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
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.
The Company has been asked to organise the first ever such event and we are teaming up with the Plaisterers to do so, as their enormous Hall, from 10am to 4pm on Saturday, 27th September. The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress are coming and so are both new Sheriffs and their Consorts. The day is very relaxed, with the emphasis on enjoying the bowls (BTW: None of the civic party have ever played, so no previous experience whatsoever is required.) and socialising with the other Liveries and Guilds. We'll all share a light picnic (The Master will provide!) and there will be a cash bar as well. Most Liveries and Guilds are only being allowed eight places, but as we are helping run the day, we can take twelve. Places cost just £59, dress is entirely casual, and consorts and guests are most welcome. So come along and enjoy something slightly different from the usual run of livery social events.
This long-established City fundraiser celebrates a Freeman’s ancient right to bring flocks of sheep over the Thames and into the City's market at Smithfield. This year’s sheep drive takes place on Southwark Bridge, which will close for the day, and as well as the opportunity to drive a small flock of sheep over the bridge (for which you get an official certificate), there is also a craft fair and lunch at a nearby restaurant. Places are hard to come by (It's a "bucket list' thing.), but Clare's managed to secure ten, for the 10.37am slot, so book in and join the Master in experiencing this unique event. (Nobody will believe you when you tell them what you've done!) You can also bring friends and family (anyone over five years old), who get a slightly different certificate, and fancy dress is optional - needless to say, there are usually lots of young Bo Peeps skipping around! Dress is anything from entirely casual, right up to full morning dress, with badges and gowns.
After the historic ceremony of the Mayoral Election during the morning, the Master invites Company Members and their guests, along with some FSG Masters and their Clerks, to join him upstairs in the Guildhall Club for a private Drinks Reception and Lunch. Guests will have the opportunity to enjoy drinks out on the roof terrace before moving into the Aldermen’s Dining Room for lunch. At the Shrieval Election Day Lunch, we heard from former Sheriff Andrew Marsden about what happens behind the scenes, between when Sheriffs are elected and the day they take office. It was very revealing and clearly quite a scramble! We are following the same plan at this September's Mayoral Election Day Lunch, when our Guest of Honour will be former Lord Mayor, Sir David Wootton, who will explain how the year leading up to their entry into Mansion House, typically unfolds for an incoming Lord Mayor. David is an excellent speaker and like Andrew did, has agreed to take questions, under the Chatham House Rule. 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 1pm - Drinks in the Aldermen's Dining Room 1.30pm - Lunch in the Aldermen's Dining Room Dress code: Morning dress or lounge suit for men and smart day wear for ladies. Tickets: £99 Please book below where possible
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.
For something slightly different, a party of just nine members and guests will meet at the famous Holborn Tube Station at 10.55am on Wednesday, 8th October, before stepping through a concealed door into the third of the station that's been hidden for 30 years. Originally opened in 1906 as a complex of four platforms to serve the Piccadilly line, Holborn played a pivotal role in transforming the surrounding area from a place of ill repute into a prime business district. Our guide will show us the secret corridors, two disused platforms of the Aldwych branch, the Aldwych crossover, and the tracks that lead to the now-closed Aldwych Tube station. We will also discover how the disused parts of the station have been put to surprising uses over the years, from scientific laboratories, to wartime shelters for staff and even a model rail club. Holborn's hidden spaces have also been the backdrop to notable music videos and films, including Aqua’s Turn Back Time and the recent Superman. The tour will last about an hour and a half and we will then repair to the nearby, award-winning Isolabella Restaurant, for a light lunch. (We'll split the bill on the day). Places cost £49 each and dress is entirely casual. Comfy walking shoes are advisable, and although we will not be covering huge distances, this event is not really suitable for those with mobility issues.
This year's Installation Dinner will be held at Ironmongers' Hall on Tuesday 14 October 2025. Ironmongers' Hall is home to one of the Great Twelve Livery companies and is acknowledged as one of the finest livery halls in the City of London. This event is to celebrate the Installation of Vince O'Brien as Master, as well as Sally Orton as Senior Warden and Malcolm Bacchus as Junior Warden. Our guest speaker for this event will be Ian Simm, who is the Founder and Chief Executive of Impax Asset Management Group plc, one of the world’s leading investment managers dedicated to investing in the transition to a more sustainable economy. He is a member of the UK government’s Net Zero Council, which provides strategic leadership to support delivery of the government’s low carbon objectives, and its Net Zero Innovation Board, which provides strategic oversight of public sector funding of energy innovation programmes. Tickets: £155 Dress: Black Tie or Livery Uniform, with Badges and Decorations Time: 6.30pm Drinks Reception 7pm Dinner 10.30pm Carriages Please book online below where possible: If you have are unable to book online, please contact Clare Ferrar on clareferrar@accountantslivery.org or 07828 554967
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 (The Ivy, Victoria)
The market will be open on the evening of Monday 8 December 2025, with a gala drinks reception, and providing early access to all of the commercial and Livery stalls. The stalls will continue trading all day on Tuesday 9 December 2025. Founded in 1961, the Guildhall Christmas Market is one of the largest fundraising event for the British Red Cross and one of London’s most successful Christmas Markets. It is a biennial event. The gothic splendour of the Guildhall provides a truly atmospheric and memorable venue for this special event. The 2023 market raised over £135,000 for the work of the British Red Cross supporting people in crisis. The Chartered Accountants' Livery have been asked to provide a team to collect and count the cash taken by Livery stalls. If you are interested in volunteering some time during the market, then please let Vicky Andrew millcove1912@gmail.com and John Spencer john@connorspencer.com know your availability. Early bird tickets are now live until September 2025 for the exclusive opening night and dining options on market day, with £5 off general sale prices. General sale tickets for the market day are £7 each and will go on sale in September 2025.
This year we have obtained special permission to hold our Carol Service once again at the Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vinicula within the grounds of the Tower of London. Those who attended last year will recall the spectacular festive lighting of the Tower grounds and the stunning history of this small chapel, which contains the tombs of many notable figures, including three executed Queens of England: Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard and Lady Jane Grey, as well as the remains of St Thomas More and St John Fisher. The service will take place in the early evening and will be followed by drinks and canapés at the nearby Bakers Hall, the home of the second-oldest City Guild. For this year's Carol Service, the Chartered Accountants are joining with a fellow-member of the Financial Services Group of Liveries, the Insurers Company. After the service, Members and their guests can either leave for home, or walk to Bakers' Hall, just a few minutes away, for festive canapés and drinks Carol Service in the Chapel Royal in the Tower of London 6.30pm Drinks and Canapés at Bakers' Hall 7.30pm This is an event at which guests (including children) are most welcome. Dress: smart day wear, and given that the Tower is always cold in December - coats, hats and gloves are advisable!
