62. 13th April 2020

As with all households this Easter , it has been a unique and very different Easter Festival. 

Something that we enjoy doing most Easters is egg painting , and here you can see the results of my efforts this year . I wonder whether other Livery Companies have similar painted eggs to celebrate Easter?

61. Easter

As we approach Easter in unique circumstances, Judy and I wanted to take the opportunity to wish you and your families a peaceful and safe time. For many of us this will be particularly strange as we are unable to share Easter celebrations with family and friends, but as the Queen told us over the weekend “we will meet again”.  We look forward to that.

60. 29th March 2020 MESSAGE FROM THE MASTER

Dear Colleague,

We are living through unique and challenging times. It is clearly disappointing that our Company and the wider Livery movement have had to cancel so many events in our calendar extending well into the summer, but the health of our Members and guests has been, and continues to be, our first priority.

Livery Companies have a long and distinguished history - the Woolmen for example, can trace their roots back to the year 1180. Whilst the Water Conservators have a shorter history, our relevance to key environmental issues facing the world is paramount. These issues are not going away in the current crisis and when we return to some sort of normality, our work in providing environmental leadership will continue unabated.

In the meantime, Judy and I wish you and your families continuing good health and I look forward to us all meeting up later in the year.

Keep washing those hands and stay safe.

With best wishes

Mark

59. 16th March 2020

COVID 19

Many of you will have observed from our website that during the current COVID 19 crisis, several of our forthcoming events have either been postponed or cancelled. Whilst this is very disappointing, the health and well-being of our Members and their guests is our first priority. 

I very much hope that we will be able to reinstate much of our programme of events in the coming weeks and months, but in the meantime we will endeavour to keep you all updated via our website.

In the meantime, stay safe and keep washing those hands!

58. 9th March 2020

To Vintners’ Hall this evening for the Modern Livery Companies Dinner, kindly organised and hosted by the International Bankers. Vintners offered a warm welcome from the chill, blustery rain (yet again!) outside. It was good to see so many of the Modern Companies‘ Masters there, and we all enjoyed an excellent evening, albeit with less handshaking than has been customary up to now!

57. 5th March 2020

This evening I had the pleasure of re-visiting Painters’ Hall – the first time that I had been back there for a Dinner since our own Banquet in November 2019. So there were plenty of memories as I took my seat in the Dining Hall as a Guest of the Worshipful Company of Hackney Carriage Drivers at their Spring Court Dinner.

I arrived at Painters’ Hall on a bitterly cold, wet and windy evening – winter seemed to have returned with a vengeance! But my spirits were soon rising as we enjoyed a convivial Reception before dinner. This was followed an excellent menu, wines and two very well composed and amusing speeches from the Guest Speakers for the evening. The company in my immediate vicinity at table was on good form, and it seemed that the evening passed in a trice!

And as an added bonus, when I left Painters’ Hall, the day long rain had actually ceased!

56. 4th March 2020

Today, I had the pleasure of being a Guest of The Master Mariners at their Court Lunch onboard HQS Wellington. With many Masters and Clerks in attendance, it was an excellent opportunity to catch up with some good friends, as well as meeting some new ones.