Every Wednesday, on Zoom, you are invited to join fellow members for a virtual Coffee Morning. This is a great opportunity to get to know fellow members in a small, friendly, relaxed group. No need to book, just turn up. All members are welcome. If you are interested in attending, please email John Spencer or Clare Ferrar for the zoom link and password. John Spencer: john@connorspencer.com Clare Ferrar: clareferrar@accountantslivery.org
The United Guilds' Service (UGS) was first held in February 1943 as a coordinated response to the challenges faced by the City of London following the Blitz of 1940-41. It was also a reminder of the religious origins of the Guilds. The first service was held on Lady Day – 25th March 1943 - the first day of the year by the old calendar. This annual service held at St Paul's Cathedral is one of the few occasions in the Livery calendar at which all the Livery Companies and Guilds of the City can gather together as a whole – it is always a spectacular occasion, and one not to be missed if you haven’t attended before. Lunch following the United Guilds' Service - Stationers' Hall Drinks will be served from 12.30 pm in the Court Room, followed by lunch in the Hall and Stock Room at 1.00 pm. Lunch will consist of three courses with red and white wine; a glass of port will also be served. 10.45am - all ticket holders must be seated 11.15am - service starts 12.15pm - service finishes 12.30pm - drinks 1pm - lunch Tickets: Access to the service is free of charge, but please reserve your place below as each Company is allocated a limited number of tickets. Lunch at Stationers' Hall is £80 inc VAT. Please book below where possible. If unable to book online then please contact Clare Ferrar on clareferrar@accountantslivery.org
Originally described by some wags as "The City of London's hottest annual event", this now enormous annual charity fundraiser began back in 2008 on a very small scale. Hosted by the Lord Mayor, over the years it has grown and grown, until today it takes over the whole of Guildhall and raises going on half a million pounds annually. At its core, the Lunch demonstrates the City’s support for members of His Majesty’s Armed Forces and veterans, through the three National Service Charities: The Army Benevolent Fund, The Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity and The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund. It does this via a huge curry lunch, held in a packed Great Hall, plus a silent auction for some pretty splendid lots, held in the Old Library. The Master is going to the 2pm sitting and invites up to nine members and their guests to join him. As well as being delicious, the whole occasion is very much "A sight to see" - certainly, you won't be able to watch over 300 people, all guzzling curry in shifts, anywhere else! Tickets cost £110 and will be allocated on a "first-come-first -served basis".
The London Eye is the iconic ferris wheel on the south bank of the Thames, just opposite the Palace of Westminster. From the top, those travelling in the enclosed gondolas can see all across London and, on a clear day, out beyond the M25. Now in its 25th year of operation, those who take one of the "flights" as they are styled, report that the amazing view during daylight hours is starkly different from what it looks like, gazing down on our nation's capital, all lit up at night. To test this and enjoy that contrast, the Master is leading a party of ten Members and guests on a 6.15pm flight, to see London laid out before them in daylight. Then, our party will repair to a local restaurant for a restorative supper, before returning for the 8.15pm flight, which will begin as dusk falls, enabling everyone to enjoy the full night-time experience. The price of £109 includes both flights, and a light supper with wine, and one of the official souvenir brochures. Dress is casual, with an emphasis on wrapping up reasonably warm, for what may well be a slight evening chill.
Stanlake Park is one of the oldest wine producers in England. Every year their 40-year-old vines give them quality, well-ripened grapes that their Italian winemaker then expertly processes to produce a wide range of wines, using a modern, international approach. The heritage estate and stunning grounds are visited by thousands of guests every year. All of them have the opportunity to learn about the challenges of grape growing in England and discover the process of winemaking, from the grape to the bottle. The 90 minute tour and tasting offers a unique behind-the-scenes view of the vineyard and winery. The tour will be led by an experienced WSET qualified guide; it is perfect for a group who is looking to learn about wine, but also to have a great time together. During your tour, you’ll visit the vineyard before heading inside the winery to see the grape-pressing area, the fermentation tanks, the barrel room, the sparkling room and the bottling line. During the tour, guests will have the opportunity to taste six different wines. For those who are likely to arrive early, the wine bar and shop will be open from 9am. Time: 12noon (90 minute tour) Tickets: £30 for the tour and tasting, or £40 to include a £10 deposit for lunch afterwards Address: Stanlake Park, Twyford, Berkshire RG10 0BN Nearest railway station: Twyford. Approximately 20 minutes’ walk to Stanlake Park. Taxi rank at station, or pre-book local cab.
