Master Water Conservator

Courtney Lambert, Consort to (and daughter of) Master Elise Rasmussen of the Tobacco Blenders & Pipe Makers, organised a visit to the London Coliseum for Consorts, and also for a party from her own Livery Company. Martin and I do go to events at the London Coliseum from time to time, but I really couldn’t remember what the last occasion was.   “Pirates of Penzance”?   “Don Quixote”?   Nothing since Covid, I think.   The next production, in May, will be the European premiere of “Spirited Away”. We were greeted by Louise, one of our two guides for the afternoon, and given a brief history of the building.   It was opened in 1904, designed by the architect Frank Matcham for the impresario Oswald Stohl who wanted a building for entertainment that was of higher quality than music halls, family friendly and not vulgar.   In addition, the place was “dry”, initially.   The consortium was not able to purchase quite all the land they wanted for the building, so there are some odd angles p

I was honoured to be invited to attend the first anniversary dinner of the Nurses.   The atmospheric and historic hall was packed. The evening started with the formal Installation ceremony and handover from immediate past Master Liz. After a super meal we all participated in the passing of the Lamp.   In the spirit of unity and friendship of the Living Cup, the Company of Nurses have replaced the Loving Cup with the Nurse's Lamp, a symbol of the care given by members of the nursing profession to those they tend.   The lamp used is a replica of the type used by Florence Nightingale and working nurses in Scutari during the Crimean War.   During the passing of the lamp you are encouraged to reflect on your duty and service to your profession. The Nurses are a new company; they have 450 Freemen and 100 Liverymen.   They are attracting members from across the profession especially from the armed services with whom they have strong contact.   After the Master had given us an update o

Several members of the Company joined this day of presentations and discussions at Gresham College, either on line or in person.   It was organised and chaired by Fleet Warden Professor Carolyn Roberts. In the midst of this hot issue it is often difficult to achieve some balanced views or in some cases any views at all.   Carolyn had managed to secure a spectrum of experts on water management, infrastructure, regulation, and financing to talk about climate change, flooding and regulation.   There was also a series of challenging questions from the physical and online audience. The details are on the Gresham College web site so please look them up: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/water-uk The whole event is on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rAXbGP4Kws Congratulations to Carolyn and the College on organising the event. The challenge is to work out how to turn all the words and ideas into policies and practice. Introduction The management of water supplies

This was a grand occasion.   The Lord Mayor and the City of London including the Livery Companies are strong supporters of Treloar's which is a primary, secondary and tertiary school/college in Alton, Hampshire for young people with a range of physical disabilities. They offer around 170 students aged 4 to 25 years with complex care and learning needs a specialist environment where education and learning take place alongside therapy and care. It aims to help them lead as independent lives as possible. We took a table with the Master and Consort Watermen and Plasterers and other friends. After a champagne reception the serious work started. There was some successful guessing of the flip of a coin. I survived four rounds on my table before crashing out. During the meal we had a series of auctions which attracted generous bids. We were then entertained by singers and music from the London Stage. Our table actively joined in with the dancing/actions.   It was great fun. Finally we

Seventeen Masters and their Clerks attended the Plumbers’ lunch in the Carpenters’ Hall.   It was a highlight in the Plumbers’ year with many other guests also invited. We were welcomed by the Master Plumber who introduced the guest speaker Larry Elliott, Economics Editor of The Guardian, where he has worked since 1988.   He is particularly interested in globalisation, trade and development, and the interface between economics and the environment.   He is also the son of a plumber and believes strongly in vocational skills. He predicted that there would be three power blocks in the future: ·          China and her allies ·          US and her allies ·          Other non aligned countries He predicted that there would be three drivers for the future of the planet and the fragmentation of the global economy: ·          A pivot towards an Asian driving force which would contribute 54% of global GDP. In comparison the EU would contribute 17%. ·          A fourth Industrial

After months of planning, 33 Company members and guests spent the weekend in Bristol and Clifton. For those who arrived early, there was an interesting guided tour round the city, led by local members, followed by dinner in the hotel overlooking the harbour.   On the next day, we ventured up river by boat towards Bath.   Both the skipper and our local guide offered fascinating commentary about the sights and history of the area.   After lunch on board, we disembarked at the SS Great Britain.   We had a fascinating tour round the boat, learning about Brunel and the construction of the ship, and life on board at various points in history.   Those who tracked down the ship over 50 years ago as a rotting hulk in the Falkland Islands and returned it to its home in Bristol had great vision.   The exhibition is rightly very popular. The evening meal, of locally sourced food, was in a restored wine shed.   A former colleague of the Master, from the University of the West of England, spok

It was with pleasure that I accepted on behalf of the Water Conservators an invitation from the Master-Elect to attend their annual Cobham Lecture on Wednesday 24 April 2024 at 1800hrs. The lecture on ‘Royal New Zealand Air Force Antarctic Operations’ was presented by Wing Commander Richard Beaton RNZAF who had managed to combine the visit with the annual ANZAC services in London. He started by saying that the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) is operating aircraft to the coldest, driest and windiest continent on Earth – Antarctica.   Supporting scientific exploration and other national interests on the world’s fifth largest continent, the RNZAF has been flying to Antarctica continuously since 1965 – making it the longest continuous New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) operation.   Within these nearly seven decades of Antarctic operations, the RNZAF has operated six aircraft types and accumulated thousands of flying hours operating to one of the world’s most remote and challenging envi