THE FIREBIRDS
SURGERE IN LUMINE
LUNCH AT MERCHANT TAYLOR'S HALL
Thursday 28th November 2017
BIENNIAL LUNCH AT MERCHANT TAYLORS
It was like ‘coming in from the cold’ arriving at Merchant Taylor’s Hall for our Biennial Lunch on 28th November. Merchant Taylor’s gave us a warm welcome with its magical Christmas decorations. Everything was decked out beautifully; Christmas tree in the Hall, fresh pine garlands up the staircase, wreaths in the dining room and more.
The Lunch started with welcome drinks in the conservatory, giving everybody the opportunity to mingle and catch up with friends. The food and wine were, as anticipated, excellent. Being one of those irritating people with numerous dietary requirements, I measure the quality of the food by the availability of alternatives. I was not disappointed.
We were delighted and honoured to welcome The RT Hon the Lord Mayor Alderman Charles Bowman and the Lady Mayoress Samantha Bowman to this, our first Biennial Lunch. Lady Lenzie, the Firebirds Chairman, gave the toast to the guests
The Lord Mayor said in his speech that he felt he was amongst friends and family being with us and how much he appreciated the support of the Firebirds and the Phoenix Masters. He thanked John and Crescent Giffard for hosting the planned Lord Mayor’s Appeal Dragon Boat Race Day on 29th July 2018 at their home, Chillington Hall, in Staffordshire. In his speech he set out the aims for his year to create a City ready for Brexit and to rebuild trust, making the City a better place for everybody.
The Lord Mayor presented the Firebirds Chairman with a pepper mill, which is reflective of the symbolism of pepper as evidence of trust – hence peppercorns are still cited as payment in some real estate transactions, i.e. peppercorn rent. We also had with us Felicity Harding, the daughter of Chad Varah, founder of The Samaritans. The Samaritans are one of the charities supported by the Lord Mayor’s Appeal, together with Place2Be and Onside. The Lord Mayor is working together with his continuum successors so that the current Lord Mayor’s Appeal charities can be supported for the next three years.