This year's Spring Dinner will take place on the walkways on the iconic Tower Bridge on Wednesday 30 April. This amazing venue is seldom available, and when it is us usually eye-waveringly expensive, simply because there are no facilities on site and so everything, from food and drink, right down to the last teaspoon, has to be brought in. However, by dint of much begging and calling in of favours (Step forward Liveryman James Thomson, who is a senior Common Councillor in the City. We are all most grateful.), it was possible to secure both a date and a just-about-feasible set of numbers. (£199 per person, but hopefully you will feel this is at least partly offset by the price reductions that we managed for the first two Dinners of this Livery year, and that this is a rather special opportunity.) As a result, we are holding this year's Spring Dinner on the recently-glassed-in Upper Walkways of the Bridge. The drinks reception will start at 6.30pm, when we will all take the lift of to the top of the Bridge and enjoy a drinks reception and the views down-river from inside the eastern Upper Walkway. Then at 7pm, we will walk through one of the twin towers, and into the up-river walkway, to dine looking out towards the Houses of Parliament. The Bridge's Director is going to come and tell us about the Bridge and the challenges of actually running this working piece of our nation's history, and then we will dine. There will be entertainment and then after the meal we will hear from Colonel Max, who is responsible for the safety of the many thousands of UK diplomatic and consular staff and their families who represent our country and serve our interests overseas. His team's role is vast and...
The world-famous Highgate Cemetery, with its iconic tombs (Karl Marx etc) was originally opened in 1839, as part of a commercial venture to provide seven large, modern cemeteries, round the edge of central London. The inner-city cemeteries, mostly graveyards attached to churches, had long been unable to cope with the number of burials and "The Magnificent Seven" were intended to solve this problem, and to turn a profit at the same time. Highgate occupies a spectacular south-facing hillside site on Highgate Hill. Like the other six, it soon became a fashionable place for burials and the Victorian attitude to death and its presentation led to the creation of a wealth of Gothic tombs, buildings and catacombs. Sadly, the cemetery was not well run and fell into such dire financial straits in the Mid-20th Century that most of the staff, including the gardeners were laid off, and it was left unguarded and so was much vandalised. Over decades, the grounds became increasingly overgrown and today they are full of trees, shrubbery, and wildflowers, as well as being a haven for birds and small animals, such as foxes. In 1975, Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust bought the freehold, and order is steadily being restored to what has, despite its troubled history, remained a working cemetery throughout. With its sinuous paths winding up a steep wooded hill and ivy-clad monuments, Highgate Cemetery is a secluded, funerary landscape at its most evocative. We will have a hour's private tour of the Western Cemetery (considered by those who have visited both, to be much the more interesting), after the gates have shut to the public for the day. We will be shown all the key sites there, before slipping across the road to visit Karl Marx's tomb and a few other items on the Eastern...
Dear Fellow Member, I write to give you notice of our Livery’s Common Hall, which will take place on Monday 12th May 2025, in Room 1.5, Chartered Accountants Hall at 6.00pm (Tea and coffee will be available from 5.30pm). Attached is the Agenda, showing there are two matters to be voted on (It should be stressed that Freemen are very warmly welcomed to our Common Hall, it is simply that participation in the two votes is confined to Liverymen.) As in previous years, the bundle of papers for the meeting will be sent to you at a later date,so that you have up to date information. Please book in for Common Hall here: https://accountantslivery.wufoo.com/forms/zng5ei91lfaf5b/ If you are unable to attend, but still wish to vote, you can complete the online Proxy Form here: https://accountantslivery.wufoo.com/forms/z1po0q5719188c6/ The meeting will be followed by a Dinner for Members in the Small Reception Room at Chartered Accountants’ Hall, for which you will need to book in separately. Tickets for the dinner are available to book below. There are only 18 places, so, for fairness, bookings will be processed on a first-come-first-served basis. With best wishes Yours Susan Field Clerk, The Chartered Accountants’ Company 6pm: Common Hall (book here: https://accountantslivery.wufoo.com/forms/zng5ei91lfaf5b/) 7pm: Dinner - tickets £119 (book below)
