Posted on Life As We Live It, Long Finance, Technology, The City of London & Broad Street Ward

Season’s Meetings – 2013

It would be difficult to cram in any more events between the parties.  Not only have we had the Z/Yen Christmas Party, my 27th annual boozy breakfast on Lady Daphne (beer courtesy of Fuller’s!), the annual Broad Street Ward Club luncheon, carol services at St Margaret Lothbury, and numerous other events, but work has been frenzied too.  Try some of these fascinating links for some variety, not even the half of it:

Then some amazing Financial Times coverage of a project we cooked up with Bob McDowall of Alderney over the summer:

but perhaps most noteworthy for me was the honour of presenting at this University of Sussex workshop for Onora O’Neill – http://www.sussex.ac.uk/philosophy/newsandevents/actingonprinciple – terrifying to be a business person presenting to philosophers, but Onora made it rewarding.  And that’s just bits of December, though a nice, closing for the year before heading away to Germany for Wolpertinger habitat preservation work – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolpertinger.  So I’ll leave a stressful 2013 behind with the following picture of peace and The Shard in fog after a few beers on a cold morning at St Katharine’s Dock.  Prost Neujahr 2014.

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Posted on The City of London & Broad Street Ward

George Leybourne Mark II

One of the more unusual things I’ve had to do lately was acquire a top hat for Remembrance Sunday services at St Paul’s and the Royal Exchange.  For those who know of our family’s associations with Wilton’s Music Hall, including organising a wonderful Gilbert & Sullivan sing-along led by Professor Robin Wilson for the Gresham Society – http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/a-%E2%80%9Csing-in%E2%80%9D-with-gilbert-and-sullivan, as well as our associations with the not-quite-‘toff’, George Leybourne, then the contrast with my aversion to formal wear – http://www.mainelli.org/?p=308 – makes exquisite irony.  For those who would like to explore the background to Wilton’s, Champagne Charlie, and some of the first commercial sponsorships:

For those who would like to be entertained by some visuals at Wilton’s today, I can only provide the following:

Top Hat

 

Posted on The City of London & Broad Street Ward

A Collective Of Chairmen

Broad Street Ward Club - past Chairmen - 26.09.13

[Photo courtesy of Martin Payne – click to view larger image]

Our Broad Street Ward Club Chairman, Chris Hayward, and our Secretary, Judith Rich, managed to get virtually all of the Past Chairmen of the Club to a luncheon at Guildhall on 26 September!  A great time was had by all, as you can see far too clearly on some rather jolly faces.  In order to propose a toast though, my problem was to establish the collective noun for a ‘bored of Chairmen’ who were clearly not bored at all!  Herewith my feeble attempt:

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Posted on The City of London & Broad Street Ward

Freedom First

Lui Hui 04.10.13

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending my first freedom ceremony in official garb, alongside Paul Judge, to welcome Lui Hui to the freedom of the City of London.  Lui has been a big help on City-Asia relations and it was a delight to see him again.  He brought along a wonderful set of friends to help celebrate.

Officiating, Murray D Craig, Clerk of the Chamberlain’s Court, City of London, gave yet another witty, authoritative and personal talk after the official ceremony.  Murray ranged widely and eruditely through battles and cricket (Lui’s entourage were off to the Chinese Cricket Club for a celebratory lunch), as well as connecting with kings and presidents who had taken the freedom, recognising Lui’s Macanese and Portuguese connections.

The traditional celebration, even without Portuguese connections, was served by the Beadle, a glass of Madeira, despite the 10:30am ceremony.  We toasted the health of “the youngest freeman”, well the youngest until the next swearing in about an hour later.

If you’d like to consider the freedom given a love or connection with the City, please just ask at the Chamberlain’s office.  For a bit more detail, here is Murray’s wonderful 2011 Gresham Lecture – “Sheep Across London Bridge: The Freedom of the City of London“.

