Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers Court and Livery Dinner – Painters Hall
29th March 2022It is several years since I last attended a function at Painters Hall – as a Company we regularly used to hold meetings and dinners there – so I was very pleased to accept the invitation from the Master Painter-Stainer, Lewis Cohen, to their Court and Livery dinner. I was joined by five other Masters for what turned out to be a highly enjoyable evening. In his welcome speech, the Master mentioned that he had completed a 4-week internship at my law firm in the 1990s, but that his application for a training contract had subsequently been rejected … He holds no grudge as he has had a very successful legal career despite (or perhaps, because of) that rejection. James Scroggs, entrepreneur and philanthropist and Chair of the Campaign Against Living Miserably, gave a thought-provoking speech about the importance of empathy and purpose, particularly in modern corporate life, and how the priorities of Gen Z are very different to those of previous generations. The musical entertainment was provided by Chris Maloney, a talented young man with a guitar who gave us rousing renditions of popular songs from the 1950s to the 1980s. It was the first time I had heard Oasis, Neil Diamond and John Denver (inter alia) performed at a Livery function, and it was refreshing indeed – so refreshing, in fact, that several guests got up to dance! Another first for me.