The 370th Festival will be held on Tuesday 13 May 2025 The Festival is a unique and extraordinary event. It celebrates the work of the Trust and the clergy households we serve, with our generous supporters. One of the oldest choral music events in the world, bringing together three exceptional cathedral choirs, the Festival Service at St Paul’s Cathedral is an afternoon of thanksgiving for the ministry of our clergy. The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford, The Rt Revd Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani will preach. Our Festival is our biggest fundraising event of the year. A cash collection will be taken, and Contactless Donation Points will be beside those of St Paul’s at the Cathedral doors. We are delighted to introduce you to this year’s choirs, joining us for what promises to be a majestic act of worship. Bradford Cathedral Choir Bradford Cathedral Choir have been part of the city’s choral community since well before St Peter’s Church became Bradford Cathedral, over 100 years ago. There are two fully independent lines of boy and girl choristers, drawn from schools throughout the region, and a number of teenage Junior Choral Scholars. The choir sings regularly for five services a week, including compline on Thursday evenings, undertakes regular tours, gives concerts, and occasionally makes recordings and broadcasts. Further collaborations are planned for 2025, including with BBC television. The choir is led by their Organist and Director of Music, Graham Thorpe. Lichfield Cathedral Choir Made up of four discrete sections which form many different combinations – the Boy Choristers, the Girl Choristers, and the VI form Choral Scholars (all of whom attend the Cathedral School), and the Lay Vicars Choral – Lichfield Cathedral Choir is led by their Director of Music, Ben Lamb and the Assistant Director of Music, Martyn Rawles. During school term time,...
The SS Great Britain is the world’s first great ocean liner and when launched in 1843 she was called ‘the greatest experiment since the creation’. After 40 years as a passenger ship and then a cargo ship, she was severely damaged off Cape Horn and left to rot in the Falkland Islands until 1970, when she was re-floated and bought back to Bristol, where a charity refurbished her and cares for the ship and Brunel’s collections. Brunel’s ship is now Bristol’s number one tourist attraction and has been lovingly restored to her original glory, exactly as she would have been ready for her maiden voyage. She sits in a dry dock on a glass ‘sea’ and dominates Bristol’s historic waterfront. This is a very rare opportunity to dine on the this world-famous ship, as London's Liveries, (led by the Engineers, naturally!), have her for our exclusive use that evening. A welcome drink which will be served on the Weather Deck from 6pm, with spectacular views over Bristol harbour. If the weather is less kind, we will use the Promenade Deck, where the first-class passengers would take their afternoon stroll on rainy days. This is flooded with natural light and has a number of exhibits that we can explore. At 7:30pm we will assemble for Dinner in the First Class Dining Saloon, which has been completely refurbished in the original style. With marbled pillars and rococo mirrors it makes a grand setting. A three-course meal will be served, with wine. There will be entertainment after the meal and further drinks will be available to purchase. We have exclusive use of the Great Britain from 6pm to midnight and are invited to explore it, making the most of this unique venue. The ship is easy to reach by car, public transport or...
Our Livery has a history of organising visits to leading theatrical events, many of which have won national awards. This show is one of those. Direct from its triumph in the West End where it won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy, and the similar Evening Standard Award, amongst other prizes, Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of), is a unique and audacious retelling of Jane Austen’s most iconic love story. Men, money and microphones are fought over in this irreverent but affectionate adaptation, where the stakes couldn’t be higher when it comes to romance. The critics universally hailed it and typical reviews included:: "This smart, laugh out loud funny show” (Daily Telegraph), "Riotously funny ... gloriously entertaining ... frankly sensational" (Variety), "Faithful to the book, it's also a raucously irreverent romp" (Daily Mail), "It's a blast: Austen turbocharged with utter theatrical audacity" (The i), "Profoundly joyous" (Glasgow Herald) and "Layer upon layer of brilliance" (The Scotsman). The show also features a string of classic songs, suitably woven into the storyline, and what is amazing is that the entire tale is told by five energetic young women, supported by an very suitable set and an array of props, including a pantomime horse, a floor mop and some marigold rubber gloves! We have booked some of the best seats in the house for the Saturday matinee performance on 24th May at 2.30pm, and will gather beforehand at 12.30pm at the highly-regarded Il Pelligrino restaurant, which is about 100 yards from the theatre, for a nice lunch. There are only eight tickets available, and guests are welcome, so early booking is advisable.
