Master Water Conservator

Following the Service of Remembrance at St Paul’s Cathedral, the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs, and Livery Masters and Clerks walked to the London Troops War Memorial at the Royal Exchange. Walbrook Warden Martin Bigg and I joined the assembled Masters on the north side. The Civic Party arrives With music played by a Guards Band, a wreath was laid by the Lord Mayor followed by His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent. Wreaths were then laid by representatives of City institutions and The Old Comrades. The Lord Mayor Vincent Keaveny His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent The Civic Party and Livery Company Masters then walked back to Mansion House to watch the March Past by the Band and The Old Comrades. Our part of the event was organised by the Worshipful Company of Fruiterers for which we are thankful.

A Service of Remembrance with The Commemoration for the Fallen was held at St Paul’s Cathedral on Remembrance Sunday led by The Very Reverend Dr David Ison, Dean. It was attended by the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs, Livery Masters and Clerks, and the General Public. Water Conservators were represented by Walbrook Warden Martin Bigg and Master Peter Hall. The First Lesson was read by Lance Corporal Kitty Connolly from the City of London Combined Cadet Force and the Second by the Lord Mayor, Alderman Vincent Keaveney. The Service continued with the Commemoration and the Last Post, followed by the Reveille and Blessing. The Civic Party and Livery Masters and Clerks then processed along Cheapside to the London Troops War Memorial, located in front of the Royal Exchange .

After missing a year because of the pandemic everybody was keen to see a return to the biggest day in the City’s calendar – The Lord Mayor’s Show. Held on the day after the installation of the new Lord Mayor – Alderman Vincent Keaveny – it promised a three-mile-long procession within the Square Mile.   We walked with the Modern Livery Companies, organised by the Firefighters. The Water Conservator’s contingent – the Master, Walbrook Warden Martin Bigg and placard bearer, Liveryman Simon Hall, found themselves in Group 9, as opposed to Group 100+ (as usual) and did the circuit at a fast, walking pace. Lunch was taken on board HQS Wellington, kindly arranged by the Master Mariner, followed by an equally fast return to the start point at London Wall.   The Floats were impressive and varied: our group was supported by a red double-decker London bus which probably got more photocalls than we did. We got lots of encouragement from the good natured young and old spectators, who

The Water Conservators’ Company Annual Banquet took place on 11 November at Cutlers’ Hall. The Master welcomed over 80 Members and guests. He reviewed the event over the last 18 months which had led to the Banquet’s cancellation last year. In particular, he thanked the two Masters who straddled this period for their successful efforts to keep the Company together and, continued in a modified form, the technical and social events. The continuing work with the City was exemplified by the contribution Company volunteers had made to the development of Livery Climate Action Plans, and the adoption of our own Plan in September. The Guest speaker was Martin Salter, a life-long angler who talked about his experience - pushing for water quality improvements - as a council adviser and later, an MP. He was broadly appreciative of the steps taken by the various authorities and operators since the River Thames was declared biologically dead 50 years ago. The Tideway Tunnel will further improve th

The Livery Committee, with the Royal British Legion, organised a Garden of Remembrance Service at St Paul’s Cathedral on Monday 8 November. The Service, conducted by The Very Reverend Dr David Ison, Dean of St Paul’s, began at 11.00 and was attended by representatives from about 100 Livery Companies.   During the Service, the Civic Party, led by the Lord Mayor, William Russell, with Sheriffs and Consorts, began the planting of named crosses on the lawn, followed by dignitaries. Livery Companies’ Masters came forward in order of precedence to plant their crosses and the Service concluded with the National Anthem and the Blessing. Masters and Clerks retreated to the Plaisterers’ Hall where they had Mustered under the direction of RSM David Davies of the Honourable Artillery Company. The Livery Committee was congratulated on the impressive response from Companies, and a special vote of thanks was given to Victoria Russell, Chair, a

The Lady Mayoress, Hilary Russell hosted a ‘Thank You Reception’ at Mansion House on 4 November to do just that. In an emotional speech she described her part in the most challenging Mayoralty in recent history. It had been a difficult two years, but she had made the most of the opportunities available. Many people were thanked but she remembered especially her bee-keeping activities and her contribution to biodiversity in the City, including support for Pollinating London Together (PLT) a pan-livery organisation, inaugurated in June 2019 as a long-term initiative to halt the decline of pollinators in the City and its immediate environs. The PLT official launch took place at the Mansion House on Thursday 16 September 2021 Georgina and I have thanked the Lady Mayoress for the opportunity to join her and others who have contributed so much to her two years of Office.

On 3 November, Deputy Master Rob Casey and I joined a discussion group at Mansion House to hear and see the latest thinking from private finance at COP26, discuss emerging developments, and view a key Glasgow session of the Green Horizon Summit at COP26. The discussion group was led by Alderman and Sheriff Alison Gowman, joined by Catherine McGuinness, Chair of Policy and Rhian-Mari Thomas, CEO of the Green Finance Institute, along with approximately 40 guests, many of whom were key members of the Livery Climate Action Group. Together with the Green Finance Institute, the City Corporation is building on the success of last year’s Green Horizon Summit to provide the key forum for private finance at COP26, with an aim to both mobilise private finance for the transition to Net Zero and provide a platform for global Financial and Professional Services to showcase the important role they will play. The link to the COP26 session included a wide-ranging discussion on key issues includin

Being in two places at the same time is something that Company has to plan. Walbrook Warden, Martin Bigg, represented the Worshipful Company of Water Conservators at the Keats 200 Anniversary Lecture, hosted by the City of London at the Guildhall. This year is the 200 th anniversary of John Keats’ death in Rome in 1821 aged 25. Many Livery Masters and Wardens joined members of the Keats Foundation to hear Professor Nicolas Roe from the University of St Andrews talk on John Keats and the London Cavalry. A fascinating comparison was drawn between Keats’ upbringing, his militaristic father and the beautiful imagery of his poetry. The lecture was followed by a reception at which we heard Fiyinfoluwa Oladipo, a medical student like Keats, read ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’.  We then heard some well-known lines from Keats set to music by Emily Hall and performed by Ben Rowarth, Paul Bentley-Angell and Chris Lombard. The Keats200 outdoor display in Aldgate High Street was visited by the Maste

The Engineers’ Livery Company held their Annual Livery Banquet at the Mansion House on 29 October, inviting a range of City people, including Alderman Sir Charles Bowman (representing the Lord Mayor), Alderman and Sheriff Alison Gowman, 14 Livery Masters and over 200 Members and their guests. The Master, Dr Peter Blair-Fish, proposed the Civic Toast and Sir Charles Bowman responded. Guests were welcomed by Junior Warden (and former Lord Mayor) Sir Michael Bear in a speech which involved a series of puns, which was received with smiles and then groans. Luckily, I was last and time was running out, so I escaped lightly. The serious response came from Malcolm Brinded, Chair of Trustees, EngineeringUK, who described the Company’s outreach and charitable work. Water Conservators have many friends in the Engineers’ Company, most recently Past Master Gordon Masterton who, with Deputy Master Rob Casey, steered our recent Livery Climate Action Plan. My thanks go to Peter Blair-Fish and his