22. Ceremony of the Keys; Engineers’ Banquet

On Thursday 27 October, a group of Conservators were treated to a splendid night time tour of the Tower of London, courtesy of our Bailiff Mark Anderson, who is a Warden of the Tower - a.k.a. Beefeater. As we walked round we were entertained with background on what it takes even to be considered for appointment as a Beefeater (22 years unblemished military service as a starting point, which Mark well exceeded). This was followed by a summary of the Tower’s frankly grisly history before we adjourned to the Wardens’ own pub, splendidly adorned with memorabilia of the Tower and its varied occupants.

After refreshments and a raffle in aid of the Beefeaters’ own charity (which supports any number of deserving causes) we moved on to the high point of the evening, the Ceremony of the Keys or locking of the gates for the night - a daily event for more than 700 years. The military contingent was provided by the Gurkhas - with whom one would be ill advised to pick a fight. A most moving and inspiring conclusion to a wonderful evening.

The following evening the Master and Consort were guests at the Worshipful Company of Engineers white tie Banquet at Mansion House. It was a really splendid event with a particular focus on promoting the role of women in the engineering profession. ‘Our own’ Michael Mainelli represented the Lord Mayor and in his speech made specific reference to Hugh Myddelton/the New River as an example of great engineering. We look forward to welcoming Master Engineer Audrey Canning and her Consort John to our Banquet on 10 November.

A wonderful end to a busy week!



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