38. Myddelton Service and Lunch

 


23 January was an occasion both solemn and glittering for our Company. It commenced with the Myddelton Service for Rededication of the Livery at All Hallows by the Tower, which was most beautifully and thoughtfully led by our Honorary Chaplain, Rev Katherine Hedderly. This is no empty ceremonial but a solemn reaffirmation of the pledge of Service we made when we became Freemen, and of our promise of allegiance to our Sovereign (and interestingly obedience to Master and Wardens, not something we would dream of enforcing!). We were reminded of the mission we have stated of ‘promoting a diverse and sustainable environment’. It was wonderful to see so many members in attendance (in the face of the usual Monday morning disruption to rail services). After the Service we were led in procession by our Beadle, Mark Anderson, past the Tower of London and the Memorial to merchant seafarers to Trinity House. See photo.

Our Myddelton Lunch flowed naturally on from this Service. We were delighted to welcome the Master Fueller, Constructor, Environmental Cleaner and Hackney Carriage Driver and the Senior Past Master Farmer, each with their respective clerks, along with Lt Cdr John Winn from HMS Scott (our Royal Navy partner) as our guests. Our guest of honour was the most distinguished former sea dog, Rear Admiral Brian Perowne CB DL, who spoke most entertainingly on commitment; given his lifetime personal service to our Sovereign and Nation his words carried particular weight.

In response to both the Service and Brian’s speech, I thanked members for all you are doing to put our commitment to ‘promote a diverse and sustainable environment’ into practice, both individually and by convening serious debate through our wonderful series of webinars, February’s discussion dinner with the Minister, and our showcase event in March, the City Water Debate.

The other way we put our commitment into practice is through our wonderful charity, the Water Conservation Trust. Over the past 15 years we have provided bursaries for postgraduate study in water and environmental sciences to some 180 students, and dissertation prizes to some 70 further, at leading universities throughout UK. I feel we do not advertise enough the impact we are having! These students are by definition some of the best in their year; they are supported by the Trust to become associate members of the Company and a number have already  progressed to become Freemen. It was a particular privilege at the lunch to be able to present prizes to nine of this year’s cohort of dissertation prizewinners. The photo below shows some of the people who will work for a diverse and sustainable environment individually and perhaps even in some cases as members of our Company. They represent the future!



Our collection at the Service went to All Hallows and at the lunch to the Hackney Carriage Drivers’ annual trip for children with disabilities to Disneyland Paris.

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