After the summer break it’s all go now for September!  I was invited to the Flag Raising Ceremony for the Emergency Services on 9 September.  An early start on the train to London and a 45-minute walk from Waterloo to Guildhall (due to the tube strike) ensured I arrived in time for the 0900 start.  

Sir Nicholas Lyons, who had served as the 694^th Lord Mayor of London from 2022-2023, stood in for the current Lord Mayor who was on an official trip to Asia.  In opening the ceremony Sir Nicholas explained the annual ceremony was to acknowledge and thank all those in the Emergency Services for their extraordinary commitment and dedication and cited Shakespeare’s quote, “Some are born great, some achieve greatness and others have greatness thrust upon them’.  

After the flag raising and a 2-minute silence London Fire Brigade Assistant Commissioner for Operational Resilience and Control and Deputy Chairman of London Resilience, Patrick Goulbourne, spoke to the assembled guests, which included all sectors of the Emergency Services – City of London Police, The Fire Brigade, London Ambulance, the RNLI, London Air Ambulance, Victim Support, to name but a few.  

A delicious buffet breakfast was then served in Guildhall and it was a wonderful opportunity for me to meet and chat with those who often put their lives on the line every day.  I also had the opportunity to have my photo taken with 2 City of London Police officers, as well as the 2 CoLP horses. 

Sue Jones,
Master