51. Christmas 2015

A Merry Christmas to everyone.

This is a picture of my back garden last winter, with the trees taking time off, our feathery friends in the green bird box and other visitors – badgers and foxes - keeping warm and well out of sight. The squirrels never give up!

Next external event is on 8 January for the New Year Service at St Michael Cornhill, joining other Livery Companies associated with the Church. We return there on 1 February for the re-dedication of the Company Cross, before proceeding to the Drapers’ Hall for our Myddelton Lunch.

50. Christmas Court at the Guildhall

Early livery companies were formed as Mysteries and later as Guilds. Mystery Plays have their origins in the livery movement with trades taking responsibility for the depiction of an aspect of scriptural history. That is a long introduction to the point that there are no mysteries about the Company’s management. The Court (right) meets regularly throughout the year and is responsible for the well being of the Company. The Master presides.

49. Carols by Candlelight 15 December

Carols by Candlelight at St Mary at Hill has been the traditional way for the Company and the Billingsgate Ward to prepare for Christmas. Led by our Chaplain, the Revd Prebendary Rose Hudson-Wilkin, the service included seven readings and a Christmas Address, interspaced with carols and seasonal offerings from the choir. The Company was represented by a number of Members and spouses, including the Thames Warden (left, with Rose).

48. The Launderers’ Annual Carol Service

A Service of Lessons and Carols for Christmas, organised by the Launderers’ Company was held in Southwark Cathedral on 7 December. Carefully arranged so that it included carols and readings familiar to everybody, the service was led by the Dean, The Very Reverend Andrew Nunn, who is also Honorary Champlain to the Company. Lessons were read by Senior Past Master, Neville Wells (see right), myself, the Deputy Master, the Master Glass Seller and Master Paul Higgs.

Following the service, Georgina and I were invited to Supper with the Launderers’ Company in their Hall. For dessert, whilst we enjoyed ice cream, Paul was presented with a traditional Christmas Pudding as a treat. 

Our thanks go to Paul and Sheila, and the Launderers’ Company for a very good evening, and particularly to Neville, our guardian during the service and supper. 

47. Citizenship Ceremony at the Guildhall

In celebrations to mark the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, the City of London Corporation held a Citizenship Ceremony on 2 December at the Guildhall. The Ceremony was introduced in 2004 as the final step in the process of becoming a British Citizen. This was the first ceremony to be held in the City and 32 applicants, originally from 22 countries, were invited. A cross-section of City life was invited, including Masters of Livery Companies.

After a welcome speech by the Lord Mayor, Mark Rimmer, from the London Borough of Brent, conducted the Citizenship Ceremony, during which applicants declared the allegiance to the Crown and Country. The process was quite moving, and ended with encouragement from the Lord Mayor for newly naturalised citizens to play a full part in civic life. This was followed by tea and biscuits – to set the style! The City’s copy of Magna Carta (1297) was on display. 

46. The Walbook Ward Club 206th Anniversary Dinner

Not many Water Conservators belong to Ward Clubs, but I belong to the Walbrook Ward Club, founded in 1809. They have a few events each year which are well supported by a cross section of Wards and Liverymen. A lot cheaper than joining the Livery they provide access to a range of City people. Last year, former Lord Mayor Alan Yarrow spoke; this year another former Mayor (2002), His Honour Judge Sir Gavyn Arthur, was the principle guest. Amusing us with stories from his early days as a provincial Recorder, and how (allegedly) he was selected to be the guest speaker, the evening was delightful, with musical accompaniment from the Sadlers’ Hall Musician’s Gallery and down amongst us for the Post Horn Gallop. The Loving Cup Ceremony was performed better than our attempts at our Banquet. I was sitting amongst Environmental Cleaners who attended our celebration of the Royal Charter in 2006 - which was a major prompt to get going with their own efforts to achieve Charter status in 2010.

