I can’t say I wasn’t warned!
At Common Hall last September, a number of Past Masters congratulated me saying that I should make the most of my year as Master because it passes in a flash. After a year with so many special memories that’s certainly the message I’m going to be passing on to my successor at next month’s Common Hall!
August in the City of London is a very subdued month as the holiday season gets into full swing; formal Livery events are almost non-existent although some Masters “celebrate” the end of their term of office.
One such Master was the Master Carpenter and Virginia and I thrilled to help his celebration together alongside a number of other Masters and Consorts. Although the Livery season is on the back burner for the month, I wanted to tell you that the same can’t be said for Butchers’ Hall.
With events at a minimum, it’s a different picture if you walked into Butchers’ Hall in August. In any other month you’d find the Great Hall set for dinner, a meeting taking place in the Mezzanine, deliveries arriving and the team preparing for and looking forward to the next event.
In August the Hall gets a chance to catch its breath….
I can’t say the same for the team though, as Danny, our Facilities Manager never fails to remind me.
August is one of the most important months of the year behind the scenes at Butchers’ Hall. It’s our opportunity to get stuck into the jobs that are simply not practical when the building is full of events, meetings and guests.
For a few weeks, the polished event spaces give way to dust sheets, ladders, paint tins, tools and contractors. This year we’ve been working through our summer programme of maintenance and refurbishment. Touching up areas like skirting boards that have taken a battering from satisfied customers over the previous year, carrying out repairs and giving some parts of the building a more substantial refresh.
The very important, welcoming front doors have had attention ready to welcome everyone back in September. As Danny says “If Number 10 can have its front door refreshed for the autumn, we’re certainly not going to be left behind” and he’s absolutely right.
It is, perhaps, the one time of year when we're prepared for Butchers’ Hall not to look its best, for a short while at least, making a mess is all part of making it better.
Of course, not everything done makes for an exciting before-and-after photograph. A lot of the work involved happens completely out of sight, behind closed doors, above ceilings and in plant areas, August gives us the breathing space to inspect, service, repair and improve the things that keep the Hall attractive and running for the rest of the year.
There are also plenty of those little jobs that have accumulated throughout the year. A mark on a wall here, a door that needs adjusting there, and the mysterious maintenance jobs that somehow seem to multiply every time you cross one off the list.
Danny reminds me, whenever I’m at the Hall for a meeting, of the rule in building management and maintenance: for every job completed, two more appear.
Then as if by magic the dust sheets disappear, the tools are packed away and Butchers’ Hall begins to feel like Butchers’ Hall again.
September is the great return and an important month in the Livery calendar…the diary fills up, the tables and chairs return to the Great Hall, deliveries start arriving and the familiar, exciting buzz returns to Butchers’ Hall even more so at Common Hall with the election of a new Master.
Most people walking through the doors won't know that anything’s happened over the last few weeks and that’s the way Danny likes it!
“If we've done our job properly Liverymen and customers will walk into a Hall that looks smart, feels cared for and is ready for another busy season at Butchers’ Hall…. where craftsmen meet!
For everyone working behind the scenes though, and even some of us who’ve seen the work taking place, we'll know some, certainly not all, of what went into getting it there.
I’d like to pay tribute to all staff for the organisation and planning carried out to make sure everyone is, and feels, welcomed back to our spiritual home, Butchers’ Hall.
THANK YOU ALL