Visit to City of London Police (CoLP) – Tuesday 14 April

After a slightly quieter couple of weeks over the Easter period, which was a great opportunity to ‘recharge the batteries’, the Senior Warden and I followed up on our earlier visit to the CoLP in December with a return visit on 14 April to discuss areas, such as Cyber, where the Company might be able to assist the Police.  One of my objectives as Master has been to increase the interaction between the Company and the Police.  With nearly 600 members who are, or have been, in the security world there is every opportunity to do so.  We were warmly welcomed at Guildhall Yard East by Commander Umer Khan and his colleagues.  During our discussions it was clear there is scope for us to develop a liaison on several areas of mutual interest and benefit and we look forward to taking this forward over the coming months. 

Visit to the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) – Wednesday 15 April

The role of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) is not widely known or appreciated, yet they do an outstanding job.  The FANY are a registered charity which directly contributes to national resilience by maintaining and deploying multi-faceted rapid response teams in support of civil and military organisations in times of crisis.  In order to learn more about their role and, again, explore areas of mutual benefit, the Senior Warden and I visited them at their HQ at Wellington Barracks in London on 15 April.  We were warmly welcomed by their Commanding Officer and Chief of Staff and met members of their team.  Now with a greater understanding of what they, and we, do we agreed there are areas in which we could assist each other.  After our very productive talks we headed over to the Officers’ Mess for lunch.  To find out more about the FANY do have a look at their link below, which also includes a reference to the advert for their new Commanding Officer.  

https://www.fany.org.uk/News/the-corps-is-seeking-a-new-commanding-officer

The Big Curry Lunch – Thursday 16 April

This event is held annually at Guildhall to raise funds to support all members of the Armed Forces.  The first Curry Lunch took place in 2008 and is hosted by the Lord/Lady Mayor.  This year the IPM and I were invited to sit with the Worshipful Company of Firefighters and a most enjoyable time was had by all, starting with a glass of bubbles/wine, a tasty curry and then coffee and dessert.  It’s very relaxed, being self-service so you do queue for your curry!  I look forward to learning how much has been raised this year to help support a number of veterans and their families.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner’s Dinner – Thursday 16 April

As a City of London Livery Company with a focus on security we are privileged to host our annual Police Commissioner Dinners, for both the City of London and Metropolitan Police.  These events are always held under Chatham House Rule.  On 16 April our venue was The Army & Navy Club and we were delighted to welcome, from the Metropolitan Police, Deputy Commissioner Matt Jukes QPM.  76 members and guests sat down to a delicious dinner and a fascinating, thought-provoking and often humorous talk, followed by an excellent Q&A.  I was delighted to present our Supporters for the event, SelectaDNA and Mitie, with their certificates and thank them for their sponsorship.  The Deputy Commissioner and I discussed a potential visit to the Met, which I very much hope to do before, or shortly after, I hand over the reins to the new Master on 3 June.