45. The Mercers’ Company Livery Concert

The Mercers’ Company held its annual Livery Concert on 30 November and invited guests from the Livery and elsewhere. The musicians came from IMS Prussia Cove (located in West Cornwall) where short seminars are held each year for top class and aspiring musicians from all over the world. The Programme included a selection for String Quartet by Dvořák and a Piano Quintet in F minor by Brahms. The musicians joined the Mercers’ hosts and the guests for a buffet supper. My table included the cellist Guy Johnston, who had the nerve-racking job of looking after (and playing) a 1714 cello. A very good evening and thanks to the Mercers’ Company.

44. Power, Reputation & Influence in the 21st Century

The CCLA (who look after some of our Trust’s funds) and Marylebone Executive Search invited me to a lecture on 24 November at the Carpenters’ Hall given by Dame Fiona Woolf DBE, Lord Mayor 2013-14. The subject was Power, Reputation & Influence in the 21st Century. Dame Fiona set out the likely positioning of the various sectors: businesses, charities, government during the rest of this century and indicated the power shifts she thought may emerge if the actions were taken responsibly and transparently. The lecture was well attended.  

Dame Fiona is seen here at our Myddelton Lunch in 2014 with Past Master Ivor Richards and the former Mayor of Ruthin, Cllr. Rosie Hughes-Moseley.

43. Past Masters’ meeting 25 November

Water Conservators’ Past Masters meet regularly at the Guildhall to (try to) ensure the Company is not going to the dogs. The Master is invited to update them on recent events and future plans. The meeting concludes with a lunch which includes an invitation to the Master’s Lady.
Over lunch, informally, we discussed role of the consort and growing City awareness of the value of a second pair of hands. We also discussed how to extend fellowship in the Company. Thanks go to the Past Masters for their kind invitation.

42. The Lord Mayor’s Annual Address to the Livery Companies

Each year, the Lord Mayor sets out his views about cooperation with the Livery and, in particular, the beneficiaries of The Lord Mayor’s Appeal during his Mayoral Year.
In his Annual Address, Lord (Jeffrey) Mountevans set out his programme of visits and involvement in his Mayoral Year under the banner: Innovate here. Succeed anywhere.

He said that he had chosen two main beneficiaries for the 2016 Appeal: JDRF (curing type 1 diabetes) and the Sea Cadet movement.
JDRF is committed to eradicating type 1 diabetes and its effects, for everyone in the UK with type 1, and those at risk of developing it. The number of children and adults diagnosed with type 1 diabetes is on the increase, with the steepest rise in the under fives. There are currently 400,000 people in the UK with type 1 diabetes, over 29,000 of them are children.

The Sea Cadet Movement offers amazing, life-enhancing opportunities to young people from a variety of backgrounds. With the funds raised, the Appeal aims to replace two ageing 35ft yachts in the Sea Cadet fleet.

41. Baby Boomers and their Pensions

On the 17 November, the Worshipful Company of Actuaries Livery Lecture was presented by Baron Willetts of Havant, better known as David Willetts, MP for Havant during the last government. In his book The Pinch, he argued that “the baby boom of 1945-65 produced the biggest, richest generation that Britain has ever known.
 
“Today, at the peak of their power and wealth, baby boomers now run our country; by virtue of their sheer demographic power, they have fashioned the world around them in a way that meets all of their housing, healthcare and financial needs. The young people of today will be taxed more, work longer hours for less money, have lower social mobility and live in a degraded environment in order to pay for their parents' quality of life’”.

A census on arrival showed that over 90% of attendees were baby boomers and it looked like an interesting evening. However, there was a large measure of agreement and concern about what could and should be done to allow more fairness and justice for individuals in generations to come. Thanks go to the Master Actuary for looking after us in the Actuaries’ spiritual home, Staple Inn Hall.

40. The Lord Mayor’s Show – 800 years and still going strong

It rained a lot!

The Water Conservators’ Team, Wardens Keith and Mike, and I, together with the banner-bearer, Liveryman Simon, formed up in St Martin le Grand on 14 November. We waited longer than usual to start because the Show observed two minutes silence for those affected by the Paris atrocities. The fireworks at the end of the Show were replaced by tricolour illuminations.

