Clerk’s notes March 2018

The problem with the winter is that it can be cold and wet and pretty miserable, particularly when it’s cold and wet. And this winter has been very wet up here in the foothills of the Lincolnshire Himalayas; which has made life a tad more difficult in the livestock management arena than one would like. As a result, just as we expected spring to leap out at us the recent winterettes that have swept across the country added just a frisson of extra excitement and even as I write the Easter weekend looks like being a bit soggy – but without the vagaries of the British climate what would we have to talk about?

The Clerk, Cmdr Mark Leaning RN

That last question was of course rhetorical because as we approach the second half of this Livery year there is much to anticipate.
Our banquet, headlined as The City Livery Centennial Tribute to the RAF, at Guildhall, takes place on 20th April 2018. The book closed last Friday and those who have been successful in securing places will be notified during the week after Easter.
The next and final Livery dinner of the year will not be held until 19th July in HQS Wellington but before then a number of Livery committee arranged events will be held, watch out for e-mailed details. Also, for those who wish to brave the elements of the Northern Wastelands, this year’s Brigantes’ Breakfast will be held in Leeds on 25th May, follow this link for details.
Other City things in which you may be interested are as follows:

Lord Mayor’s overseas visits
From 9th-14th December, the Lord Mayor embarked on the first visit of his Mayoralty to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. A challenging programme across two countries, covering four cities in four days, it came soon after recent engagement in the region by the Prime Minister, Chancellor and Foreign Secretary and helped to reinforce strategic business links in both countries. The objectives of the visit were framed around delivering positive messages about the future of the City and the wider UK financial services in light of Brexit. It focused on building strategic City partnerships, engaging with sovereign wealth funds, and promoting the advantages of investing through and in the UK. It also aimed to advance City of London business interests around capital markets, asset management, Islamic finance, the use of English law and advisory services. The visit to Saudi Arabia was against the backdrop of the Crown Prince’s ambitious Vision 2030 plan for economic diversification. The Lord Mayor had meetings with the governors of the Central Banks, the Foreign Minister in Abu Dhabi, representatives of sovereign wealth funds and business leaders in both countries. He also chaired a roundtable on privatisation opportunities emanating from structural changes in the economy in Saudi Arabia. The visit had a significant impact and advanced both City Corporation and Her Majesty’s Government’s interests and produced significant follow up activities for members of the accompanying business delegation.

Inter Livery Ski Championships 2018
The ninth Inter Livery Ski Championships was held in Morzine, France on 25th and 26th January. More than 300 liverymen from 40 livery companies attended with slalom and giant slalom races being run over two days. In glorious weather, the competition was intense at one extreme and very relaxed at the other. Sheriff Neil Redcliffe presented prizes to 18 livery company winners at a dinner that could only be described as ‘like no other’ in the livery calendar. This is now the largest livery event held outside the UK and it is growing every year. Next year’s championships will be held in Morzine on 24th-25th January 2019. More information at www.liveryskiing.com

Workshop: Petitioning for a Grant of Arms
Many Liverymen don’t realise that they are eligible to petition the Crown for a grant of Arms, which they can lawfully display and use as they wish. A workshop, entitled ‘A Practical Guide to Petitioning the Crown for a Grant of Arms’ is being held at IT Hall on St George’s Day (Monday 23rd April), from 6.00-9.00pm, for anybody interested in obtaining their own Arms. The event is open to Freemen, Liverymen of all Companies, and family members and guests. To enrol, please visit www.heraldry.eventbrite.co.uk

Inter-Livery Regatta
This year’s Annual Inter-Livery Regatta, organised by the City Livery Yacht Club, will be held on Saturday 19th May 2018 in Cowes. Full details can be found at http://www.clyc.co.uk/regattas-rallies/ or please direct e-mail enquiries to clubsec@clyc.co.uk

Lord Mayor’s Big Curry Lunch
A reminder that on Wednesday 11th April 2018, the 11th annual Lord Mayor’s Big Curry Lunch will be held at Guildhall. The Lunch supports members of Her Majesty’s Armed Forces and veterans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan and, since 2008, has contributed more than £1.7m to The Soldiers’ Charity. Proceeds will also be donated to The Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity and The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund, ensuring that all of the Armed Forces are represented. For tickets and more information, please visit https://www.soldierscharity.org/events/the-lord-mayors-big-curry-lunch/

Common Hall: Election of Sheriffs
A reminder that this year’s Common Hall will take place on Monday 25th June, as Midsummer’s Day itself falls on a Sunday. Contact me for a Pass which enables Liverymen who were clothed before 31st May 2016 to vote in what will be a contested election this year. Lunch at Tallow Chandlers Hall will also be arranged for Coachmakers who wish to attend (£60 per person inc VAT). Email me if you wish to attend – clerk@coachmakers.co.uk

City Briefings
These early evening events (5.30pm-7.30pm) are aimed at introducing Liverymen and Freemen to the City of London Corporation and its links with the Livery. Taking place at Guildhall, forthcoming dates are as follows:
• Monday 21st May 2018
• Monday 8th October 2018
• Tuesday 20th November 2018
• Tuesday 5th February 2019
• Wednesday 15th May 2019
• Monday 21st October 2019
• Tuesday 19th November 2019

Comments from past attendees have highlighted how useful and informative they have found these and we hope that as many of you as possible will take full advantage of the service offered. To book onto these please contact me at: clerk@coachmakers.co.uk

Business of Trust initiative

The Lord Mayor launched the Business of Trust initiative in November 2017, which seeks to improve the trustworthiness of the UK financial and professional services sector to create a lasting legacy of better business trusted by society. The Lord Mayor has asked me to forward you a link to the Business of Trust survey, which only takes a few minutes to complete and can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/businessoftrust.

Company administration
Returning to Coachmaker Company business, hopefully, by now all of you will have had the chance to browse the updated Coachmakers’ website. Not only has it been visually refreshed but it also includes a number of new functions. There were some minor teething troubles but most, if not all of these, have now been addressed. Please take the time to update your details on the website and please do add a photograph of yourself, it makes it easier for me to recognise you at our Livery events.
That said, many of you may already be aware of the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) coming into force on 25th May 2018. This presents a number of challenges to a huge number of organisations and Livery Companies are no exception to this. As a result, the City in concert with the Livery Companies have been working to identify what needs to be done to address the legal requirements of this initiative; they are not insignificant but a policy has been developed and a number of executive actions will shortly be put into place to ensure that the Coachmakers Company is GDPR compliant. I shall be e-mailing all of you again in early April and requesting you to respond to a series of questions which will enable me to hold and continue to use your personal details in order to operate the Company and administer the membership as we would wish.
This is a legal requirement about which you may have strong personal views, however when I contact you again about this specific issue I would very much appreciate your prompt response.
And with that sobering thought in mind I wish you all a very happy Easter no matter how much rain might fall. If it helps, you might think of the Master and Mistress with Clerk in tow at the South of England Showground on Easter Monday. The weather forecast predicts that we shall be spending four hours in the wind and rain witnessing the parade of entrants to the London Harness Horse Parade 2018. The average entry per year is 120 of some of the smartest turnouts you could imagine – and they do it all for a certificate and a small brass plaque. If you fancy joining them visit this website: http://www.lhhp.co.uk/