-
With Alderman Tim Hailes JP -
The sparkly hall
Masters & Senior Wardens' Dinner with Alderman Tim Hailes JP, Lord Mayor Presumptive
8th September 2026Chartered Accountants' Hall
A sparkly evening in Chartered Accountants' Hall in Moorgate Place: a reception and dinner for those Senior Wardens who will be Masters during Tim Hailes' year as Lord Mayor (subject to election), and for Masters who, like me, will serve the majority of their time during his year. I qualify as although I am in the 2025-26 Masters' Group (the Unsquared) I will be spending only five months as Master during Lady Mayor Sue Langley's year, but seven months as Master during Tim's year.
As Pipe Makers we are particularly privileged that Past Master Fiona Adler, Honorary Secondary at the Old Bailey, is serving as Tim's "wingman" during the year, attending Livery and other key events to support his Mayoralty.
After a delicious dinner, with Simon and I surrounded by Masters and Consorts who have now become our great friends - some of whom were still footsore from yesterday's ten mile hike - Tim stood to outline the plans and key focus for his year as Mayor, following on from Dame Sue Langley and with the same theme and objectives: supporting the City of London as the world's leading financial centre. An ambitious and exhausting international travel programme is already decided, including visits to Washington DC, New York, Canada, much of the EU and the Far East, as well as attending Davos and other international conferences.
Recognising how few Company events he will be able to attend, Tim has offered to be as creative as possible in finding ways to meet with each of us, so it's up to us to make a proposal! We did make a bid for our banquet and January dinner, but unfortunately both coincide with overseas visits.
I did manage to sneak into the Members' Library at the end of the evening to show Simon the beautiful miniature Rialto Bridge and stained glass windows. See my blog of 17 July.