Rolling News
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Installation 2012 2nd February 2012
Installation Court Meeting 2nd February 2012
Candlemas is the traditional time that our new Master and Wardens are installed and, he Court was opened for supporters and interested parties to view the Ceremonies. But first the Master had pleasure in installing the Venerable Brian Lucas CB as our Honorary Chaplain. Jonathan Payne was admitted as an Associate Horner, before Professor Averil MacDonald and Jonathan Mead were admitted as Freemen. Graham Porcas and Anthony Marsh were invested with the Livery. Then followed the Installation of our new Master, our first ever Lady Master, Georgina Rowland Scott. Keith Pinker became Upper Warden, and Jack Bunyer, Renter Warden. After the Installation Meeting the Master and his Wardens processed to St James Garlickhythe for the Election Day Service taken by our new Hon Chaplain. This was followed by a Reception and Luncheon at Painters Hall, the first opportunity for our new Master to address the Company. A cheque for £25,000 was presented to Pat Dodd on behalf of the 2011 Master’s charity, RYAS Sailability. The new Master announced her Charity for the ensuing year, Thrive. She also presented Flight Lieutenant ‘Frenchie’ Duncan DFC of 27 Squadron RAF with a horn snuff mull in recognition of his DFC. The lunch concluded after musical entertainment sung by our Becker Scholar, Gethin Lewis. Photos are available at www.sharpphoto.co.uk. in the Galleries section.
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Court, Carols & Supper 15th December, 2011
At the Court Meeting on 15th December, the following admissions were made. John Collins, David Mays and Philip Watkins were admitted to the Freedom of the Company. Richard Barnes, David Chitty, Marie Evans and Ralph McNeill were admitted to the Livery. As is now our normal practice, the sliding doors were drawn back to allow those wishing to do so to watch the Ceremony. Once again there was a waiting list for this popular Carol Service that took place afterwards at The Church of St James Garlickhythe. The Horners choir excelled itself singing five carols and their descants sent shivers down your back. Our Becker Scholar at the Guildhall School of music and Drama, Gethin Lewis. sang the first verse of Silent Night as a solo – in Welsh -much appreciated by our Master. Then everyone retired to Painters Hall for Supper. During supper, the Master presented a leather bottle to Nigel Pullman, who until recently was Master Leatherseller .Musical entertainment was sung with verve by our ebullient Past Master Emeritus Jeremy Cartwright who finished with a rendition, enthusiastically joined in by his audience, of our song about Livery Companies, each verse finishing with the phrase ‘The Horners’ are best!’ .
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14th Ralph Anderson Lecture 17th November 2011
This annual lecture took place this year at the Royal Society of Medicine's state of the art Lecture facilities.. Our Master gave us a thought provoking lecture entitled' Are Plastics really fantastic?' Afterwards the Horners and their guests enjoyed a buffet supper. Click here for further details.
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Horners' Banquet 2011 6th October 2011
The Lord Mayor’s representative, Alderman Sir David Howard Bt accompanied by the Sheriffs, Alderman Alan Yarrow and Wendy Mead were present at our Annual Banquet in the splendid Egyptian hall of the Mansion House. A guard of honour from 27 Squadron RAF greeted all on arrival.
David Williams, our Master presented Sir David with a donation for the Lord Mayor’s Appeal 2011 and our guest speaker Captain Sir Norman Lloyd Edwards KCVO GCStJ RD RNR (Rtd), responded on behalf of the guests with a highly entertaining speech after the Master had proposed the toast to our guests. The Horners Award for Design & Innovation in Plastics was presented to Timothy Keats and Alistair Laing for the innovative Cycloc bicycle storage and display system. The Bottle Makers Award was presented to Richard Goss and Michael Stegeman for their RPC rotortable plastic container. The London Banqueting Ensemble provided the music for the evening and we particularly enjoyed the Post Horn Gallop played by two trumpeters demonstrating their virtuosity.