Walking with about 20 Modern Livery Companies and about two-thirds down the pecking order has some merit – all the children are already equipped with whistles, hats, flags, sweets…. - but Mike had a kilo or two in his pocket for the extra hungry. The reception, from equally wet spectators, was warm and interested, and not to be missed. After passing the Lord Mayor and his party, we stop for lunch – kindly arranged by the Master Mariner on HQS Wellington. Then we’re off again, uphill, back to St Martin le Grand.

I like fire engines. Actually this one performed a key task of stopping us getting ahead of our station in City life. Our rear was protected by an enormous John Deere tractor – and true to form, those watching TV missed us as the commentator rushed to interview the tractor!
Thanks go to Firefighters’ Master and Company for organising our participation, doing a better job then the Water Conservators did in organising the weather. But Keith, Mike, Simon and I did our best.

39. Lady Barbara Lowry QC – A Service of Thanksgiving

Lady Lowry, better remembered as Barbara Calvert QC, joined our newly formed Company in July 1994 and passed away in July 2015. A Service of Thanksgiving was held on 13 November at the Temple Church to which the family invited friends and colleagues. In fact, Barbara had planned the event in advance with the same determination with which she had been an inspiration to women entering the legal profession. She set up her own chambers in 1974 to help those starting out, becoming the first female head of chambers.
Our connections with the family are mainly through consulting engineers John Taylor & Sons. John Calvert, Barbara’s first husband, became Partner in 1944, and Water Conservators Gwilym Roberts (Partner in 1956) and Past Master Nick Paul (in 1974) maintained close ties. Other Partners included the late Past Master Peter Banks.

She also left a note for her Memorial Service: “Finally have a really good celebration in Middle Temple Hall. Sorry for my unavoidable absence. Enjoy yourselves and thank you for all your love, care and kindness.”

38. The Silent Ceremony, and a new Lord Mayor

Anybody can attend the Silent Ceremony at the Guildhall. Dating back for hundreds of years, Aldermen, City Officers, Liverymen and visitors watched the changeover (in silence, apart from the Oath of Office). The outgoing Lord Mayor, Alan Yarrow, then moved to his left and beckoned the incoming Lord Mayor, Lord Mountevans, to his seat. He donned his tricorn hat at the moment Alan Yarrow removed his, symbolising the official transfer of the Mayoralty.

This is not me taking a ‘selfie’ at the Guildhall but my adopted compatriot, Kim Chang-mo, Minister, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea. South Korea's President Park Geun-Hye is an Honorary Freeman of the City and close links have been established. Murray Craig, Clerk of the Chamberlain's Court, asked me to explain the proceedings to Chang-mo and invited both of us to his soirée later.

Quite an eclectic group heard Murray explain the history of the Ceremony and Freedom and show items in his office relevant to each guest. In our case, of course, he looks after our Royal Charter.

37. Professor Carolyn Roberts – the Next Big UK Flood: Britain Underwater

This was the second lecture in the series given by Water Conservator Carolyn Roberts for Gresham
College, held on 12 November. The evidence for major flooding: sea, surface and ground water was sobering, and made her previous lecture A Body in the River look light-hearted. Modern techniques provide the basis for a rational assessment of flood risk, but the results are highly dependent on uncertain future temperature rises. The more rapid the change, the higher the impact.

In recent reviews by the World Economic Forum, flooding remains one of the world’s largest problems, and appears near the top of global economic risks. Some strategies were outlined – from do nothing because in the medium term actions will be overtaken by weather events, or try to construct your way out of the problem. This is difficult because flood defences are only as strong as the weakest point. More details at:
 http://www.gresham.ac.uk/frank-jackson-professor-of-the-environment

36. The Horners’ Company – Sir Martyn Poliakoff

As the craft of working with horn declined, in 1943, the Horners’ Company adopted its modern
equivalent, plastics. Today, the Company maintains strong links with the plastics industry, while seeking to support the horner's craft.

