WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT
TYPICAL INVITATIONS
TYPICAL INVITATIONS
Your year will include a wide variety of events, many of which are likely to be attended jointly with the Master. The year will include events for the Livery Company to which you are Consort, civic events and ceremonies, events hosted by other Livery Companies, church services, charitable events and Consorts’ events.
Within the Company there will be formal events such as the annual installation and church service, lunches, dinners and banquet as well as social events organised by the Company. There will also be visits to enterprises connected to your Livery trade, military affiliates and educational or charitable contributions. The events to which you, as Consort, are invited will depend on the customs and traditions of each individual Livery Company.
There are civic events and ceremonies that take place at the same time each year. The civic events include the Election of the Lord Mayor and Common Hall, Election of the Sheriffs and Common Hall, the Silent Ceremony, Quit rents and Knolly’s Rose ceremony. City Consorts hosts a coffee morning while these elections are taking place so that Consorts who are not Liverymen themselves (and so not eligible to vote in the elections), can enjoy each other’s company before joining the Master at one of the halls hosting a lunch. Other civic events include the Lord Mayor’s ‘Meet the Master’ dinner, Lord Mayor’s Show, Lord Mayor’s Banquet, Lord Mayor’s Children’s Party, the Sheriffs' Ball and His Majesty the King’s Garden Parties. Further information about all these events can be found on the Livery Committee Calendar.
Some Livery Companies host lectures, exhibitions and receptions on a regular basis examples of which include the Tacitus Lecture (World Traders), Pewter Live Exhibition, Cart Marking (Carmen), Goldsmiths Fair, Frederick Tymms Lecture (Air Pilots), Mithras Lecture (Arts Scholars), Wizardry in Wood (Turners) and the Raleigh Lecture (Entrepreneurs). A full list can be found at the Livery Committee website. Quite a few invitations will be for the Master (or Master and Clerk) only, but many will also include the Consort.
Three key City Church services are the United Guilds Service in March, Clergy Support Trust Service in mid-May and the Remembrance Service hosted by the Fruiterers in November. Some of the Livery halls host a lunch after each of these services which many Masters and Consorts attend.
During your year, you will receive invitations to attend a variety of charitable fundraisers. The Lord Mayor’s Appeal Office will lead the way on those named as the key charities for the year. The Treloar’s Charity Gala Dinner at Mansion House is a standing event annually. Treloar's is a nursery, school and college in Alton, Hampshire for physically disabled young people providing integrated education, therapy, medical and care support to both day and residential students. Other events include the Big Curry lunch, in support of the Armed Forces, the Sheep Drive, Musicians' Company Evensong, Trial and Error Theatrical shows at the Old Bailey, Barts View Day and the Children’s Magical Taxi Tour. A full list can be found on the Livery Committee website.
The Lady Mayoress is also likely to name charities that she supports during her year in office. Often Consorts hosting their own event invite the Lady Mayoress as well and honour her with a token of appreciation with financial support towards one of her chosen charities. The Shrieval Consorts often host fundraisers for the Sheriffs’ & Recorder's Fund to which you may be invited. Founded in 1808, the Fund gives small grants to ex-prisoners and their families in London upon release to help them rebuild their lives. Grants to ex-offenders are typically for clothing, household furnishings, training courses and tools of trade.
You are also likely to be invited to Consort events. One of these is an invitation to an event sponsored by the Livery Picture Book Committee. Every calendar year, the Picture Book Committee invite all the Consorts to participate in a gathering to meet the incoming Lady Mayoress at the very start of her year in office (typically November).
You may also be privileged to lunch at The Old Bailey or Mansion House as a guest of either the Shrieval Consorts or the Lady Mayoress or to receive invitations from other Consorts hosting their own social event. Each year is different and is totally at the discretion of each individual Consort to arrange. You might therefore receive different invitations to your predecessor and to those received by other Consorts.
At times, Consorts find their engagements go beyond London as Livery relationships extend to Guilds and Livery Companies in Scotland, Wales, Northern England, Bristol and Europe. These are often specific to your own Livery Company’s relationships. The Master will be able to brief you on this part of your year.
If you take a look through the Livery Calendar you will note that August is a quiet month in the City Diary and is therefore a good time to take a holiday.
LORD MAYOR'S WEEKEND
In June, your entire year of Masters and Consorts are invited to a weekend away. Until 2019 this was held in Ironbridge; it now moves around the country, in 2022 it was Sheffield, Glasgow in 2023, London 2024, and will be Aberdeen in 2025.
The weekend is designed for you to get to know the Consorts and Masters of your year better and set up your year group Association. Coaches are laid on both for ease of seeing the venues on the itinerary and for thoroughly enjoying your dinners.
At the close of your Lord Mayor's weekend, a short “meeting” is held with Masters and Consorts, either together or separately. The goal of this “meeting” is to create your year’s Association by proposing and then agreeing to its name. For example, the 2020 association is the Zoomers, the 2021 the Unmuteables, the Platinums in 2022 and the Caroleans in 2023.
The purpose of the Associations is to have a way to continue to build and enjoy the friendships started during your year. At the “meeting”, the Association’s Chair, Secretary and Treasurer are often named or individuals volunteer shortly thereafter for these roles. You will have an opportunity to become one of the organisers of your Association if you want to.
