Lord Mayors Parade
9th November 2024City of London
Your company was represented at this year's Lord Mayor's show by Senior Warden Tony Scanlan, Renter Warden Jacqueline Burrows and myself, as usual taking part within the Modern Liveries Group float.
Organised by the Firefighters Livery, with many of them this year turned out in traditional fireman's uniform and brass helmet, we were in position 48, just behind the police float, with a London bus following behind us to carry items unwanted on the parade or to pick up stragglers.
It was rather chilly hanging around by London Wall, waiting to start, but we soon warmed up once we got going, taking particular care to make sure we didnt tread in the large quantities of horse manure that we came across.
At the Mansion House, we all saluted the new Lord Mayor and then said a quick hello to our Beadle Wayne who was on guard duty there before heading on up Cheapside to St Paul's where my Consort Carolyn was hoping to join us but couldn't get through the crowds or the barriers!
Fortified by a nip of some brandy and port, helpfully provided by Tony, we made it all the way to the HMS Wellington, where we had our picnic lunch on the top deck!
We then watched as many of the floats as possible (including Gog and Magog) before rejoining the parade and making our way back past Mansion House and back to London Wall. At least 16,000 steps in all according to my phone!
It was a fantastic day with an amazing array of floats and huge crowds of onlookers from all over the world - nobody else can match London for putting on a spectacle!