"Whan that Aprille with his shoores soote
The drought of March hath perced to the roote
And bathed every vein in swich liquor
Of which vertu engendred is the flour"
So begins the Prologue to Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales; lines whose relevance is probably not immediately obvious to us this evening. But in fact this work resonates for us on several levels.
At the simplest, here we are in April celebrating at long last the arrival of spring and with it renewal of the annual round. Our Upholders calendar embraces the same annual timetable, April is the time we change our Master and Wardens. As the new Master, my first thought is to express the thanks of the Company to Immediate Past Master Michael Gilham and Wynn his Lady, for their unstinting dedication and work over the last year.
The Canterbury Tales have a second and deeper resonance with our Company and history. Written around 1380, the tales are contemporary with our formation; you will see from the text in this evening’s menu that the earliest recorded reference date we have for our company is the first week of March 1360; this year we therefore celebrate our 650th year. It is fascinating to think that the Founders of our Company would have read Chaucer’s text and marvelled at the fact that it was written in a modern London dialect, being one of the first times this had occurred.
To survive and flourish over 650 years requires a combination of evolution, continuity and vision. Our motto “Sustine Bona” conveys the need to not only “Uphold the Good” but also the more subtle obligation to “Keep what’s best”. Equally, keeping what’s best also means letting go what is less good and embracing change –something we have done constantly throughout our history. But for many Liverymen, the so called Mystery of the Livery has been exactly that – a Mystery. So what exactly are our plans and how do we intend to deliver them?
Well, a new year heralds fresh growth and for the first time the Court of our Company has approved a written Strategic Plan, setting out exactly what the Company’s aims are, how it plans to deliver them and by when. A few copies of the Plan are available at the back of the Hall afterwards, for those members who wish to peruse them; further discussion will take place at Common Hall on July 15th.
Chaucer’s travelling band on their way to Canterbury was also described in a manner that is reflective of the Livery movement; the participants are each defined by reference to their craft or profession (with apologies to any “Wives of Bath” here this evening). Our Livery is similarly defined; and our trade and the maintenance of the highest standards of work and conduct remains core to what we do. Unlike many other liveries whose trade has either died out or become industrialised, ours has remained very similar to what it was 650 years ago.
The constancy of our trade is both an asset and a liability. On the one hand many of the traditional craft values and working methods have been upheld; on the other hand most of our trade members continue to work in small groups in a fragmented industry. They do not enjoy the financial stability, pension schemes or investment in training brought by the evolution of an industry into large corporations. The need for our Livery to play an active and leading role in the support of our trade has never been greater. One of the fundamental elements of our Strategic Plan is the development of our Craft Training qualification; at present there is no nationally recognised and available qualification in the craft of Upholstery. Our Company is uniquely qualified through both its Royal Charter and the experience of its craft members, to act as a catalyst for the creation of such a qualification and in conjunction with the Association of Master Upholsterers to provide the necessary accreditation.
I believe it is particularly fitting that Sir Garry Hawkes is here this evening – a real champion of the true value of vocational training. Having previously worked for Sir Garry for 20 years I can state with certainty that his business career is a testimony to the power of sustained investment in vocational training in the context of a large corporation.
But enough seriousness, this evening is also a social occasion and fun was certainly the order of the day for Chaucer’s pilgrims on their way to Canterbury. One of our Company’s stated aims is to ensure we flourish in a spirit of camaraderie and enjoyment. To this end we have a packed programme of events over the coming twelve months. A calendar of events is available for all members at the rear of the Hall this evening. Some functions are old favourites, but there are also some new activities which I would like to recommend.
Corporately I have alluded to our strategic plan for the year, and socially I have outlined some of the very different activities available over the next twelve months; but an Installation is also a personal thing. I am delighted to see so many friends and family at my Installation dinner. It is also traditional to thank the Liverymen who brought me into the Company, hence my thanks to Liveryman Michael Goddard and Past Master Ray Usher for introducing me to this and so many other good things in life.
Our pilgrims on the way to Canterbury knew how to atone for having enjoyed too much of the good life; they made recompense through a very personal commitment – their sore feet reminded them constantly. So it seemed particularly appropriate to me that I should do something personally challenging during my year as Master; to this end I will be undertaking my very own Pilgrimage (or to be exact the first 156 miles of the Way of St James as it leaves Puy en Velay in France towards Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Pilgrims have trodden this path for longer than our Livery has been in existence. My journey will take some 11 days to walk, from August 1st to 13th including a rest day, ending in Figeac. Anyone who feels so inclined to join me for all or part of a few days walking through the picturesque Massif Central in the South of France is very welcome.
With the benefit of modern technology you will be able to see all these events almost as soon as they have happened, courtesy of a Master’s Blog on the web – simply click on the button marked Master’s Blog on our website to obtain a weekly update in words and pictures on all our activities throughout the year.
Our pilgrims will hopefully be a lot less of a motley crew than Chaucer’s, but common to the ranks of both the original and modern posse will be a Squire, so I give you a toast this evening, (taken from the Squire’s Tale and now the motto on my coat of arms), as evidence of my commitment to the Company over the coming year, in the original old English: “Thurge foul and fair”, or in the modern vernacular “Through thick and thin.”
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