The 18th Ralph Anderson Memorial Lecture was given by Sir Martyn Poliakoff, an acclaimed chemistry professor at the University of Nottingham. Chemistry and the products of the chemical industry are central to the quality of modern life. However, some chemical processes are very damaging to the environment. In recent years he has researched completely new ways of making key products, such as perspex, without the environmental consequences, using supercritical fluids as solvents.
 
He is a champion of the new green chemistry and talked about how to engage young people and develop education tools. He can be seen at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvcaXM2hMgA His youtube series explaining the periodic table elements are extremely popular. My thanks go to the Horners’ Company for a splendid evening.

35. Meetings, meetings…

11 November was a meetings day, first the Finance, Membership & General Purposes Committee, followed by the Water Conservation Trust’s AGM, Charity Committee and Board Meeting. The main outcome from the latter was the appointment of Deputy Master Roger North as a Trustee. Roger (pictured right, with Christine, in April 2011 on the London Water Walk) has been a great supporter of the Trust and its work. More information can be found about the Trust on the Company’s website.

34. Remembrance Day – Merchant Navy Memorial, Tower Hill

The Honourable Company of Master Mariners organise a Remembrance Day Service at the Merchant Navy Memorial at Tower Hill each year. I attended the service on Sunday 8 November to commemorate seafarers of both Merchant and Royal Navies who lost their lives in the two World Wars and other conflicts.
 
Wreath laying was led by Captain Flavian D’Souza, Senior Warden, Master Mariners, Captain Ian McNaught, Deputy Master, Trinity House, and Cdre Martin Atherton, representing the Royal Navy.

We were supported by an RNR Guard, School and Sea Cadet detachments. There were more than 50 wreaths laid during the service including one which I laid on behalf of the Water Conservators’ Company. The service concluded with the National Anthem.

33. Water Conservators’ Banquet

In their own ways, a visit to the Grocers’ Hall and Guy Fawkes night added tone to the Banquet held
on 5 November.

The principal guest was Professor Richard Penty, Master of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, founded in 1596. He had agreed to talk about being a Master of a Cambridge College; its most famous alumnus, Oliver Cromwell (well, next to Carol Vorderman), and current challenges facing universities.

Historically, Sidney Sussex Masters had law and order duties, inter alia, to maintain the moral fibre, but today the tasks are more prosaic. Richard is the 27th Master (like me) and claims he got the job because of a failed election strategy!

Oliver Cromwell died in 1658 during the Commonwealth. He was a signatory to Charles I’s death warrant and, as a regicide, his body was exhumed during the Restoration and his head exhibited on a pole outside Westminster Hall. Disappearing for years it is now buried in the antechapel at Sidney Sussex.

The particular style of education at Sidney Sussex is expensive and many students receive additional financial support. Our Water Conservation Trust offers bursaries to Masters students studying Engineering for Sustainable Development and Richard was very grateful for these.
I mentioned that we seemed to be in a Stuart rut at the moment. Next year we commemorate the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire as well as the death of Sir Hugh Myddelton. However, the Company does not live in the past and I welcomed our links with Corporate Member Companies and universities for addressing the tasks ahead.

Notwithstanding the erudition of the speeches, the partying went on. The Loving Cup ceremony again perplexed, but we coped. There was a sing-along. We all departed into the London night at 10.45 – as planned.  Thanks go to the Master Grocer and his staff, the musicians from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and to Richard Penty for an enjoyable evening. And, of course to the 100+ guests who struggled in the face of civil unrest to make it a very special evening.

32. Opening of the Garden of Remembrance, St Paul’s Cathedral

Each year the Royal British Legion City of London Poppy Appeal opens a Garden of Remembrance at St Paul’s Cathedral. This year the Service was held on 2 November during which The Very Reverend Dr David Ison, Dean of St Paul's, led prayers to the fallen in front of the Lord Mayor Locum Tenens, the Sheriffs (Alderman Charles Bowman and Christine Rigden) (arriving right), representatives from the City of London, Livery Companies’ Masters and Clerks, HM Forces and other service organisations.

