Nicholas Bagshawe's blog

There was a splendid memorial service for the late Past Master Tony Hart at St.Lawrence Jewry next Guildhall on Wednesday 18th February. Those of us there, who included many Broderer Past Masters as well as Court members and liverymen, heard all about Tony’s remarkable career and gave thanks for his life with hymns which raised the roof. The Lord Mayor was there, with the non-aldermanic sheriff and many, many friends and family.

Afterwards there was a packed reception at Mercer’s Hall, where Broderer treasures had been specially displayed. Those who were there to pay tribute to Tony’s memory seemed to have come from all strands of his rich life and it was good to hear so many stories about him.

It was a great service and a superb party, overflowing with champagne. Tony would have loved it!  

Last year a group of liverymen who lived in the North of England thought it was a shame that formal or even semi-formal meals all tended to be in or near London. The result was a new initiative called Brigantes, which I went to in Manchester. Almost 250 liverymen from a wide variety of Companies attended and it was great fun.
 
Next year's event will be in the splendid Cutlers' Hall in Sheffield. Any liveryman living North of Watford Gap should think about going, if only to meet liverymen from other Companies living in your area.  So should Southerners like me, either to poke fun at Northerners or to have fun poked at them (both these applied to me).

Nick
 

On Friday 30th January, I was treated to the Annual City Lunch in Vintners Hall, hosted by Searcys, who do the catering there, and the Vintners Company. The Master Vintner made it refreshingly clear that the event was to showcase the attractions of Vintners Hall. The Broderers know about that, of course, because one of our major dinners last year was held there and went very well. The lunch was excellent and it was good to meet old friends from the Framework Knitters and new ones from the Plumbers and Furniture Makers.

What may not be so well known is that Vintners Hall has a number of bedrooms which are both comfortable and very good value. These are available to all liverymen in the City and might well be a useful alternative to much more expensive hotels. If you’re interested, look at Vintners Hall website for details. http://www.vintnershall.co.uk/