95. Carmen Livery Banquet, 13 March 2019

The Mansion House was the setting for the Worshipful Company of Carmen’s Annual Livery and Awards Night Banquet and the Mistress and I were kindly invited to attend. This ‘white tie’ event is the opportunity for the Carmen to recognise those who have made a contribution to modern transportation, particularly in London. We were privileged therefore to join some 160 other guests for this splendid evening.

A drinks reception was held in the Grand Salon and we were warmly welcomed by the Master and Mistress Carmen, Stephen and Linda Britt and their Wardens. It was good to chat and to make new friends in a relaxed atmosphere. But we were soon called to dinner and were proud to process to our seats on the Masters table. There followed an excellent dinner served by the highly experienced Mansion House team and we were treated to a musical accompaniment from the Gallery performed by the London Banqueting Ensemble. They made the whole dinner go with a swing.

After the Sung Grace a Loving Cup was offered which is always good fun, followed by the Loyal and Civic Toasts. We then came to the awards ceremony, presided over by the Awards Committee Chairman who read the citations for the four categories. Worthy winner included Will Butler-Adams from Brompton Bikes for innovation in bicycle design; Ricardo Ltd for services to transport technology over the last hundred years; The Boiler & Engineering Skills Training Trust for their training and apprenticeship schemes and to Network Rail Thameslink for the re-development of London Bridge Station. All prize-winners were warmly congratulated by the guests and stepped forward to receive their certificates (see picture).

The Lord Mayors representative was Alderman Ian Luder CBE (see picture with the Master Carmen) who gave a short address followed by the Senior Warden Col Simon Bennett who welcomed all the guest and toasted us heartily – a very kind gesture. Our principle speaker was Mike Brown MVO, Commissioner of Transport for London (see picture) who gave a most enlightening speech about the work of TfL. He paid tribute to the enormous achievements that had been made and the contributions yet to come. Not afraid to tackle contentious issues like Bank road junction and the delayed Elizabeth Line, he set all these and other initiatives in the context of London being one of the most complex and rapidly growing cities in Europe, if not the world. It was a fascinating insight to the world of urban planning and he is a great speaker.

And then it was over. After recessing with the principle guests, we bade our farewells after what was a splendid and fascinating evening. Our thanks of course go to the Master and his Wardens for their kind generosity and also to the Clerk for all the hard work in putting such an event together. A real privilege to be there.