The Band of the Grenadier Guards, The Royal British Legion and Guard of Honour were in attendance.

The short Order of Service included Prayers, the Last Post, an Exhortation, Reveille, and a two-minute silence. Sara Jones, President of the Poppy Factory recited the Kohima Prayer.

City and service institutions planted personalised Remembrance Crosses in the grounds of St Paul’s. In groups of three, the Livery Companies’ Masters planted their Crosses before dispersing.  The Garden of Remembrance is open until the end of November. Everyone is invited to plant their own crosses, which are available from the Royal British Legion outside the west front of the Cathedral.

The Service followed the Royal British Legion’s annual London Poppy Day on 29 October when personnel from the Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force greeted commuters as part of a bid to raise more than £1 million for The Royal British Legion in 24 hours.

31. 800 year awards

The Lord Mayor’s 800th Anniversary Awards was founded in 1989 to help young people undertake projects to broaden their experience, self confidence and enhance their employment prospects. The awards were given at the Mansion House on 29 October by the Lord Mayor, Alan Yarrow.  The winner was a young man who had paddled along the coast of Panama looking for unrecorded manatee aggregations. In the course of his adventure his three man team had encountered flies, sharks and at one stage, shared a small island camp with drug smugglers. Discretion being the better part ……. they were lucky enough to hide until dealing was over. Despite a cooking accident in the final stages, from which he ended up in hospital for a short while, he returned with tales to tell. A second award went to a young lady who spent months in Honduras teaching children. Her commitment and enthusiasm were catching. In terms of favoured overseas destinations for gap years, the winner is Central America.

The ceremony was attended by Trustees, beneficiaries and their monitors, family, Sheriff Christine Rigden, Baroness Scotland, Livery Companies but, between us – no cameras! A lot of us had been at the Agincourt 600 service at Westminster Abbey where they had been forbidden. It’s a good scheme and draws entries from around the UK – including one family with close connections to Gogarth School in Llandudno.

30. Agincourt 600

Most people know that this year is the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt. On 29 October, a Commemorative Service was held at Westminster Abbey, to which the Lord Mayor and Livery Company Masters and Clerks where invited. I am not a triumphalist and was pleasantly surprised to find that the Service wasn’t either.

It was impressive: the Queen was represented by the Duke of Kent, the Prologue to Shakespeare’s Henry V was read by Robert Hardy, the Saint Crispin’s Day Speech was performed by Sam Marks (in costume) and a reminder from the Dean of Westminster that, had we prevailed in the war, the capital of the joint kingdom would have been Paris. It also reminded me of how much we rely on Shakespeare in present day idiom, for example ‘…band of brothers….’
A poignant letter from a French soldier in the trenches in 1915 (the 500th anniversary) was read by Pascal Deray, President of a group of communes in Northern France, regretting that the French did not properly honour their fallen.

Henry V was buried in Westminster Abbey alongside his wife Catherine of Valois.

29. The Mithras Lecture – The Art Crime Investigator, 28 October

The subject of the Arts Scholars’ Company Annual Mithras Lecture was The Art Crime Investigator, given by DS Claire Hutcheon (right) of the Metropolitan Police Art & Antiques Unit. Held at the Goldsmiths’ Hall, some 200 people, including 40 representatives of other Livery Companies, attended. It was a lively lecture drawing on Claire’s casebook of art thieves and forgers. She operates a small unit at the Met but has excellent access to art world expertise which means she can concentrate on catching the villains. Some ‘notorious’ cases were explained: Winston Churchill’s signature on a book with a bar code, which led to the detection of other book frauds.

But the most prolific in recent years was probably the Greenhalgh family. Worth a book of their own. One example was that of the 3,000 year old Egyptian alabaster Amarna Princess, sold to Bolton Museum in 2003 for £400,000 and later discovered to be a fake. Provenance is key, and the extent to which fraudsters will go to provide it is amazing – including a fake sepia photograph with the fake pictures on the wall to demonstrate their age. Many thanks to Claire and the Arts Scholars’ Company.

