SIM joins the parade
This year I was joined in the Lord Mayor's parade by Senior Warden Professor Ken Grattan OBE (right in photo) and Freeman Steven Vuong (left in photo). Before the parade started I had time to walk with Steven to Guildhall to view the Mayor's carriage and the guards preparing to march.
The occasion was unusual for the Lord Mayor's Show, since the sun was shining brightly. In fact the joke was that this was the first Lord Mayor's Show where walkers needed sun glasses. It is always a motivating event, to see the streets of the City of London lined with thousands of people, waving and cheering. This year, with the weather so good, there were more than ever.
We walked with the Modern Liveries, in a group organised by the Worshipful Company of Firefighters. We were accompanied by a big gold painted double decker bus. This year 22 different livery companies were represented, with their banners held high, including our fellow livery companies with whom we share a the Hall, the Launderers and the Glaziers.
Plenty of 'high-fives' were in evidence from the Liverymen present, to the younger members in the crowds lining the streets!
As is usual, at the half way point, courtesy of the Master Mariners, we were treated to a glass of champagne and a sandwich lunch on HQS Wellington, moored off the Embankment. This year, standing on the outside deck of the boat, in glorious sunshine, was a real treat.
Ken Sanders
Master