On 14 April an Honorary Assistants dinner was held aboard HQS Wellington, a unique, floating venue moored on the Thames.

It was attended by members of the Master’s Committee, serving honorary assistants and those appointed to take up responsibilities in May.Honorary assistants, of whom four are appointed each year, serve for 24 months. They play an important role in the life of the livery, are of significant value and appreciated for the contributions made.

Ultimately any liveryman seeking higher office must have served as an honorary assistant.An interesting, open discussion on a wide range of subjects took place over coffee.

FRUITERERS ATTEND UNITED GUILDS SERVICE AT ST PAUL’S CATHEDRAL

Each year since 1943 the livery companies and guilds of the City of London have met in St Paul’s Cathedral for a United Guilds Service which is completely interdenominational.

The idea behind the service was to lift the spirits of Londoners following the Blitz.

Lady Day, 25 March 1943, being the first day of the year according to the Julian calendar, was chosen for the initial service in cognisance of the different religious origins of the companies. Seating is restricted to a few places for each livery and the cathedral was packed on 1 April for this year’s gathering.

MASTER’S COMMENT

By Sandy Dawes

In May, the Fruiterers hold their Audit Court followed by their Audit Court dinner. The Fruiterers, like many other liveries, do not possess a hall of their own, but it does have the advantage that we are able to hold our dinners at other livery halls. This year we were delighted that it was held at the Vintners Hall and that our guest speaker was Miles Templeman, director general of the Institute of Directors.

Audit Court is about the company accounts, which are presented and normally agreed, and speeches at the subsequent dinner usually have a financial flavour. Templeman spoke eruditely about commerce and the economy. My address focused on how our own livery spends its money, but not before an appreciation of the magnitude of livery companies’ charitable work should be presented.

There are 108 liveries and that number keeps on increasing. Between them it is calculated that they provide a substantial sum running into many millions each year to assist various charities and worthwhile causes.

The Fruiterers are proud of the work they do. We are in the last year of a three year agreement to support Food Dudes. This is a programme devised by the University of Bangor to use a psychological approach to improve the eating habits of primary school children.

Most of our charitable work is channelled through the Awards Council, which selects from a number of organisations seeking funding. We are extremely fortunate to have two professors and three PhDs with horticultural or scientific backgrounds in research and management and some top quality fruit growers. They undertake valuable work which is much appreciated by an organisation such as East Malling Research that has been through its lean times during which it needed both our financial and moral support.

The Awards Council provides funding for horticultural research, travel bursaries, prizes for students at horticultural colleges, the cider marquee at the Bath & West Show, international speakers for Fruit Focus and so on.

It also funds a Fruiterers’ Nuffield scholar working in the fruit sector, which aims to enable an individual to enhance their effectiveness not only for personal academic benefit but also for that of the wider industry.

One of the hardest aspects is for bosses to appreciate the tremendous value that their business will gain from allowing an employee sufficient time away from work to undertake travel and study. We believe that is time well spent and that our support for the Nuffield Scholarship makes a real difference to the lives of those involved. We are delighted that one of our Nuffield scholars, Chris Newenham, who is farm manager for Wilkin and Sons (Tiptree Farms), will become a freeman of the Fruiterers at the Audit Court.