Welcome to the June newsletter. 

The first event was our Court meeting on 6 June at Brewers’ Hall, followed by the annual Masters and Clerks lunch.  The M&C lunch is the main occasion on which we return hospitality received by the Master during the year and this year we were joined by six Masters and six Clerks. The Mistress and I were keen to entertain at Brewers’ Hall since her father was a Liveryman there and she has happy memories of sitting in the outmess!  Our guest speaker was the Cambridge historian Professor Clare Jackson, who talked to us about her award winning book Devil-Land.

In the evening I went on to drinks at Grocers’ Hall, hosted by the Livery Committee. The main topic of conversation was the programme for the Livery Weekend (see below) but we also had a short address from the next Lord Mayor, Alderman Alastair King.

The following day saw the wine experts of the Company heading for the Boot & Flogger, a Davy’s wine bar in Southwark. Each year the Wine Committee decides on the red wines and the port or madeira to be served at the following year’s functions. The Upper Warden attends and can add his or her views! We also taste a range of white wines to see what should be added to our list. We are fortunate to drink a higher quality of wine at our events than the standard wines offered by catering companies.

The next week was quiet until the Saturday, when I was sailing in the Round the Island Race. The weather gods sent us winds gusting up to 35 knots and over half the fleet retired or did not start. We started at Cowes and got to Lymington two hours later, where we decided to retire and head into harbour, since that is where we keep the boat. We could have got round the Isle of Wight (it takes 7 to 10 hours for a boat our size) but better not to risk troubling the lifeboat!

On 20 June I went to Chelsea Old Church for the memorial service for Past Master David Fuller. David was Master in 1988-89. Friends and family recounted many stories of his full and interesting life. He was a leading expert on English sporting art, in particular pictures of horses. As you might expect, there were many Fuller family members there, including Past Masters William and Jeff and Freeman Julian Fuller (David’s son), and other T&B Liverymen. 

On 21 June, Gilly and I headed up to London for the annual Livery Weekend. This is organised by the Livery Committee and brings together the Masters and Consorts of nearly all the Livery companies with the Lord Mayor and the Sheriffs.

Unusually, this one was held in London. Accommodation was arranged in Livery halls and City clubs – Gilly and I were based at the City of London Club in Old Broad Street. We started with a barbeque at Haberdashers (the original instruction of business attire was speedily downgraded to casual!), enjoyed a banquet in the Art Gallery at Guildhall (no pictures were damaged) and split into groups for fun activities such as mudlarking in the Thames, inspecting the London Metropolitan Archives and doing a behind-the-scenes tour at the Tower of London.

We also agreed on a name for our Past Masters’ Association and elected a chairman – Master Glover. He is now grappling with the thorny issue of WhatsApp overload, attempting to reduce the WhatsApps on our group to less than a hundred a day …his proposal to cut down was welcomed instantly by half the group…

The Mistress and I staggered back to Hampshire to enjoy a day of water and plain fare before driving up to York for the Master’s Trip. Meanwhile DM John Schofield very nobly represented us at Common Hall, wearing the Master’s gown and processing in and out at number 37.

We were blessed with excellent weather in York and some 30 Ts and Bs explored the City and generally had a good time. Highlights included the Craft Visit to York Handmade Brick, a leading brickworks owned by Liveryman David Armitage (their bricks recently helped win the Stirling Prize for Architecture, at Magdalene College, Cambridge), a tour of the lovely Scampston Hall near Malton, evensong in the Minster and a black tie dinner in the MansionHouse. There will be a full write up in the Review. I was presented with a hand made brick, marked 2024, so will have to lay it in the next five months. At last, a job for the golden trowel I got at Chatham!

I look forward to seeing you at Charter Day on Saturday 3 August, when we will be walking round a selection of gardens in the heart of the City and lunching near St Paul’s Cathedral.

After that the next big event will be the Triennial Awards at Vintners' Hall on 5 September. We are expecting a large attendance and the Lord Mayor has accepted an invitation to present the awards for us.

Christopher Causer - Master