After an excellent meal wines and speeches, and the ceremony of the loving cup, our learned Clerk, Raymond Layard efficiently shepherded his flock out of the Mansion House by 10:45pm and thus avoided the fine levied by the Mansion House for late leavers. Other Masters there included the Master of the Glass Sellers Company and the Prime Warden of the Dyers. The Chief Executive of the Institute of Mineral Metals and Material, the President and CEO of the British Plastics Federation and Wing Commander Paul Shepherd DFC Officer Commanding 27 Squadron also graced us with their presence.
To see the photos taken that evening look at www.sharpphoto.co.uk, click on Gallery, choose Livery company then Horners banquet from the drop down boxes.
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InterLivery Tennis Competition September 2011
The standard in this year's Inter-Livery Tennis Competition, held on Thursday 15 September, was higher than ever, particularly among the ladies in each mixed pairing. Nevertheless, our first couple of Clare and Rob Hunt managed to reach the final for the first time, defeating the Drapers and the Feltmakers (whose other couple included the Aldermanic Sheriff-elect, Alan Yarrow) in the semi- and quarter-finals respectively. The trophy was won by a very strong first pair from the Salters whose Company entered the Competition for the first time this year.
Our second pair included Gareth Banning (our Liaison Officer with 27 Squadron); they reached the semi-finals of the Plate Competition where they lost to the Grocers.
The Competition was organised very efficiently and pleasantly by a new "team" from the Feltmakers led by Sarah McLeod, and their Master and Mistress, John and Rosemary Ray, joined our Master, David Williams, P/M Eric Hunt and Liveryman Pip Wright (P/M of the Feltmakers) to watch the later rounds in the glorious sunshine at Queen's. Their Fourth Warden, Edward Hutton, hosted our table at dinner. As usual, it was an excellent day of fun and friendship - and some very good tennis!
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A visit to 27 Squadron 18th August 2011
A group of 42 Horners spent a very happy day being entertained at Odiham airfield by 27 Squadron. This Chinook squadron is divided into three operational flights A, B & C and HQ. C flight is deployed in Afghanistan at present so we were entertained by A & B flights. We began the day in the briefing room with an introduction by Wing Cmrd Paul Shepherd followed by Associate Horner Flt Llt Gareth Banning who divided us into two groups. One group went off for a flight in a Chinook while the other stayed for a lecture and viewed videos of Chinooks in action in Helmand province during IRT (Immediate Response Team) missions. One was a video taken from a helmet mounted camera on a force protection soldier showing the rescue of two casualties. This was the inspiration behind Gareth Banning’s article for the Spring 2011 Horn Blower - ( click here to read it - page 9). The groups then swapped around. Prior to the flight we went into the hanger and inspected two Chinooks parked there and received a safety briefing. Then after donning flying helmets we went to board our Chinook. Sadly it was raining heavily with a low cloud base so we were only able to fly a couple of circuits around the airfield but nevertheless it was an exciting experience. Afterwards, at an excellent lunch in the Officers Mess, we sat with members of the squadron and listened to their stories. The Master presented the Redmile Horns to B flight who had won the interflight competition and the runner up Wng Cmdr Shepherd on behalf of HQ whose team also competed. The Master spoke of the warm association that has developed between the Horners and 27 Squadron which was echoed by a response from the Wing Commander. Our thanks go to all at 27 Squadron but especially Gareth for organising a highly successful day. Click here for more photos.
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Sweating the Metal 31st July 2011
A book by Fl. Lt. Alex 'Frenchie' Duncan DFC has recently been published. Described as a Chinook Pilot's blistering account of life, death and dust in Afghanistan, this book will appeal to those Horners who support our affiliation with 27 Squadron RAF with whom he flies.
Frenchie was the guest of the Master at last year's Bucks & Does shooting competition, and is on the far right of the photo shown here. A report of the event from which the picture was extracted appears in the Spring 2011 Horn Blower.
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Student DIP Award 1st July 2011
The six finalists attended the awards Ceremony at the Institute of Materials Minerals & Metals (IOM3) to learn from the Judges which one of them was the winner of the 2011 Design Innovation in Plastics Award sponsored by the Horners, Bayer Material Science and IOM3. The winner was Lewis Pearson of Swansea Metrolpolitan University for his 'Moving shelves for Primary Schools'. Click here for more details.