28. WAMITAB 27 October

WAMITAB is an awarding organisation and charity that develops qualifications and certificates for those working in: waste management and recycling, cleaning and street cleansing, facilities management and parking.

The reason for my visit was that WAMITAB had donated a further £50,000 to the Water Conservation Trust, to augment the Trust’s university bursary programme for Masters students, and CEO Chris James wanted to play an active part in supervising the programme. This was welcome because the universities are spread from London to Dundee – although a fair number are based in London. Chris James also wanted to talk about WAMITAB’s schools education programme and other related matters, and proposed a meeting with Trustees.

27. The Master’s Lady’s tour of the Middle Temple 21 October

Middle Temple Hall is probably the finest example of an Elizabethan Hall in London, with construction starting in 1562. Our guided tour started on the 1574 carved wooden screen, which had been carefully repaired after severe bomb damage in 1940. From here there was a magnificent view of the Hall - 101 feet long and 41 feet wide, and spanned by a rare double hammer-beam roof.
Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night was said to have been first performed here on 2 February 1602, at Candlemas, the formal end of Christmastide in the year's calendar.

Our guide described the stained glass windows, the coats of arms, and the paintings which decorated the Hall. At the front were painting of the Stuarts – Charles I (left), Charles II and James II. The tour extended to the beautiful side rooms.

 The Hall still functions as a place of education for the legal profession, just as it has for 600 years. The Masters of the Bench, or Benchers, are responsible for the governance of the Inn. Masters are elected by their peers. The tour concluded with luncheon in Hall. Many thanks to Georgina for arranging the visit.

26. Hafan Marj dedication

On 19 October Georgina and I were invited to join Ivor and David Richards at the ceremonial opening of Hafan Marj, an outdoor classroom for children at Ysgol y Gogarth in Llandudno.

Funding for the classroom came from Marj Richards’ many friends in Ruthin and elsewhere. The classroom will be used for instruction and as a place of solace.



Seen here, inside the classroom, are (l to r): Headteacher Jonathan Morgan, Ivor Richards, me, and our contact, Jon Goodwin.


Ivor introduced the Company to Gogarth School nearly a decade ago and, since then, the Water Conservation Trust has supported education initiatives (under his supervision) both in the School, and outside, where students carry out gardening in the community.


Ysgol-y-Gogarth is a day and residential Special School catering for approximately 200 pupils between the ages of 3 and 19. The pupils are either fully statemented or in the process of being statemented and have a wide spectrum of additional learning needs.

The Trust continues to fund the development of skills in horticulture and the environment and was instrumental in ensuring the newly rebuilt school has space for teaching in-door plant cultivation. Most plants end up in the school’s kitchen.

25. Professor Carolyn Roberts – horror story – a body in the river

Water Conservator Carolyn Roberts gave the first of the series of Environment themed lectures for Gresham College on 15 October at Barnard’s Inn Hall. A Body in the River was based on her experience as Expert Witness for the UK police forces. Her contribution being the application of the principles of hydrology to murder investigations. The show started at 18.00, the main Hall holding about 90 people. The queue outside at 17.20 (left) showed that there would be a number of potential attendees disappointed. The topic was dealt with very well with a surprising amount of shared humour.

 
Carolyn gave examples from a number of UK locations of attempts by murderers to use water courses as a convenient way to dispose of their victims, and how science and engineering had defeated them.  Carolyn is giving a number of watery lectures between now and May 2016: The Next Big UK Flood on 12 November is next, followed by drought, pollution of groundwater, damaged rivers and development and the water environment. More details at:
 http://www.gresham.ac.uk/frank-jackson-professor-of-the-environment

24. The Fuellers’ Company Installation Court Dinner

John Ingham (left, in Warden’s kit) was installed as Master of the Fuellers’ Company on 14 October and I was invited to the celebratory dinner at Skinners’ Hall. I have form, having worked in the gas industry for 10 years. But I did not expect to be sat opposite a Fueller who started with East Midlands Gas Board in Leicester on the same day as me! We must have been boring company as we revisited the (very) old days. The dinner was excellent. My thanks to the Fuellers’ Company for a super evening, especially the Post Horn playing.

