Luncheon at the City Livery Club to meet the new President Tuesday 30th April

President Judy Tayler-Smith

I was delighted to be invited to attend lunch to meet the new President, Judy Tayler-Smith, who took up her year’s office very recently.  Also hosting us was our own Liveryman Trevor Brignall who is the Club’s Honorary Secretary.  It was an opportunity for members to learn more about the benefits of the City Livery Club and bring along guests. As we had our Spring Dinner and Rededication Service on that same date I did have to give my excuses to leave early and would like to put on record the excellent hospitality shown to me.

The City Livery Club, founded in 1914 and privileged to count the Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor as Patron and Member, is a private daytime Club for Liverymen and members of related City organisations. They can meet, dine, and exchange views in comfortable premises overlooking the Thames. The Club is within easy walk of Bank, Mansion House and Cannon Street stations.

The Club also provides a broad programme of events both formal and informal, with various interests represented by Sections for History and Antiques, Investments, Motoring, Music, Wine, Golf, Tennis, Aeronautics, Photography, and Women in the Livery. The City Face2Face group organises informal discussions with City movers and shakers.  The Club has a number of reciprocal arrangements with other Clubs in the UK and abroad.  Apparently these are extremely popular, particularly as the Club is not available for dinner and the Oxford and Cambridge Club is one such offering reciprocity.

I find the Club Lunch very affordable. The opportunity to lunch guests with a perfect view of the river in the peace and tranquillity of the Club room and bar is a rare pleasure when far more expensive restaurants nearby in the City are generally noisy at lunch and not appropriate for quiet business discussion. I entertained the Chairman and senior colleagues from TOTAL at the City Livery Club on one occasion and the comment from them all was that it was a ‘bijoux location’ with superb ‘cuisine Anglaise’.  That is quite a compliment from our friends across ‘la Mer’.  Vive the Livery Club!

The Club also organises excellent and exclusive visits. The Junior Warden and I attended an early morning private viewing of the Shakespeare Exhibition at the British Museum earlier this year.