A permanent reminder of the Great Fire of 1666, The Monument commemorates one of the most significant events in London’s history. Standing on the piazza between Fish Street Hill and Monument Street, the 202ft column, designed by Robert Hooke in consultation with Sir Christopher Wren, celebrates the City which rose from the ashes. The Monument was built with a second purpose: also to be a site for scientific experiments. Hidden beneath The Monument is a tiny laboratory from where the column was once used as a giant zenith telescope. This plan was soon abandoned, as the surrounding area was too busy. Tens of thousands of visitors climb The Monument's 311 spiral steps each year, and are rewarded with one of the best vistas of London from the public viewing platform. We are going to join their number, with our own a private tour. After all those steps, our party will walk (slowly!) to the Tower Bridge area, for a relaxing lunch at a Pizza Express, before moving on to All Hallows By the Tower. AHBT, as it's widely known, is not only the City's oldest church, but also a site of great historic significance. The launch site of the world-famous "TOC H" and also home to the world's only trans-global, centrally heated barrel, we will be shown all over the church, including the crypt, by a private guide. Numbers are limited to just 15, and dress is casual, with comfy shoes - remember those 311 steps! Tickets cost £39. (We'll cover our own lunches at the restaurant.)
Most Livery Members, after a while, would describe themselves as fairly familiar with our great Cathedral. After all, it is effectively the City Civic's "parish church" (For a start, there is nothing else locally, which is big enough to fit us all in!) and there are services and concerts there, throughout the year. However, what we routinely see, down at floor level, is by no means all that Wren's architectural triumph has to offer, and so this June a party of up to 20 of us will be taken on a private tour of those parts of the Cathedral which the public seldom sees. Our guide will take us up to the Triforium and into the Library and the Trophy Room. We will also see the Great Model, which played such a crucial role in the development of the building's design and engineering during its construction. Then as a finale, we will enjoy the spectacular view down from the top of the iconic Geometric Staircase and another down the nave, from above the Great West Doors. The tour will start at 2.30pm and last about an hour, and for those feeling peckish, the Master will lead a party to a nearby restaurant for a spot of lunch beforehand. Tickets for the tour cost £39 each. Dress will be "smart casual", and the lunch will be publicised and billed separately, for those who wish to attend.
This year Grange Festival welcomes one of Europe’s top big bands, the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw. Together with Dutch jazz superstar Fay Claassen they will perform hits from the Great American Songbook. This golden age of music (1920–1950) was shaped by composers like Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Cole Porter and Jerome Kern and their impressive collection of classics which have truly stood the test of time. Guaranteed to get your toes tapping and your hearts singing. Artists: Fay Claassen The Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw We have been offered 20 seats for this performance so please book early to avoid disappointment. Please RSVP to Clive Parritt on clive@parritt.com or Clare Ferrar on clareferrar@accountantslivery.org if you wish to attend.
Twice a year, the City of London Corporation’s Common Hall is transformed from a standard local authority meeting on civic issues, into a day of great ceremony. Click here for more history and information. Each autumn, Liverymen elect the next year’s Lord Mayor and every summer, it’s the turn of the two Sheriffs. After Common Hall, many Liveries go home, but the Master Chartered Accountant hosts a private Reception and Lunch in the Aldermen's Dining Room. We go up to Guildhall’s roof terrace on the fourth floor for the Reception and then into the Dining Room for lunch. This summer, we will all be delighted to welcome former Sheriff, Past Master Marketor and former FSG Chairman, Andrew Marsden, as our Principal Guest. Andrew will talk to us after the meal about what happens to you, if lucky enough to be elected Sheriff, between that election and when you actually emerge, blinking into the light, as a shiny new Sheriff in September. Happily, Andrew has promised to be highly indiscrete! Partners and guests are very welcome and will be able to have coffee and explore the Guildhall Gallery, while Liverymen are attending the Election Ceremony. 11.30am - Coffee 11.45am - All attending the Election Ceremony must be seated 12noon - Shrieval Election Ceremony 12.45pm - Drinks in the Aldermen's Dining Room 1.15pm - Lunch in the Aldermen's Dining Room Dress: lounge suit or smart day wear Tickets: £98, for Drinks Reception and Lunch
