Election of Sheriffs in Guildhall and to Merchant Taylors’

On 24th June I attended the Election of Sheriffs in Guildhall.  It is an occasion of great pomp and ceremony.  Having only ever witnessed the event from the crypt it was a real pleasure to have an aisle seat near the front.  As expected the procedure was over in no time and it was not long before I was making way to Pewterers’ Hall for lunch.  This was preceded by one of the legendary ‘Health & Safety’ briefings by the Clerk in which he never fails to recall some misfortune suffered by the Army on that day in contrast to yet another stunning victory on the part of the Royal Navy.  The luch was extremely welcome and much enjoyed by all. 

Mindful of what was to come that evening I fully intended to return to a conference that hadn’t missed me only to be waylaid by a couple of Past Masters and the Clerk who assured me that urgent business required discussion in a nearby wine bar.  Fortunately the Immediate Past Master, Peter Lumley kindly gave me a lift in his car to where my dinner jacket was so I could change and return to the City as guest of the Merchant Taylors’ at their dinner with the Skinners.  Forgive me if my memory is imperfect of who I was sitting next to but the evening started in their beautiful, tranquil courtyard.  Speeches helpfully rehearsed the history of sixes and sevens (what with Actuaries and so on these numbers keep cropping up).  I believe I was much the wiser as a result and certainly went rolling home in a state of some euphoria.