January Dinner
22nd January 2025Drapers Hall
After introducing 7 new people into the company as Freemen or Liverymen at our January Court at Drapers, we then moved on to a most enjoyable dinner, as is always the case at Drapers!
We were joined by a number of Masters, with their consorts and clerks, including The Fan Makers, The Furniture Makers, The Plaisterers, The Pewterers, The Merchant Venturers of Bristol and the Master Hackney Carriage Driver. The Horner's clerk also attended.
Other guests included Her Excellency Nimisha Madhvani, the High Commissioner of Uganda, Mr Jonathan Vaughan, Principal of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Mr and Mrs Christopher Dyer, Choirmaster at Sevenoaks School and most of our current music scholars from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama.
During the dinner, after an introduction by Major Robbie Wilmont, we presented the Alan Beggs Trophy to Mr Frank McCracken of the Ulster branch of the Irish Guards Association, for his long standing contribution to their organisation.
We also presented this year's company award to Kate Cadman, the Collections Curator for the whole of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum, who has been an enormous help in trying to keep the craft of clay pipe making alive..
Court Assistant Rae Maile introduced our guests, including our Principal guest speaker was Nick Ralls, outgoing CEO of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum.
We were then entertained to some very fine singing by our Mezzo-Soprano Guildhall Music Scholar, Julia Solomon, accompanied on the piano by Luke Lally-Maguire, also from the Guildhall School. This was a very appropriate choice of singer, as Julia's grandfather John Solomon, was a Past Master of our company and also a musician - Julia sang one of his compositions!
All in all, a great evening, celebrating good fellowship and our philantrhopic connections.