 

Posted on Life As We Live It, The City of London & Broad Street Ward

First Freedom – Lui Hui

One of the great City traditions is welcoming new freemen.  Yesterday it was my privilege to welcome my first while in official attire, Lui Hui.  Lui has been a big help on UK-Asia relations and brought along a great group of friends.  Murray Craig, the Clerk of the Chamberlain’s Court, City of London, gave yet another bespoke, witty and engaging talk, with references to great battles and cricketeers (Lui and the team were off to the Chinese Cricket Club for lunch), as well as former freedoms for Portuguese kings and presidents in honour of Lui’s Macaand Portuguese connections.  We also celebrated the admission of “the youngest freemen” (well, youngest until the next one came in about an hour later) with a traditional glass of Madeira – despite it being 10:30 in the morning.  The glass of Madeira applies even when there are no Portuguese connections!

If you would like to consider the freedom, given a strong connection or love of the City, please do contact the Chamberlain’s office.  And if you want to read more, here is Murray’s wonderful 2011 Gresham lecture – Sheep Across London Bridge – The Freedom of the City of London.

Posted on The City of London & Broad Street Ward

Landlocked Lubbers Go Overboard

On the evening of 17 September, 54 members of the Broad Street Ward Club took a three hour tour on the River Thames.  Up until moments before departure the heavens gushed forth, only for the skies to clear just as Tower Bridge was being raised.  Despite being a land-locked ward with no river boundaries (perhaps something a little southern expansion might fix?), the team managed to find their sea legs, and the drinks chest, whereupon a nauticful time was had by all.

And if you find it hard to imagine three hours at sea coming back in the dark a great experience, then have a look at this shot of Tower Bridge lit in all her new and wonderful LED glory and perhaps think otherwise.

BSWC - Lady Daphne 17.09.13

Posted on Long Finance, The City of London & Broad Street Ward

Key To The City

Watched Stephen Fry blend entertainment and reporting – “Key To The City” (of London) on ITVPlayer. Worked for me – https://www.itv.com/itvplayer/stephen-fry-s-key-to-the-city/series-1/episode-1-stephen-fry-s-key-to-the-city.  Nice to see a lot of people I know doing their part and proud of the City and their work.  While attitudes have come a long way from the depths of November 2011 (see Occupy’s Tent City University outside St Paul’s Cathedral photo below – and note The Price of Fish seminar), the City still needs more reforms.  We need to earn respect, not demand it.  This past week we’ve seen lows and highs, from probable scandals in the aluminium markets to Mansion House continuing to develop the City Values Forum.  Long Finance respects the intentions of Occupy but believes that gradual, evolutionary reform from within is better than revolutionary reform from without.  If you believe that too, get involved.

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Posted on The City of London & Broad Street Ward

A Brand New Auld Man

Today I had my first meeting before Common Council, where I had to make a few short remarks before the meeting began in earnest.  For those who wish to know more about the City of London Corporation and the role of an Alderman or Broad Street Ward, there is plenty to surf.

The City of London Corporation is the world’s oldest continuously elected local government.  The City is regarded as ‘incorporated by prescription’, meaning that the law presumes it to have been incorporated because it has for so long been regarded as such even in the absence of written documentation.  The Corporation began in Anglo-Saxon times.  The first record of a royal charter is 1067, when William the Conqueror confirmed the rights and privileges that the Citizens of London had enjoyed since the time of Edward the Confessor. Together, Common Council and the Court of Aldermen are considered to form the ‘grandmother of parliaments’.  The governing legislation is the Magna Carta (1215), “THE City of London shall have all the old Liberties and Customs [which it hath been used to have]. Moreover We will and grant, that all other Cities, Boroughs, Towns, and the Barons of the Five Ports, and all other Ports, shall have all their Liberties and free Customs.”

[The other two outstanding ‘effects’ of the Magna Carta are personal liberties and no false imprisonment.]