Nottingham Holiday
Friday 28 July 2017
Junior Warden's Report
4 July 2017
Functions report
Thank you Master
Master I shall try to be brief, but as you know this is not one of my strong points
My last report was of course part of Common Hall, which if I may say so, was a triumph. The court meeting held in front of members of the Livery, brought the workings of the Court to life in the eyes of those attending who have not had experience of the Court’s activities and deliberations.
The speeches by the representatives of those who have benefited from bursaries or awards made by the Company again brought to life the real benefit to people’s careers, and to their professional work, that comes from the donations from the Company’s charitable funds. The representatives all spoke brilliantly and made me feel very proud of the connection between the Needlemakers and these bright, intelligent and eloquent young people.
Haberdashers’ Hall was a stunning location and the lunch that followed warm and delicious.
To be as brief as I can I would like to make reference to three events that took place since Common Hall.
Firstly I would like to make mention of your tour and reception of the House of Lords, where sadly I personally had missed the cut and did not attend. But from all that I heard it was a stunning success, even the security disturbance that occurred that evening, could not wreck what had been organised, and in a peculiar way enhanced the experience as the Lord’s work was suspended I believe, giving much greater access to those of the Company that enjoyed the tour. Our thanks go to our Chaplain for officially hosting the reception.
The second event was the Zeppelin walk that followed the path of one of the Zeppelin raids on London and introduced a happy party to so many hidden sites of London where my highlights were the visit to St Etheldredar’s Ely Place and the Museum of the Order of St John. A big thanks goes to Court Assistant Vic Flintham and his chum who guided us with infinite patience and a plethora of interesting facts.
The third event was the wonderful long weekend in Nottingham.
Some members of the Court may not be aware that I spent a very enjoyable three years at the University, and it is not true that Florence and Jessie Boot were contempories of mine.
So to stay on campus and in a very pleasant hotel brought back many memories many not repeatable in present Company.
No sooner had we arrived than we were transported to the Art Gallery on the Campus where a member of the Art faculty guided us through an exhibition.
We then were whisked off to The Trent Building to be entertained to dinner by our Host, the Vice Chancellor Professor Sir David Greenaway.
The next day we went to the engineering block, a place I had never visited being a Social Scientist, and introduced to the research work being undertaken into 3D printing.
Professors and doctors put on a demonstration so interesting and informative, that I remembered why I had found academic studies at Nottingham so fulfilling. I carry an example of what can be produced by such a printer with me today.
Then before you could say Heath Robinson we were whisked away to Southwell Minster for a concert and Lunch with the Bishop. Nick Macrae opened doors here, as he was a chum of the bishop, who was very eloquent and hospitable.
No time to draw breath and we found ourselves in the Council House at a reception with the brand new Lord Mayor of Nottingham and of course the Sherriff of Nottingham.
Nottingham being a very Labour local Authority, did I spot the odd edginess of some of our Company as the Lord Mayor addressed us in the Council Chamber, not at all, everyone was delighted to discover that it was a Needlemaker, who lead one of the uprisings that culminated with the rise of the Luddite Rebellion.
It was so appropriate that the next day we visited the framework knitters Museum, as the Luddites destroyed a number of their larger machines. We then went on our way to Belton House.
That evening we gathered as Needlemakers so often do to enjoy our company with good wine and fine food.
Sunday will always stay in my mind because of our trip to Papplewick Pumping Station. Once again Master you contrived to arrange the pumping Station pulling water up from the aquifer below, to be started and kept running as we marvelled in this feat of Victorian engineering.
I can only describe it as a ballet of metal and steam. All the volunteers entertained us as Jim Naughty might at a prom at the Albert Hall. All delighted in the spectacle that is only seen a very, very few times a year.
Then we moved on to Hardwick Hall to marvel at the collection of Tapestries.
Then to return to dine at Trent Bridge Cricket Club, where as darkness fell the ground was lit up for our delectation, and brought a tear to the eye of this member of the MCC.
Master did you have a special surprise up your unrobed sleeve, to bring joy to the faces of all present for not only did you have the head of , yes the social science faculty and Pro Vice Chancellor to address us but he then put on a performance of magic to entertain us, which still has Past Master Pamela Goldberg amazed at how he guessed the name of her childhood cat.
Dare I say it, yes I do. Master it was a Master Stroke.
Our final day was disrupted by an accident that delayed our coach reaching the Campus to take us the several miles to the agricultural School, Sutton Bonnington, where as an agricultural economist I had been taken to be able to tell the difference between a Swede and a Sugar Beet.
Did that disrupt the rapidly expanding Veterinary School from putting on the most amazing demonstration of various pieces of equipment, where students among others showed me how to insert a needle, yes a needle, into the vain of variously sized animal veins.
I would also mention the visit to the university archives where we discovered the rumbustious lives lead by the Needlemakers of Nottingham in the 18th or 19th century or the delicious lunch that followed, but time is short.
Master they say that a genius is someone who has an infinite capacity for taking pains, sadly the genius here was not this alumni from Nottingham university . Through your organisation and the selection of events, so many involving the use of needles from the ejection of material used by 3D printers, to those used by the veterinary students at Sutton Bonnington, this was the work of a genius.
Thank you Master.