Master Water Conservator

  The Wet 10 is an informal group of Livery Companies, both users and suppliers of water. We all depend on water in one way or another and all share a common concern for the long-term health of the water environment. Our aim is to promote awareness, to contribute to debate and to be an influence for the good in this key area.  On the eve of World Water Day, the Company presented its webinar: Managing Our Oceans - The Climate Change Challenge . The speakers were Professor Deborah Greaves and Professor Gerd Masselink, from the World-renowned University of Plymouth.       Harnessing the Oceans’ Energy  Professor Greaves reviewed the development of offshore renewable energy, which has long been recognised as having huge potential. The UK has the second highest tidal range in the world and there are estimates that around 50% of Europe’s tidal energy resource and 35% of European wave resou...

The London Museum of Water & Steam is an independent museum founded in 1975 as the Kew Bridge Steam Museum. It was rebranded in early 2014 following a major development project. The Museum has now reopened after the pandemic and is planning to recommence educational school visits about water supply and water treatment. This will include a tour of the historical exhibits that once formed an important part of London’s water supply, including the Grand Junction Waterworks Company’s 90 Inch beam engine. These visits are an approved part of the school curriculum and encourage water-related science and environmental learning. The Water Conservation Trust has offered financial support for school visits which includes schools currently supported and, in consultation with the Museum, plans to extend the invitation to a number of local primary schools in the Brentford area who would benefit from the educational visits. This is great opportunity for the Trust to extend its contact with fu...

    Martin Bigg, Walbrook Warden, represented the Water Conservators’ Company at the Modern Companies Dinner at Watermen’s Hall, alongside representatives of City Companies which had achieved Livery status since 1932. The first ‘modern’ Livery Company was the Master Mariners (78th in order of precedence), which formed in 1926. A Company is described as modern even if it was formed before 1932 or its trade predates the 1930s, for example the Solicitors or Hackney Carriage Drivers.     Companies take it in turn to host, this time hosted by Stephen Emmins, Master of the Worshipful Company of Security Professionals. Responding on behalf of the guests was Murray Craig, Clerk to the Chamberlain’s Court, who gave a most entertaining description of the awarding of the Freedom of the City to well-known personalities, including J K Rowling (when it felt just like Hogwarts) and Joanna Lumley. It is an opportunity to share experiences with an engage in fascinating conve...

    Advocacy, Trial and Error 2022 is a must see if it runs in 2023. This year the focus was on advocacy , describing with aid of drama and music, the influence advocacy has had on the outcome of trials – or in some cases, like the coroner’s enquiry into the death in detention in South Africa of Steve Biko, the mobilisation of public opinion. Devised and performed by Queen’s Counsels and colleagues, with musical direction from Colin Sell, the story was set out in 20 sketches/ extracts from proceedings, including the trial of William Joyce (Lord Haw Haw). Many Livery Companies assist with the production through sponsorship or administration.   The event raises money for the Sheriffs’ & Recorder's Fund (founded 1808), which is dedicated to helping ex-prisoners and their families with small, practical, focused grants to help them on their way, and the Pan Intercultural Arts charity, helping victims of human trafficking.   The event took place in No.1 Cour...

    The place to meet Water Conservators’ Past Masters is the Walbrook Ward Club, which recently celebrated its 211 th Annual Luncheon in the Old Library at Guildhall. The preceeding AGM covered two years because of the pandemic, and saw the Hon Liz Green (City Sheriff 2018-19) elected Walbrook Ward Club Chairman a year earlier than expected because she is comitted to becoming High Sheriff of Hertfordshire in the year previously planned. The Club is financially sound and has solid support from the City and Livery.     The Lunch was a very pleasant occasion, with a presentation by the newly-elected Chairman and a response from Alderman and Sheriff Alison Gowman. The President brought Ward members up to date about proposals for the extention of the traffic containment plans around the Bank of England, which did not impress those using taxis in that spot. Finally, the toast – to the Prosperity of the Inhabitants of the Ward of Walbrook .

  Following the successful Charity City Water Walk in October 2021, a second City walk was held on Sunday 13 March 2022. Starting at St Paul’s, the walk took us through the maze of pre-Great Fire streets, where houses had been rebuilt on medieval foundations before Sir Christopher Wren’s masterplan for post-1666 London could be started. Here, the precursors of banking and trading institutions had their origins in tea/ coffee houses, before moving to purpose-built buildings, such as the Royal Exchange, financed by Sir Thomas Gresham. Explanations were given for items in the title of the walk, which lasted about 2 hours - finishing at Leadenhall Market for a late lunch.   Blue Badge City of London and Historic Royal Palaces Guide, and Thames Warden Christine Jarvis led us and made sure we didn’t get lost. Our thanks go to Christine for a super walk. On the way we raised over £100 for our charity, The Water Conservation Trust.

