“Bright Lights, Open Minds, Robust Community”
“A thriving Armed Forces Community that is valued and supported by society”
An Armed Forces Engagement Conference
facilitated by Cobseo, sponsored by the Drapers’ Company
Bringing the City of London together on London Poppy Day to support the Armed Forces Community
Thursday, 30 October 2025: 1030 – midday at Drapers’ Hall, Throgmorton Avenue, London EC2N 2DQ
Yes, I can’t resist an obscure reference to a 1993 parody B, but fun, film, Hot Shots! Part Deux. Pepys Day! Part Deux was also enormous fun with a bit of parody thrown in too.
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[An edited version of this article appeared as “Pepys Day: Raise A Toast To London’s Best Diarist” in City AM on 2 September 2025]
Friday, 5 September 2025, marks the second annual Pepys Day in London. If you missed last year’s inaugural celebration, you’ll want to grab your quill and parchment (or smartphone) to register immediately. Samuel Pepys and his diaries of the Great Fire are to London as James Joyce and Bloomsday are to Dublin.
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Great news to share…
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It was a cordially-contested election with a result of 70% in my favour. My acceptance remarks this evening went:
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Alderman, Ladies & Gentlemen,
After one of his lengthy, repetitive speeches Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev confronted his speechwriter. “I asked for a 15 minute speech, but that lasted an hour!” The speechwriter replied: “Comrade, it was 15 minutes, but I gave you four copies…”. You’ll be glad to hear I have a single copy.
Re-Elect Professor Michael Mainelli for Alderman of Broad Street Ward
Today I submitted my papers to stand for a third term as Alderman for Broad Street Ward.
Continue readingWe concluded our bi-monthly series of Mayor’s Progress reports with our final report card. Though any Lord Mayor wishes she or he could claim credit for creating jobs (all those dinners, speeches, promotional activity, videos, overseas visits, etc.), in fact, during this year as Lord Mayor, from November 2023 to November 2024, jobs in the City of London increased from 615,000 to 678,000 – yes, in just one year, an increase of over 10%!
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Well, going out with a bang with some of our best friends, in particular The Committee!
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Wow! David Patient asked me to provide a foreword for his book on a pet topic of mine, commercial Thames boats, and I just received the finished product:
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