Stuart Pearson is pictured with the Master Horner and Hon. Court Assistant Alan Griffiths, who conceived the award 25 years ago.
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Visit to Greenwich 29th June 2011
36 Horners and guests converged on this World Heritage Site and met in the Information Centre. We were joined by our knowledgeable Blue Badge guides, Laura and Anne-Marie, who led us off in two groups to the Old Royal Naval College (formerly Greenwich Hospital, a naval version of the Royal Hospital Chelsea), now home to Greenwich University and the Trinity College of Music. The magnificent set of buildings was the brain child of Sir Christopher Wren.
Our first stop was the Chapel, a most beautiful building with splendid decoration. Across from the Chapel is the famous Painted Hall, arguably the finest dining hall in the western world. (Your Clerk can vouch for this having dined there with brother officers of all three military staff colleges in the early 1970s). Its paintings by James Thornhill and Wren’s architectural proportions are quite magnificent. It was here that Admiral Nelson’s body lay in state before the splendid river funeral procession to St Paul’s Cathedral. In a room off the Hall, there is a small scale statue of Nelson used as the model for the much bigger image on his column in Trafalgar Square.
Next we entered the National Maritime Museum, and were given a whistle stop tour of some of the galleries and gained an impression of the museum’s splendid modern layout. It was rather a blur – Cook, Shackleton, Nelson (again) the coat he was wearing when he was fatally wounded at Trafalgar, and many other notable artefacts; all very well displayed.
A two minutes walk brought us to the Spread Eagle and lunch. This is an old 16th century coaching inn, with walls crammed with splendid marine prints. We continued the tour to Inigo Jones’s Queen’s House and the Fan Museum. Finally, the most energetic among us climbed up to the Royal Observatory and stood astride the Greenwich Meridian. Having finished a most pleasant sojourn in Greenwich, everyone made their way back upstream and home with happy memories of another notable Horners’ visit.
Yet again, The Master ensured the sun shone!
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Charity Event & Dinner 8th June 2011
Following a Court Meeting at which Tony Pringle was admitted to the Livery, Horners gathered in Painter's Hall for a Charity Event & Auction. The 2011 winner of The Horners Jewellery Award, Armelle Ellison, whose entry was a charming horn bracelet, was presented with a Horn Trophy by the Master. Our Auctioneer, Assistant Ken Williams then proceeded with verve to auction both this item, which fetched £250, and other horn entries. These and other generously donated items raised funds for the Master's Charity. Finally we were entertained by the Gwalia Male Voice Choir.
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Interlivery Shoot 16th May 2011
The Annual Interlivery clay pidgeon shoot took place at the Holland & Holland Shooting Grounds on 18th May and the Horners fielded four teams. For further details .Click here
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The Master's trip to Berlin May 2011
The Master’s Weekend in Berlin 7th to 9th May 2011
The Master David Williams and his Mistress Jane gathered together a total of 54 Horners who visited Berlin for a thoroughly enjoyable weekend. We stayed at the Hotel Melia, superbly positioned in the centre of town near some of the main attractions. We arrived too late for dinner but a drinks reception and light supper enabled us to circulate and renew our friendships. Early Saturday morning we walked the short distance to the Reichstag, the German Parliament building. This has been rebuilt by Sir Norman Foster and we were all highly impressed at its stunning glass dome. Afterwards we walked the short distance to the Brandenburg Gate for lunch. Sabine, our tour guide then took us round Berlin by coach to see the landmarks of this vibrant city and to learn about its turbulent history. After dinner on Saturday evening we were entertained at the Chameleon Theatre to see a vaudeville show called Soap. The entire action took place in and around three or four bathtubs! On Sunday we visited Potsdam and the Castle Cecilienof, the venue of the Potsdam Conference in 1945 where Stalin, Churchill and Eisenhower met to divide Berlin In the afternoon we visited the magnificent Sanssouci Castle. For our Gala Dinner on Sunday night we all dressed formally with our Horners ties and enjoyed a superb meal in a restaurant that opened especially for us. We had our dose of culture on Monday with a trip to the New museum designed again by a Brit, David Chipperfield. Whilst Horners travel from all parts of the UK to attend our functions, the distance prize must surely go to Glenn and Patsy Beall who flew all the way from the Illinois in the US to join our party. After presenting a Horn memento to Sabine our guide, our Master and his Mistress were thanked on behalf of everyone by Past Master Eric Hunt. We all heartily agreed with Eric that the trip had been a resounding success.
