Message from the Master

Marian and I greatly enjoyed the Installation dinner at the Grocers Hall on Tuesday evening and if you were there, I trust that you did too. It was lovely to have 7 newly installed Freemen and 5 Liverymen at the dinner. Keith Bottomley gave an interesting address about how he became involved in the City and his bid to become Sheriff next year. In 2023 the Master’s Badge was beautifully repaired and the immediate Past Master generously donated a brand new Master’s gown, which was on its first outing, so I hope I looked the part!

On Wednesday morning, we hosted a question-and-answer session at the Guildhall for those who want to know more about Shetland and our planned Jolly for July.

Now we are packing our car to drive to our first engagement as Master and Mistress: the Brigantes (City of London Liverymen in the North) Winter Gathering in Sheffield Cathedral and Cutler’s Hall. Then we are going on to Aberdeen to catch the Ferry to Shetland, where we are spending Christmas. We’ll be back for New Year’s Day, and then I’ll be ready to take on my new responsibilities as Master in earnest.

Thanks to the efforts of our recent Past Masters, the Clerk, and our various committees, I think that our Livery is in quite a good shape: Peter Rawlinson has completed the governance compendium; accountancy and payment and investment functions are running smoothly under the Finance and General Purposes Committee, and our Charity continues its excellent work. We still need a few more new Liverymen to help us balance the books, but our new Membership Committee is on the case and results are coming through. I am pleased that our Charity and Livery functions are well-attended and enjoyable. It is most important that I ensure that new Freemen and Liverymen are properly welcomed and encouraged to enjoy the Company and our activities.

The City of London and the Livery Movement is a wonderful treasure trove of history, unique customs, architectural treasures, artifacts, and personalities. Glass is a mysterious material: an everyday material for windows, cooking, and drinking: a material whose aesthetic fascination gives amazing scope for artists and artisans: and it is a material which is key to our scientific and technological development, currently fundamental to the modern communication explosion, but who knows what it will be used for next?

I want to give opportunities to learn more about Glass and the City this coming year, Past Master David’s bywords were “fun” and “fellowship.” please can we keep these as permanent bywords for everything connected with the Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers of London.

James Armitage
Master 2024 -25