As the School holiday's began, Liverymen were invited to host their children and grandchildren to a very special Younger Generation Court Lunch at Butchers' Hall on Friday 6th August. Liveryman Adrian Ramsden enjoyed a fabulous day at the Hall with his grandson Matthew and writes to share their experience...
My grandson Matthew and I attended the Younger Generation Court Lunch, at the Butchers’ Hall, to enjoy a day out in the City and share the experience of what it is like to be a Liveryman and attend a real Court lunch at our Hall.
We left Rickmansworth this morning during a cloud burst, so we had to dry out on the train. We arrived at Farringdon and walked up to Smithfield Meat Market, I was waxing lyrical about the Market and the surrounding area and we finally arrived at the Hall about 12.30pm.
We excitedly joined other Liverymen and their families for a welcome drinks reception and chatted to many of the other guests. It was so good to see a number of our youngsters seeing and listening to what was going on, in a Hall that they would have heard so much about.
At the sound of the gong we made our way upstairs to be seated for lunch. We were honoured. One long table in the middle seating 30 people, with the Master sitting centrally and keeping a wary eye on all of us.
It was a really amazing experience and I am very grateful for being invited, when can I come again?
A delicious three-course menu was presented of heritage tomato with Buffalo mozzarella to start, a tender ribeye steak with roasted new potatoes followed by a wonderful passion fruit and white chocolate cheesecake with orange sorbet. I must confess that Matthew’s ribeye steak did not last too long!
We chatted to the guests either side and caught up with their news, it was good to hear how we all coped with the ‘lockdowns’ these past months and to hear of their their plans for the future. The Toasts were duly called and then our Clerk showed us a short, but very informative and entertaining video about how the City of London came into being from Roman times to the present day.
As the Master concluded the meal and said farewell, we all joined in the congratulations and sang 'Happy Birthday' as a chocolate cake was presented to Liveryman Richard Cracknell, celebrating a memorable day with his wife Tric and their grandchildren Maddie and Eddie.
We then adjourned to the Stirrup Cup for coffee and a slice of birthday cake. The 200 club was drawn and Liverymen Jim Gaffney and Fraser Wilson were the lucky winners this month, taking first and second place cash prizes respectively of £435.50 and £234.50.
Matthew and I enjoyed a really excellent Livery lunch. Thank you to the Master for hosting and to the Events and Engagement team for organising this unique family day. We thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience and I hasten to add that we got home without a second drenching!
LIVERYMAN ADRIAN RAMSDEN