Master Water Conservator

When the Masters and Consorts meet as a group it is usually for a meal or event.   This Reception hosted by the Mercers’ Company was an exception.   We spent the entire evening talking and catching up.   This very important for, as the year passes, new people step up to the role of Master and old friends step down.   It was great to catch up and share issues and experiences. I had a fascinating discussion with Masters of the Environmental Cleaners and Plaisterers.   In both cases they described how measuring precise quantities was important to the success of their work.   Too much or too little water or lime can ruin a joint and damage a wall.   Similarly, for cleaning, precise quantities must be used, especially for the delicate exterior of an ancient building. It was a most enjoyable evening: many thanks to the Master Mercer and his team for hosting us.

Beating the Bounds is an ancient custom dating from Anglo-Saxon times when church parishes reaffirmed their boundaries by processing round them, stopping at each boundary mark.   The clergy, church wardens and parish officials headed a crowd of boys who, armed with willow or birch wands, beat the parish boundary markers. Without maps, this was a way of ensuring the knowledge of boundaries was passed on to future generations. Our Company Church, All Hallows by the Tower, beat the bounds in the company of Masters and members of the Livery from its associated Companies - the Watermen and Lightermen, Bakers and Water Conservators.   The beating is undertaken by young people from St Dunstan’s College, which used to be located within the parish before moving out to the leafy suburb of Catford in 1888. The first stop was the Tower of London, a royal palace and place of execution.   It was the site of a dispute between parishes in 1698, which came to blows.   The Thames is a parish and dio

I attended these presentations as a Trustee of the Water Conservation Trust.   CCLA are one of our fund managers and have been so for some time.   They are the largest manager of UK charity funds with £14.5 billion under management.   They have over 180 staff across the UK and have over 60 years of experience investing responsibly and ethically.   They are committed to ESG in their culture and investments. CCLA were very good at explaining the current economic and investment environment in easy to understand language.   We were given the opportunity to look back and forward, voting electronically on what we thought have happened and what would happen.   We were quite good at hindsight! They presented hard social statistics. Income inequality is at its highest level for the past half century.   11% of workers live in a household in poverty.   Investors can address this by promoting a living wage. It was very interesting talking to the trustees of other charities and the way in whi

Victoria Joseph, Consort to the Master Baker, arranged for a group of Consorts plus guests to attend a President’s Evening at the Magic Circle.   Who could have guessed that such an unprepossessing entrance, down a slightly dubious-looking side street near Euston, housed such a place of wonder? The Magic Circle has over 1,700 members worldwide, including familiar faces such as David Copperfield, Derren Brown, Fay Presto and the lovely Debbie McGee.   Less well-known members, possibly, might be Stephen Fry, Nigel Mansell – and King Charles III!   We were greeted personally at the door by President Marvin Berglas, and given a playing card.   After assembling in the bar, the scene of weekly meetings of magicians where secrets are shared, we were divided into four groups, according to the suite of card we held.   Our group began in the basement museum, where we spotted artefacts belonging to household names such as Houdini, Tommy Cooper, David Nixon, Sooty, and Harry Potter.   The Ma

Our 5,000 miles of inland waterways, rivers and canals are major assets benefiting our economy as well as individual wellbeing. They provide about 80,000 jobs directly and contribute £1.5 billion to the economy every year. 2000 miles of waterways are managed by the Canal and Rivers Trust and contribute £6.1 billion in economic and social value.   However, their funding is being reduced by £300 million over the next 10 years. The Environment Agency, which manages 634 miles, is also facing challenges. Founding members of the Fund Britain’s Waterways included: The Association of Waterways Cruising Clubs British Marine The Inland Waterways Association The National Association of Boat Owners The Royal Yachting Association The Water Conservators were invited to join a short cruise on the Thames from Westminster Pier to hear more of the issues and action required to support our waterways. In agreeing to join the very diverse group I explained the work and interests of the Water Conservato

The Livery has supported the welfare of clergy and their families for almost 400 years. It started with a choral festival to raise funds. The Festival Service at St Paul's Cathedral is an amazing occasion with a grand turn out of Livery Masters, City and Church leaders. The frustration is that taking pictures of this spectacle in the impressive setting is discouraged. (These pictures are from the Rochester Cathedral Choir website so I am sure that they are approved!) This year the choir of St Paul's was supported by the Cathedral Choirs from Rochester and Durham. They sang together and separately, their voices filling and resonating round the Cathedral. The music came from 400 years of praise from the 17th to the 21st centuries, by Gabrieli, Parry, Elgar, Stanford and Cecilia McDowall. I was encouraged to see that all the choirs appeared to be mixed, including the best voices irrespective of gender. The Sermon was given by the Archbishop of Wales and Bishop of Bangor (the s

