51. Lord Mayor’s Show, 10 November 2018

Widely recognised as the world’s largest un-rehearsed street parade, the Lord Mayor’s show is a spectacle to behold and great fun! So it was with mounting excitement that the Mistress, the Fleet Warden, Rob Casey and I took up our positions on London Wall ready to take part. And what a great day we had!

Proudly marching in the Modern Livery Companies section (position 82 in the running order) I shouldered the “Water Conservators” banner and made ready to set off. As this is such a large show and a huge logistical exercise to mount, there is a degree of hanging around but the time soon passed by chatting to other Livery Companies all dressed as we were in robes and badges of office. A Golden Double Decker Bus acted as our travelling base but there was no temptation to take a ride as the roar of the crowds and the faces of the children as we passed by was a delight to behold.

Following a well tried and tested route around London, the high point is passing Mansion House where the Lord Mayor himself and his assembled dignitaries are seated on a raised platform. We had many waives and words of encouragement from the Lord Mayor and others and many a joke were traded as we marched by. We gave a resounding cry of “Three Cheers” to the Lord Mayor as we turned the corner from Princes Street into Cheapside – wonderful!

Arriving at Temple in time for lunch we went on board HQS Wellington at the kind invitation of the Master Mariner and his team. A welcome glass of ‘good cheer’ awaited us as did a hearty sandwich to fuel us for the second half of the route. The sun was shining and all was well – a very rare occurrence for the Show as it generally is reckoned to rain every time!

But we were soon back on the road and passed Blackfriars Station to enormous crowds and much cheering.

Our route took us back past the Mansion House and we finally reached journeys-end at London Wall again. The time had flown by and still no rain. So we quickly dispersed and thanked those of the Corporation who had organised the whole day. A great credit is due to the City of London, the Police and Ambulance Service for looking after us and of course to all the many, many floats and street theatre which makes the Show so special. But being a participant unfortunately means that one doesn’t actually see much of the rest of the parade so we quickly set off home to put our feet up and to watch it on TV!

What an experience – and it didn’t rain!

Pictures show the Lord Mayor in his coach; Gog (of Gog and Magog fame) passing the Mansion House with members of the Guild of Young Freemen and the Worshipful Company of Paviors with their inflatable pig (don’t ask!) just ahead of us in the Modern Companies Section.