23. The 43rd City of London Thames Fishery Research Experiment, 10 October

You can do laboratory tests and simulations about estuarial biodiversity but an annual census by skilled anglers tells you a lot about the health of the Thames estuary. Started in 1973, this event is held on the foreshore adjacent to the Port Health Lower Thames Office in Gravesend.
The Water Conservators’ Company makes an award for Biodiversity – the catch which best demonstrates the continuing healthiness and improvement of the River Thames.
Fishing starts at 08.30 and finishes at 13.00. What seems like hundreds of anglers, from angling clubs, individuals, local schools, and, even our own Andrew Parmley, range for over a mile along the foreshore and the contest begins. Marshals verify the catches, which are mostly returned to the river. Some are retained for inspection and eating.


This is serious stuff: catches included seven fish species – including eels, which are quickly measured and returned to the water. Eels are protected following a massive population drop some years back. This has not been satisfactorily been explained but fishermen talk of estuary development in recent years.  The catch on the day is dependent on a variety of issues: weather, tide, date in the season, unexplained causes and fishermen’s stories. Last year only just over 100 fish were caught.


This year was better, with 591 fish caught. The majority where whiting, but others: cod, Dover sole, pouting, flounder, dab, eel were also present.  The interesting catches were laid out for inspection and judging (watched over by Sheriff Dr Christine Rigden).

Lunch was followed by prize giving for teams and individuals. The principal team prize was The Lady Howard Trophy, which was awarded to the Kent County Anglers. Gravesend Grammar School, saw off the City of London School and the City of London Girls School won the PLA Schools Trophy.  Individual winners included the Best Individual Catch (Barry Graves) and the Fishmonger’s Cup (Chris Northover, Thamesiders). The Company’s Biodiversity Award was won by Barry Graves (Essex County Anglers) and presented with our prize jug by me. The picture shows us, and Reg Butler, the MC, who caught the first cod in the River Thames for 100 years back in 1966. Reg has been a key figure in organising the annual competition for many years.

Georgina and I were grateful to the PLA for the opportunity to visit the event and the unfailing good humour of those present.

22. Sponsored Walk: Regent’s Canal to the Olympic Park on 11 October

This years sponsored walk in aid of the Water Conservation Trust’s Schools Programme took place in bright sunshine, with the 28 walkers scarcely believing they had covered the 6-7 miles as they arrived at the Olympic Park.

The walk was organised and led by Court Assistant and Trustee Rob Casey, with me responsible for the collection of stragglers. Walkers included six students from Queen Mary University (very welcome) with which we have a student bursary agreement, Trustees and Company members including the Thames Warden, and family and friends, with a strong contingent from West Berkshire supporting the Master and his Lady.  The weather was perfect and the only hazard coming from cyclists. We all like cyclists but speeding along a narrow towpath – both ways – with us walking in between was not fun.

The Regent’s and Hertford Union Canals are very pretty in places, with a good deal of messing around in boats.  The lunch break was taken in Victoria Park, bordering parts of Bethnal Green, Hackney, and Bow. Keep Britain Tidy's Green Flag Plus Partnership, gives Green Flag status to the best open spaces in the country. Victoria Park came out on top, competing against 1,424 parks and green spaces in the annual poll.

We finished in good order: Actually, not very good order, because the Master led the rear contingent the wrong way into the Olympic Park and got an earful from his Lady. That sorted we met up with Rob and dispersed. Most of us to cafes in the Westfield Stratford City(!) Shopping Centre.  To date, the walk has raised over £900 for the Trust’s Schools Programme. The 28 walkers are a record and the number of individual donors is approaching 50. The Virgin Money Giving site is open but if you want to talk to a real person, try Rob Casey or me.