Lunch

Lord's, in leafy St John's Wood, is the spiritual home of the cricketing world. Owned and managed by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the iconic ground boasts some pretty amazing architecture, including the ornate Victorian-era Pavilion, which dominates one end of the field. Many Members are avid cricket followers and regular visitors there, but even for those who are not, a trip to Lord's is to enter a different and extremely interesting world. We are going as guests of the MCC on a day when no matches are being played,  so we should have the place largely to ourselves. We will start with a tour of the ground and then of the Lord's Museum, which houses the original Ashes Urn, amongst many other treasures, before repairing to the Writing Room, overlooking the main cricket square, for lunch. The meal will be the usual three courses, with all the trimmings, and our guest speaker will be the famous England international bowler and latterly, England selector, Angus Fraser. Gus played 87 times for England, and remains the all-time most successful bowler in the West Indies, which was quite a feat when one recalls that in his era it was home to the most fearsome team on the international circuit. Gus was also a long-time giant of the Middlesex County team which included such other greats as Mike Brearley, Andrew Strauss, Mike Gatting, and Phil Edmonds. He followed up his stellar England career by first Captaining the County and then, after a spell as cricket correspondent for The Independent, serving as a highly successful Director of Cricket for 12 years, during which he won an especially nail-biting County Championship final in 2016. Today, Gus is Director of the cricketing charity, Middlesex in the Community, which the Livery has long supported. He will be...

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Pooley Swords, run by Robert Pooley, who was our speaker at the House of Commons, is the only working smithy in the country. The specialists there make and maintain pretty much all these edged weapons in existence in the UK today. Recently, they made two ceremonial swords for us - one for Special Forces Support Group and then just this month, one for our new RAF Affiliated Unit, the RAF Regiment's elite No. II Squadron. Robert and his team have kindly invited six of us to go down and see them working. The visit will encompass the design studio, the manufacturing facility, where the blades and pommels are made, and then the etching and finishing department, where those customers who wish, can have their swords turned into steel works of art. Because of the nature of the smithy, there are only six places on the tour, and one of those has already gone. We are due at Pooley's at 2pm, so those who wish, can join me at noon for a lunch in the nearby Enzo Fiore Italian Restaurant (6/7 Queensway, Lancing, BN15 9AY), which is well-regarded locally, and less than a mile away. (We will share the meal cost between us on the day.) There is parking at both locations. Dress is smart casual and this should be a fascinating tour of the only smithy in our country still practising this ancient craft.