THE CURRENT ECONOMIC OUTLOOK - The view from the Bank of England Speaker Rob Elder – Bank of England Agent Bank of England Agents are shadowy figures who each "farms their patch", talking constantly and discretely to businesses large and small, to see how the economy is doing from their perspective, what the pinch points are and also the threats and opportunities. The Agents then convert all this raw information into considered intelligence, which is fed back into the Bank's assessment process, for a whole range of policy decisions. Agents do not talk publicly about their work, but we have friends in low places, and so are delighted to welcome Rob Elder back to CAH once again, to speak to a small number of us, strictly under the Chatham House Rule, to give the Bank of England’s view on the economic year ahead. There is thus much to hear about from the Bank of England, and shrewd questions to be asked of Bob. Especially if you haven't been before, this is not an event not be missed, and very much one for "the bucket list"! We meet in the Private Members' Dining Room at the Guildhall Club, for lunch at 1.30pm and the meeting and meal will finishing at about 3.30pm. Date: Wednesday 25 June 2025 Time: 1.30pm - 3.30pm Tickets: £79 to include a two-course lunch and a glass of wine
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is one of those great Victorian foundations, the merits of which are as starkly obvious today as they when it was founded. Now a massive national charity, the RNLI today protects seafarers and beach users of all the beaches and waters around the UK, and also those of the Republic of Ireland. It does this through 238 lifeboat stations and 242 lifeguard units. The former deploy a fleet of 432 rescue craft, which they launch about 10,000 times each year, while the latter goes to the aid of some 20,000 people on and around the beaches annually. These services are provided by nearly 10,000 lifeboat volunteers and about 2,500 paid staff, including lifeguards. The RNLI HQ is down in Poole Harbour, where it also recently built a unique and rather smart training college (with extremely comfortable, boat-themed, ensuite bedrooms), which has some rather unusual training facilities. Next door it has constructed an equally specialist factory, in which it builds its iconic and extremely capable lifeboats. For obvious reasons, the public have access to scarcely any of the site, which is entirely focussed on the RNLI volunteers and employees, who go there for its myriad of specialist training courses. However, the Master has persuaded the Principal to allow a party from our Company to stay at the College during the last weekend in June, to see what they do there, how a busy lifeboat station operates, and how the lifeboats are built and maintained. The Royal Marines are one of our nation's two premier light infantry units, and with their amphibious focus, they have bases in various coastal locations around the UK. By chance, one such base is in Poole, located just across the harbour from the RNLI College. We have long affiliated to the key...
The Artists Rifles Regiment was formed in 1859 as one of Queen Victoria’s Voluntary Forces in the wake of a French invasion scare. The Regiment was based at the Royal Academy and so always attracted leading figures in London artistic life (painters, sculptors, engravers, musicians, architects and actors). Its first Commanding Officers were Henry Wyndham Phillips, the painter, and Fredrick Leighton who later, as Lord Leighton, was President of the Royal Academy. Other prominent early recruits included John Everett Millais, Holman Hunt, and William Morris. Later ones included Noel Coward, and Barnes Wallis, of bouncing bomb fame. In 1926 the Regiment built the Artists Rifles Clubhouse at the world-renowned and very lovely Bisley shooting ground as a training and social base. Many elements of the original building remain intact as well as a wealth of memorabilia, paintings, pictures, photographs and cartoons. After a dazzling record in WWI and WWII, the Regiment was reconfigured for a more discrete role in the late 1940s and remains engaged with that work to this day. The Regimental Clubhouse at Bisley also remains in use and the Master has managed to secure us access to it for a private lunch. Our speaker will talk us through the building and its history, as well as explaining much about this interesting organisation, on what should be a lovely, relaxed, Saturday lunch. There is parking at the venue. Dress is jacket and tie for gentlemen and the equivalent for ladies. (Think summer garden party)
Iolanthe is very much one of "The Big Four", as regards Gilbert and Sullivan's famous light operettas. It combines great tunes with an intricate storyline, half a fairy, lots of full fairies, a blushing Ward of Court, a susceptible Lord Chancellor and seemingly most of the House of Lords - plus a rather chivalrous guardsman. Inevitably, they all get their respective lives into a frightful tangle! Iolanthe's words and music are so strong that they are often performed "in concert" and that is what a party of us is going to see this July, performed by the highly-regarded Buckingham Choral Society, in Buckingham Parish Church. A leading light of the Society is our own Court Assistant Miles Hedges, who a number of us saw in an outstanding performance of The Mikado in the same location, a few years ago. The concert starts at 7.30pm, so we are going to meet for a "theatre supper" beforehand at 5.45pm, at the well-regarded Prego (a good, family-run Italian restaurant), which is just a short walk from the church. Tickets cost £70, to include the meal, (reasonable!) drinks, and tickets to the concert. There are only ten places, so early booking is advisable.
