Afternoon tea with the Lord Mayor of London The Rt.-Hon. Lord Mountstevans attended by Aldermen of the City

Friday, 2nd September 2016

Memories flooded back today when Susan and I attended the Lord Mayor of London's splendid Afternoon Tea in the grandeur of the Mansion House. In 2003, I received the Freedom of the City in the Guildhall opposite my old office in Gresham Street where I started my training in stockbroking with Colegrave & Co at the age of 18.

The tea was a part of a series of events to mark the anniversary of the Great Fire of London. An estimated 65,000 people were made homeless by the fire and collections were held across the country to raise funds. A total of £12,794 (worth £1.9 million in today's money) was raised and the record shows that Marlborough sent the sum of £50.

All of the Mayors and Consorts who attended had been invited as representatives of the area/town/county who had contributed to the relief fund. We were the only representatives from Wiltshire.

We chatted with the Deputy Lord Mayor of Exeter whose City had contributed a massive £1,048.19s.0d. There was also a chance for us to meet the Mayor of Taunton-Deane, Vivienne Stock-Williams and her husband Ian which was fortuitous as we will be attending the South West in Bloom presentation in October which is held in Taunton. We also chatted with the Mayor of York among others.

There were many further events planned for the weekend of 3rd and 4th September culminating in the burning of a wooden replica of the London of 1666 - in safety on the River Thames.

We, in Marlborough, of course, also suffered a Great Fire in 1653 which may be one reason why local people contributed so willingly to the London Fund.

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