The Lord Mayor’s Dinner to the Masters, Upper Wardens and Upper Bailiff - Mansion House

31st March 2022

This evening, when the Lord Mayor hosts the Masters of all of the Livery has been an annual fixture in the Livery calendar for many years but, like so many other events, it fell victim to Covid for the last two years. For its return, well 300 of the great and the good assembled, under the watchful eye of the Company of Pikemen and Musketeers. It was an evening full of City pomp and ceremony, but also full of meaning, with the Lord Mayor making particular reference in his speech to his themes of People and Purpose, and to the benevolence of the wider Livery which gives over £72 million each year in support of good causes and, in the last few weeks alone, has (together with the Corporation) donated nearly £1 million in support of Ukraine. This all brought home to me the fact that the Livery is an amazing community that can do, and does do, so much to help and support those who are in need. However, it can do, and must do, much more to share those good works with a wider audience. The Toast to the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress was a two-handed affair, by the Master Mercer and the Master Grocer; the latter spoke about the psychological difficulties of always coming second!