Although it isn’t business as usual at Butchers’ Hall these days because of the Lockdown, it certainly was business as usual for members of the Court for its April meeting.
That the 21 members of Court turned up for a historic virtual Court Meeting was a triumph of planning, organisation, technology and discipline.
Thanks to the wonders of technology the Company was able to hold its first virtual Court Meeting and, although the formalities of a normal Court Meeting were dispensed with, there was no relaxation in the attention to detail, standard of discussion or debate amongst members.
It’s an important time for the management of our Livery Company because the impact of the Lockdown has severely affected our revenue streams and we need to manage the situation carefully. Members were able to consider the impact in some detail while, at the same time, contributing ideas gleaned from their personal business activities.
The Master stressed the importance of the various committees maintaining business as usual as much as possible and the technology will again be used to convene their regular meetings. It was suggested that a real test of the technology would be for the Court to conduct interviews for prospective new Liverymen virtually… now that really would be an important step forward!
All agreed that the technology had contributed to a useful and successful meeting… the only thing missing was the traditional reward of a sumptuous Butchers’ Hall Court Lunch.
Virtual Roast Beef in Butchers’ Hall… now that would be an achievement.