The calendar for the Fruiterers’ Year is formulated well in advance, while the potential candidate for Master holds the positions of Renter and then Upper Warden in the two years prior to being sworn in for the top job. Each Master works to a formula and a specific theme. Steve Bodger, the 2010 incumbent, focused on the Armed Forces and those that have made the ultimate sacrifice in defence of this country.

He assumed his role as is customary with the Company on the Feast Day of St Paul on 25 January. His first official function was the Annual Banquet held in the Plaisterers’ Hall on 15 February. The guest list included most of the top City of London Corporation officers, led by the Lord Mayor. Such an occasion reflects the importance that the Fruiterers attach to their responsibilities. Not having a hall of their own, but being able to hold their dinners in the facilities of other livery companies, is regarded by many as a positive feature.

March is traditionally a quiet month and last year was no exception. There was one informal lunch at the Butchers’ Hall before official meetings on the 10th, and the United Guilds Service on the 19th, when all of the Companies and Guilds of the City join in an annual service of thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral. The idea was conceived following the Blitz on London of World War II.

Very memorable was a tour of the battlefields of the Somme led by the Master on 20-21 April, where the graves of those that were affiliated to the Company through membership or relationship and had fallen in action were visited. The sensitivity of the occasion was heightened by the personal reflections of Fruiterers who are descendants of those who lost their lives and who read eulogies at the burial sites.

The second formal dinner of the year, the Audit Court, was held at the Skinners’ Hall on 20 May. As usual, there was a full turnout at the one function at which partners are not usually in attendance. An appreciative audience learned of the Company finances, which were, as always, in order, and hear of past and planned activities.

The first official outing of the year, 3 June, was the Fruiterers’ attendance at the Royal Bath and West Show, held in Shepton Mallet, where the Company has for many years sponsored the Cider Pavilion. It has also presented a silver cup to the brewer of the top cider. Displayed in the marquee was the Fruiterers’ Stand, designed to promote an understanding of what the Company’s raison d’être is and to highlight its objectives. The Master was in his home county when the Fruiterers returned to Penshurst Place on 10 June to plant a tree at a venue where they had planted before. A notable first.

As is their duty, the Liverymen attended the Guildhall on 24 June and 29 September for the election of the sheriffs and Lord Mayor respectively.

A well supported Summer Court Dinner was held at the Stationers’ Hall on 15 July, when partners and guests were much in evidence. Chenies Manor, in Buckinghamshire, won the prestigious Garden of the Year Award and as has become customary, the Fruiterers visited and planted a tree, a plum, La Reine Claude (Greengage).

Another pre-business lunch was held at the Butchers’ Hall on 6 October, while several Fruiterers visited the National Fruit Show. There are many of the Livery who are growers and not one would miss Detling, well not normally, but this year with a late harvest a few were absent. Four days later, the annual presentation of fruit to the Lord Mayor occurred at the Mansion House. This is an occasion of which the Fruiterers are proud, being one of a very limited number of liveries that are invited to perform such a ceremony to the City’s chief executive.

The final formal dinner of the year, Master & Wardens, was held at Barber-Surgeons’ Hall on Armistice Day, 11 November, finishing 2010 in harmony with Steve Bodger’s theme.

On top of a hectic social calendar, the Fruiterers have been very active in pursuing their objectives to improve excellence in the industry and support chosen charitable causes. A website, www.fruiterers.org.uk, has been designed and updated on a regular basis. The Awards Council and the sub-committees flourished under new chairmen. A full-time honorary archivist was appointed and in a few short months, the Company has seen the benefits.

2010 was a successful year for the Fruiterers under the able stewardship of a much appreciated Master.