Page 12 - A4 Journal 2018 R16

The Master’s Year

Throughout this detachment he worked alongside the Project Team and Royal Engineers to design and develop the new
maintenance publications, acting as the electrical specialist. Wakefield is always keen to deploy and his obvious enthusiasm
and good humour provides motivation and morale for the entire team. His talents have been recognised by his chain of
command and it is for all of these reasons he is nominated as the 2017 Dow Trophy recipient.”
There were no International Awards, but the award for 2018 will be made later this year.
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On 10 May the Court met at Barber Surgeons’ Hall. They and other members of the Company then joined several of our
Companions at a most enjoyable luncheon following a sparkling wine reception on the terrace. The food and splendid
surroundings were thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended.

The last formal dinner of the year was the Sir Christopher Wren Banquet, which, by kind permission of The Lord Mayor, was
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held on 7 June in the magnificent surroundings of the Egyptian Room in the Mansion House. As the Lord Mayor was away in
Chicago on Mayoral duties, we were privileged to have as Principal Guest the Lord Mayor Locum Tenens, Sir David Wootton
and his wife Lady Liz Wootton. Sheriff Tim Hailes, his ‘wingman’ Fiona Adler, Sheriff Neil Redcliffe and his wife Emma were
also guests at the top table. Some 200 members and their guests including the Masters of the Builder’s Merchants, Masons,
Plumbers, Lightmongers, Painter-Stainers, Needlemakers, Management Consultants, Carpenters, Apothecaries and
representatives of Treloars, together with the Sheriffs and the Lord Mayor Locum Tenens, accompanied by their Partners,
Wingmen & Consorts, sat down to a splendid meal .
A fantastic evening was had (by all accounts), with the musical entertainment being provided by Steve Fletcher and his
London Banqueting Ensemble, who also accompanied (without rehearsal) our very own SIDS scholar Anna Koukoullis, who, to
great acclaim, sang two sensational operatic arias. The evening was rounded off with two speeches from the top table and a
very lively stirrup cup.
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On 4 July, the Court met at HQS Wellington. Following that meeting there was a champagne reception on the quarterdeck
and the annual Court Luncheon. The Master entertained Nick Dunbreck (Master Actuary), Nick Arkell (Master Vintner),
Alderman John Garbutt (Master Weaver) David Pantlin (Master Launderer), John Poulton (Master Glass Seller) and Alderman
Prof Michael Mainelli (Master World Trader). We were also pleased to have with us some of our newly admitted Freemen ,
Liverymen , Yeomen and Apprentices together with other members of the Company and their guests.
Our final formal event was Common Hall, which this year was held on 20 September in Salters’ Hall and was attended by 39
members of the Company. The Master thanked all the members who had supported him during his year and announced (if
spared) the Officers who had been elected for 2018/19. They were the Master – Michael Parrett, the Senior Warden – Sir
Vivian Ramsey, the Middle Warden – Arthur Seymour, the Renter Warden – David Sheehan and the Junior Warden – Terry
Withers, who were installed at the Installation Service in October. Common Hall was followed by the traditional reception and,
in a new arrangement for this year, a Livery Dinner, where all Liverymen who had attended Common Hall were entertained by
the Company.
Event Feedback

As those of you who attend our various events will already know, we always seek your opinion on how well the function
meets your requirements and wishes. Those of you who have attended an event are sent an e-mail after the event giving you
access to the relevant survey on the esurv.org® website. You can then complete the survey on whatever device you prefer to
use. The completed surveys are anonymous to the Company (unless you decide to put your name on the form) and are col-
lated by esurv.org® in such a way as to give us a report that is then transcribed onto an Excel spreadsheet for distribution to
the Chair of the Publicity and Events committee and then to Court via the Reporting Warden. Yet again, nearly all our surveys
this year have resulted in “Very Good” and/or “Excellent” average markings. Looking back over the last year (previous year’s
figures in brackets) 85% (82%) of responses marked events overall as “Very Good” or “Excellent” and value for money was
marked as “Very Good” or “Excellent” in 68% (74%) of the responses. When the figures for “Good” are included these become
96% (95%) and 91% (94%), so there is clearly a view that value for money is not as good as it was, and this is something that
we are addressing, but clearly costs do rise due to inflation. However, these figures would suggest that, whilst our events
over the past year have continued to meet the requirements of our members, cost is an issue and this may be why attend-
ance has at some times been somewhat low.

Page 12 | The Journal of the Worshipful Company of Constructors | Autumn 2018