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

I attended this Investor day as a Trustee of the Water Conservation Trust and interested in the headline subject.   It turned out to be far more fascinating than I had expected.   The speakers : ·          Kate Elliot, Head of Ethical, Sustainable and Impact Research, Greenbank ·          Kai Johns, Senior Ethical, Sustainable and Impact Researcher, Greenbank ·          Claire Elsdon, Director of Capital Markets, CDP ·          Jason Shingleton, Group Material Science Director ·          Martin Gisbourne, Chief Strategy and Sustainability Officer, Genuit They were all very interesting, identifying issues globally across water and the need for action as well as where they were specifically involved and supporting local initiatives. I have reproduced some of their slides, which reflected their messages for me. We then heard from Professor Wouter Buytaert from Imperial College who gave a great presentation.   He explained that the “Water Crisis” is two crises - the physica

The Woodmongers were the predecessors to two livery Companies - the Carmen and the Fuellers.  They trace their origins to 1328, although their trade predates that, as wood was the primary building material of the medieval city of London and its primary fuel.  Carmen surfaced in 1277 but their trade existed long before, as goods were carried on carts.  They formed a fellowship of St Katherine the Virgin and Martyr of Carters in 1517.  The two guilds fought for control of the carriage of goods.  Eventually the Carmen achieved Livery in 1848 and a new charter in 1946.  As coal replaced wood, Fuellers featured on the coat of arms of the Woodmongers but the Woodmongers had surrendered their Royal Charter in 1667.  The Worshipful Company of Fuellers were granted Livery status in 1984 and a Royal Charter in 2009.  They have been holding a joint Woodmongers’ Supper since 2004. Thus this was a joint evening with the two Masters taking it in turn for the different stages of the banquet.   The

An Act of Parliament in 1514 first regulated watermen, wherrymen and bargemen, receiving Royal Assent from King Henry VIII.  The Company of Watermen and Lightermen of the River Thames was formed by Act of Parliament in 1555 to maintain a standard of navigation amongst Watermen plying for hire on the tidal Thames above Gravesend.  This has been achieved in succeeding centuries by a system of apprenticeships, examinations and grant of licence.  The Lightermen, the goods carriers, joined the Watermen, the passenger carriers in 1700.  The Company has been regulated by a succession of Acts of Parliament, the most recent in 1859.  The Acts allow the Company to set byelaws for its internal governance. It is therefore not a formal Livery Company, always coming at the end of the queue at Civic events. They have become used to it. We were all presented with a rose to wear as a reminder of the Knollys Rose celebrated in a ceremony in June each year.   (Further details on Wikipedia.)   The Comp

  I was very pleased to accept the invitation from the Master Elect, Mrs Lorraine Larman, the Wardens and Court of Assistants to join them as guests of the Company at the Installation Banquet at Mansion House.   The attendance was in strong contrast to many Livery Companies, being very diverse and young.   They are number 97 and have 450 members.   They emphasise that they are an equal opportunities organisation and the Master is the fourth Lady Master. The beginnings of the Company go back to 1972.   Eric Hill, with Sir Kenneth Cork, Alderman for the Ward of Tower and later the Lord Mayor of the City of London, set up the organisation.   At an opening meeting on 22 October 1972 at the City Livery Club, attended by 43 colleagues and friends from the cleaning industry, ‘The Guild of Cleaners’ officially began. The formalities started with the award of the lifetime achievement award Ameligen Cup.   The winner had set up and eventually sold a very successful cleaning company.   Rather

As Master of the Company and a Trustee of the Water Conservation Trust, I was invited to a Supporter Thank You Event in London.   For several years the Trust has provided an annual bursary for a Newcastle University postgraduate student on a water and environmental degree, as well as awarding an annual dissertation prize.   It was a useful opportunity to learn more about the ways the Campaign for Newcastle University is making a difference. The evening was opened by Professor Anya Hurlbert, Dean of Advancement, and started with Ruth Sunderland, Group Business Editor of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, sharing her experience of giving back her time and expertise to support students, highlighting the integral role that volunteering plays in enhancing the university experience. It was an absolute privilege to hear the stories of two students, Emma and Charlotte-Ann.   Emma’s dedication to PhD research into the immune response to respiratory viruses underlines the importance of donor