Tonight Maureen and I attended a fascinating lecture about the influence of the Caribbean in the City of London. The lecture was organised by the City of London Guides Association and held at the beautiful St Lawrence Jewry Church in Guildhall Yard.

Proceedings commenced with a warm welcome by the Vicar, Canon David Parrott who reminded us that this was the best church to visit in the City of London whilst warning us to not sit near the buckets strategically placed to catch the drops of rainwater slowly dripping through some holes in the roof!

The lecture was given by Blondel Cluff CBE, the Chief Executive of the West India Committee. Blondel is also the representative of Anguilla to the UK and EU, Chair of the London branch of the Heritage Lottery Fund, Member of the Advice Committee on the Royal Mint, Trustee of Princes Trust, Freeman of the City of London and co-author of several works on the Caribbean.

The audience was entertained for 75 minutes by Blondel's wonderful illustrated talk covering the Caribbean's history from long before Columbus 'discovered' the lands in 1492. It was fascinating and very thought provoking to understand the full extent of the involvement of the beautiful Caribbean Islands in the growth and wealth of the City of London.

Following the talk there were several questions from the animated audience which Blondel answered brilliantly.

The evening ended with refreshments, including wine and a fine buffet which Canon David Parrott allowed us to eat in the church. Another wonderful educational evening.