Master Mick Cullen invited several Livery Companies’ Masters and Clerks to the Hackney Carriage Drivers’ Spring Court Dinner at Drapers’ Hall. The Principal Guest was Alderman Tim Hailes, who made an impassioned plea to keep City of London streets open to taxis. This was much appreciated by the Company and the taxi users present.   Over the years, Water Conservators have been big supporters of the Hackney Carriage Drivers major charity event – the trip to Disneyland, Paris. These events have been organised by a small group supporting Past Master Phil Davis, whose name is inextricably linked to the event.   The Children's Magical Taxi Tour to Disneyland Paris will take place on 16 September 2022, after a two-year break for the pandemic. This year will be the 27th year that the Company have organised the three-day trip of a lifetime for children with life threatening diseases to Disneyland Paris. They have now taken 5,000 children on this trip. A convoy of over 100 Londo...

  Founded in 1993 as the Welsh Livery Guild, to promote education, the arts, science and technology in Wales, in 2013 the Guild was presented with a Royal Charter and renamed the Worshipful Livery Company of Wales (WLCOW). Georgina and I were invited to the Livery Company Awards Celebration Dinner in Cardiff by the Master, Dr Kathy Seddon. It was very enjoyable to meet Company Members and guests ‘at home’ and the range of awards and the qualities of the recipients were impressive: the Engineering Award to James Bain, the Music &Drama Award to Katie Jenkins and an award for Palliative Care to Sam Clements. WLCOW is dedicated to helping young people throughout Wales to develop their talents and skills by means of an annual Awards programme of scholarships and bursaries to students in schools, universities and technical colleges, as well as to apprentices and young people in the armed forces. My thanks go to Kathy and the Livery Company of Wales for a very special evenin...

  The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London held its inaugural lecture: Pandemics, Pounds & Partnerships by Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, at its very attractive Hall in Black Friars Lane.   Peter Sands is responsible for the overall leadership and management of the Global Fund’s operational and administrative functions, working under the guidance of the Global Fund Board. The lecture was fascinating and covered the financing - donations from government and individuals, to the programmes running in many countries. The slow progress towards eradication had been interrupted by the Covid19 pandemic, and would take some time to recover. One indirect benefit was that the public health infrastructure supported by the Global Fund had been very important to survival rates in many countries. This was a lesson that some developed countries needed to learn before the inevitable next pandemic. To regard the p...

  The Honourable Company of Master Mariners played an important part of the development of the Livery movement. In 1932, the Court of Alderman conferred the status of Livery on the Company, so enabling the Company to participate in the corporate life of the City. This was the first new Livery Company for 240 years, and became the 78th in order of Precedence. The creation of a new company did not go unnoticed and there are now 32 more ‘modern’ companies.    Invitations to the Court Livery Luncheon onboard the Master Mariners’ Livery Hall were given to Companies connected with the Mariners – including our Company and the Water Conservation Trust, which has its registered office onboard. The Master Mariners are deeply involved in the regulation of their business and in education. The guest speaker was John Ryder, Principal of George Green’s School on the Isle of Dogs. He spoke about his commitment to being an exceptional school. Its vision and values are deep-rooted an...

The Company has a long-standing interest in environmental issues. Company Member Dr. Gemma Harvey from Queen Mary University hosted a Webinar on re-wilding . She explained that ‘ecosystem engineer’ species have the potential for working with natural processes to restore degraded environments by enhancing and accelerating environmental restoration, reducing the need for direct intervention and hence costs. The prevailing approaches have tended to focus on strategic placement of measures in the landscape, rather than whole-system restoration. Rewilding restores wildness to anthropogenically altered landscapes, including the reintroduction of missing species. Gemma illustrated some of the types of landscape changes and ecosystem engineering effects, and its relevance for the water cycle and water resource management. The February 2022 Webinar drew a large audience from the Company members and others interested in the way a managed landscape recovery could attenuate local flooding an...

Let’s start by saying that the only competition held on this wet and cold day was the Fancy Dress , which Court Assistant Andy triumphed! ( For the non-technical, on top of Andy's head, is a magic continuous drain from the gutter above.) The Team: Past Master Mark Lane, Martin Bigg, Michelle and Andy Williamson had arrived to race but the pitch was deemed unfit. Lunch was brought forward and the Fancy Dress judging began. Andy won against severe competition, for example, the Poulterers (the organisers) fielded a plucked chicken. But we (I mean Andy) won. Thanks to the Team, and especially the Williamson family, who have cornered the market in fancy dress . Mike won the event in 2015 and narrowly lost out to a 'buoy' in 2016. One more win and perhaps we can keep the Frying Pan Trophy! Thanks also to the Master Poulter whose term of office finishes after Shrove Tuesday, and the Gunmakers and Clockmakers for being on hand (if unused) to see the races were fair.