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Horners visit the MoDiP Tuesday 5th April 2011
The Museum of Design in Plastics (MoDiP), part of the Bournemouth Arts University College, look after the Horners collection of over 400 Horn Artefacts and have mounted an extensive exhibition of examples from the collection under the title ‘Nature’s Plastic’. Their Exhibition Hall is within a modern enclosed Gallery overlooking their library and the Horn Exhibition has been well received by the students. A coachload of Horners visited it shortly before it sadly was due to close. We were all impressed at the quality of the show cases, each beautifully displaying examples of the many different ways horn is and has been worked. The accompanying panels explaining the artefacts were both interesting and illuminating. We divided into three Groups which alternated, one viewing the Exhibition, another handling other items of interest from the collection, while the third enjoyed refreshments. After lunch in a beachside restaurant we then visited the Russell Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, founded at the turn of the 20th Century by Sir Merton Russell Cotes, who built up a fascinating eclectic collection of paintings, sculpture porcelain, furniture and many seemingly unconnected items that had caught his eye. A most enjoyable day and how thrilled we were to view our collection in such splendour.
See more photos in Galleries. Also see http://russell-cotes.bournemouth.gov.uk/
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Noggin and Natter 10th march 2011
Horners gathered at Chancery Lane Tube Station at 5.15pm and were taken on a conducted tour by Liveryman Roger Cline. He guided us through lots of interesting little alleys around the Fleet Street and the Inns of Court area. We were told about Zeppelin raids, Dr Johnson's cat, the City's first university, Winkin de Werde and Roger Cline's uncle's birthplace! Pausing outside Gresham College where free lectures have been held for 400 years we were looked on in horror by a steward who at first though that we wanted to attend the lecture about to begin with her hall full, then relief as we moved on. In Fetter Lane we saw an office building of Treadwell and Martin with its exuberant architecture of a hundred years ago and the 1950s buildings including the closed Printer's Devil pub awaiting redevelopment. Over New Fetter Lane the already redeveloped offices included a brightly lit shopping mall and piazzas, leading through an arch into the eighteenth century of Gough Square and Dr Johnson's House. Examining the sculpture of Dr Johnson's cat we were told that Liveryman Ann Pembroke had been responsible for its fundraising and her name appears on the plaque. Finally we arrived at the chosen place for our refreshments, the Press House Wine Bar, tucked away behind St Bride's Church . There, in this roomy vault, we were greeted by more Horners together with members of 27 Squadron RAF in full uniforms with medals. A very convivial time was had by all.
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Common Hall 7th Feb 2011
Horners gathered at the Army & Navy Club in Pall Mall for Common Hall. This event, for Freemen & Liverymen is an opportunity, especially for those recently admitted as Freemen, to learn more about the workings of the Company and is an opportunity to question the Master & Clerk. Our learned Clerk gave us a potted History of the City of London starting as far back as when it began as a Roman settlement. Assistant Keith Pinker gave a presentation of our new website but first offered the Company's thanks to Liveryman Nigel Corbin who created our original site ten years ago and has looked after it ever since. The new look public area is ready to go live and work will then start on the private Members area. A content management system will soon allow us to keep the site easily and quickly updated . Our Assistant Clerk then told us about the workings of the General Charitable Committee and the Master Elect introduced his charity for 2011, RYA Sailability , through which 20,000 people with a disability have been able to experience sailing and sail regularly. At this, the last event in our current Master's year, our Master told us how much he had enjoyed his year in Office. We then retired upstairs for an excellent supper.
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