So overall you can expect a busy year with a wide variety of events to attend either on your own or with the Master. Hopefully nothing will come as complete surprise to you, especially if you have attended the Jigsaw Programme.
Within the Company there will be formal events such as the annual installation and church service, lunches, dinners and banquet as well as social events organised by the Company. There will also be visits to enterprises connected to your Livery trade, military affiliates and educational or charitable contributions. The events to which you, as Consort, are invited will depend on the customs and traditions of each individual Livery Company.
There are civic events and ceremonies that take place at the same time each year. The civic events include the Election of the Lord Mayor and Common Hall, Election of the Sheriffs and Common Hall, the Silent Ceremony, Quit rents and Knolly’s Rose ceremony. City Consorts hosts a coffee morning while these elections are taking place so that Consorts who are not Liverymen themselves (and so not eligible to vote in the elections), can enjoy each other’s company before joining the Master at one of the halls hosting a lunch. Other civic events include the Lord Mayor’s ‘Meet the Master’ dinner, Lord Mayor’s Show, Lord Mayor’s Banquet, Lord Mayor’s Children’s Party, the Sheriffs' Ball and His Majesty the King’s Garden Parties. Further information about all these events can be found on the Livery Committee Calendar.
Some Livery Companies host lectures, exhibitions and receptions on a regular basis examples of which include the Tacitus Lecture (World Traders), Pewter Live Exhibition, Cart Marking (Carmen), Goldsmiths Fair, Frederick Tymms Lecture (Air Pilots), Mithras Lecture (Arts Scholars), Wizardry in Wood (Turners) and the Raleigh Lecture (Entrepreneurs). A full list can be found at the Livery Committee website. Quite a few invitations will be for the Master (or Master and Clerk) only, but many will also include the Consort.
Three key City Church services are the United Guilds Service in March, Clergy Support Trust Service in mid-May and the Remembrance Service hosted by the Fruiterers in November. Some of the Livery halls host a lunch after each of these services which many Masters and Consorts attend.
During your year, you will receive invitations to attend a variety of charitable fundraisers. The Lord Mayor’s Appeal Office will lead the way on those named as the key charities for the year. The Treloar’s Charity Gala Dinner at Mansion House is a standing event annually. Treloar's is a nursery, school and college in Alton, Hampshire for physically disabled young people providing integrated education, therapy, medical and care support to both day and residential students. Other events include the Big Curry lunch, in support of the Armed Forces, the Sheep Drive, Musicians' Company Evensong, Trial and Error Theatrical shows at the Old Bailey, Barts View Day and the Children’s Magical Taxi Tour. A full list can be found on the Livery Committee website.
The Lady Mayoress is also likely to name charities that she supports during her year in office. Often Consorts hosting their own event invite the Lady Mayoress as well and honour her with a token of appreciation with financial support towards one of her chosen charities. The Shrieval Consorts often host fundraisers for the Sheriffs’ & Recorder's Fund to which you may be invited. Founded in 1808, the Fund gives small grants to ex-prisoners and their families in London upon release to help them rebuild their lives. Grants to ex-offenders are typically for clothing, household furnishings, training courses and tools of trade.
You are also likely to be invited to Consort events. One of these is an invitation to an event sponsored by the Livery Picture Book Committee. Every calendar year, the Picture Book Committee invite all the Consorts to participate in a gathering to meet the incoming Lady Mayoress at the very start of her year in office (typically November).
You may also be privileged to lunch at The Old Bailey or Mansion House as a guest of either the Shrieval Consorts or the Lady Mayoress or to receive invitations from other Consorts hosting their own social event. Each year is different and is totally at the discretion of each individual Consort to arrange. You might therefore receive different invitations to your predecessor and to those received by other Consorts.
At times, Consorts find their engagements go beyond London as Livery relationships extend to Guilds and Livery Companies in Scotland, Wales, Northern England, Bristol and Europe. These are often specific to your own Livery Company’s relationships. The Master will be able to brief you on this part of your year.
If you take a look through the Livery Calendar you will note that August is a quiet month in the City Diary and is therefore a good time to take a holiday.
LORD MAYOR'S WEEKEND
In June, your entire year of Masters and Consorts are invited to a weekend away. Until 2019 this was held in Ironbridge; it now moves around the country, in 2022 it was Sheffield, Glasgow in 2023, London 2024, and will be Aberdeen in 2025.
The weekend is designed for you to get to know the Consorts and Masters of your year better and set up your year group Association. Coaches are laid on both for ease of seeing the venues on the itinerary and for thoroughly enjoying your dinners.
At the close of your Lord Mayor's weekend, a short “meeting” is held with Masters and Consorts, either together or separately. The goal of this “meeting” is to create your year’s Association by proposing and then agreeing to its name. For example, the 2020 association is the Zoomers, the 2021 the Unmuteables, the Platinums in 2022 and the Caroleans in 2023.
The purpose of the Associations is to have a way to continue to build and enjoy the friendships started during your year. At the “meeting”, the Association’s Chair, Secretary and Treasurer are often named or individuals volunteer shortly thereafter for these roles. You will have an opportunity to become one of the organisers of your Association if you want to.
So overall you can expect a busy year with a wide variety of events to attend either on your own or with the Master. Hopefully nothing will come as complete surprise to you, especially if you have attended the Jigsaw Programme.
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