncheon in the Butchers’ Hall, the Wardens and I were back at Guildhall yard for a ceremony to mark Armed Forces Day.
Stand By your Beds!
One of the military units affiliated to the Arts Scholars is the University of London Officers’ Training Corps. I was therefore not surprised to be invited to their end-of-deployment parade at Wellington Barracks on 18th June. What I had not realised until the day was that I was to take part in the inspection of cadets. That in fact turned out to be a very pleasant duty as it enabled me to speak to many of the cadets, some of whom are in fact students well outside London as the ULOTC embraces the University of Kent.
The inspection done I was able to return home and change clothes before going out again to the OTC depot mess for a very pleasant evening socialising with the cadets and their officers, in particular Colonel Jono Mills and Major Marcus Butlin. The walls of the mess are adorned with many pictures of cadets who have gone on to distinguished careers. There is also a rogues’ gallery which includes William Joyce – better known as the wartime traitor Lord Haw Haw, and Charles Ingram – who achieved notoriety as the cheating major on “Who wants to be a Millionaire”.
A fellow guest astonished me by recognising that I was wearing Arts Sholars cufflinks. He turned out to be the Somerset Herald, Mark Scott, from the College of Arms, of which more in the next Blog.
Roy Sully
Master
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