Staff sickness in the office meant that the customary Master’s Blog at the month end wasn’t published and I’m hoping you’ll be encouraged to read the February and March Blogs together because I’ve really missed telling you what I’ve been up to in representing our Livery!
My diary is getting busier as the year progresses with a range of different activities providing lots of different experiences and fun.
The round of visits with other Masters to various Livery Halls consisted of Stationers Hall and Dyers Hall, both very different in style and size with Stationers a big Hall and active social side contrasting with Dyers Hall relatively small but charming.
I will remember the Dyers Company particularly fondly because, having invited guests to dress colourfully (within the constraints of “Black Tie”) to reflect their particular trade and industry, they presented me, wearing my replica Welsh Flag Bow Tie, with the prize of a bottle of vintage Pol Roger Champagne.
Recognition indeed with the judges clearly appreciating me going full blast!
Our February Court Lunch saw Guest Speaker Tom Gregory captivate the audience with his experience as the youngest person to swim the English Channel...no mean feat for an 11-year-old schoolboy. This is a record he will hold in perpetuity because the authorities have subsequently raised the minimum age for such a feat of endurance!
Pancake Day saw a couple of very different experiences! Participating in the Livery Pancake Race at Guildhall Yard with other WCB team members against a number of other Livery Companies was one thing…and we were robbed…. before setting off post haste to York to receive the honour of becoming a Liveryman of the Company of Butchers of the City of York for a year and a day at the Shrove Tuesday Feast. A great honour and a terrific experience.
I was pleased to be able to attend and represent WCB at the funeral of Peter Godfrey, someone I admired very much as a true Liveryman. Peter held our Livery in very high regard and was a great supporter. His standing within the industry was recognised by the many familiar meat industry personalities who came to pay their respects.
On a personal level I was surprised, honoured and deeply flattered, while presenting prizes at the Annual Institute of Meat Awards Ceremony at Butchers’ Hall, to receive an acclaim of a Fellowship of the Institute of Meat for services to the industry.
I was thrilled to receive this recognition from the industry I love.
The Future Generations Forum, established and brilliantly run by members of the WCB Education team was held before the City Food and Drink Lecture and what a great experience it was meeting and discussing interesting marketing challenges with a range of participants some of whom are, in my view, likely to be many of tomorrow’s leaders.
In summing up the main lecture, presented by Professor Susan Jebb, Chairperson of the Food Standards Agency on the role the food and drink industry can play in making consumers in the next 25 years healthier than the last 25, the Princess Royal, in her usual erudite yet succinct post lecture summing up style put her finger firmly on the pulse of the issue, in my view, by recommending that human nutrition should be a subject covered in schools.
An inspirational conclusion to another fascinating and most enjoyable month.