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 ear it was home to the most fearsome team of his time. 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 talking...
As the old Routemaster double-decker buses began to approach their retirement from London Transport, intelligent minds turned to the issue of what to do with all these still-working-and-well-maintained icons of our capital's street scene. One wheeze, which was widely scorned when first floated, was to convert a few of them into mobile cream tea restaurants and drive diners around some of London's most famous tourist sites. Roll forward 15 years and the cream tea buses are now a firm fixture on the London scene and it seems only right that our Company should investigate them and see what all the fuss is about! A Livery party is therefore meeting at 3.30pm (so as to avoid there rush hour) near to Victoria Bus Station and from there will be whisked away on a 90-minute tour, whilst sampling an array of scones, sandwiches, cakes and other health foods, plus of course, the obligatory teas and coffees. Tickets cost £45, dress is casual, and Members are very welcome to bring friends and family.
Every so often a show arrives on Broadway or in the West End, which sweeps up all the awards and electrifies the theatre-going public. Obvious examples include, Les Miserables, Phantom, and Hamilton. Recently, it was the outrageous and outstanding (in equal measure) Book of Mormon. This blockbuster musical follows two mis-matched young Mormons, when they are sent to Africa to embark on their missionary work, and the chaos that follows in their wake. When it first appeared on Broadway, Mormon won all the Tony Awards, and tickets changed hands for up to three times their face value! Inevitably the show came to London soon after and here too it swept the boards, winning all the Oliviers, plus numerous other prizes. At one point, the waiting list for tickets was nearly eight months - and that was with two matinees a week! Roll forward to today, three years later, and Mormon is still "packing them in", so we are going to go along and see what all the fuss is about. Because of demand, the theatre has limited our party to just 12 tickets, but they have been kind to us over the price (The Master has friends in low places!) and once the party is booked up, those attending will be circulated about an optional, pre-theatre supper. So come along and enjoy an amazing piece of musical theatre with your livery friends and guests. Tickets cost £49, the show starts at 7.30pm and dress is smart casual.
Hosted by The Worshipful Company of Woolmen, one special day – two unique events, ensuring that everyone can enjoy the atmosphere and spirit of this wonderful occasion. A long-established charity event, celebrating a Freeman’s ancient “right” to bring sheep to market over the Thames, toll free; all in aid of raising funds for The Woolmen Charity and The Lord Mayor’s Appeal. This year’s Sheep Drive took place on Southwark Bridge. Access is restricted to registered and pre-booked Freemen of the City of London and their guests, to enable the remainder of the bridge to be open to vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Located on Queen Street and Queen Street Place, the magnificent Livery Fair offers visitors the opportunity to learn all about the Sheep Drive and the wonderful causes it supports and - where livery and specialist wool companies celebrate their trades with interactive displays and sales of their wares. Other fun activities include expert blade shearing displays and some wonderful rare breed sheep! The Sheep Drive & Livery Fair showcases the important enduring contribution of London’s livery companies, from the formation of the City of London in years gone by through to modern times, both in respect of the continuous evolution of sustainable trades and the important charitable endeavours in support of the various challenges we face today. Bookings are not open yet
After the historic ceremony of the Mayoral Election during the morning, the Master invites Company Members and their guests to join him upstairs in the Guildhall Club for a private Drinks Reception and Lunch. Guests will have the opportunity to enjoy drinks on the roof terrace before moving into the Aldermen’s Dining Room for lunch. After lunch, guests are welcome to move back out onto the roof terrace to view the events going on in the square below. 11.30am - Coffee 11.45am - All attending the Election Ceremony must be seated 12noon - Mayoral Election Ceremony 12.45pm - Drinks in the Aldermen's Dining Room 1.30pm - Lunch in the Aldermen's Dining Room Tickets: tbc Dress code: Lounge suit, Smart day wear
Help Musicians’ annual celebration of music The Festival of St. Cecilia has been the flagship event in Help Musicians’ calendar since 1946. It is a key moment for us to come together to celebrate what music brings to all of us, and to mark the contribution that musicians make to our lives. 2025’s service will see the combined choirs of Westminster Cathedral, St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey unite to perform in Westminster Abbey. Date: Wednesday 19 November 2025 Service: 11am – 12noon Lunch: 12.30pm (location tbc)