86. Firefighters’ Reception 20 June

I was delighted to be invited to the Firefighters’ Annual Reception at the City Livery Club. It is a splendid opportunity to meet with the Master, Wardens and Clerk of the Company as well as several other Masters and Clerks from other Companies. I have known the current Master Firefighter, John Mansfield, for virtually all of my term of office as his year and mine almost coincide and we have met at many functions. The reception was a very convivial event with excellent company and, of course, plentiful food and delightful wine.    

85. Lord Mayor’s Tax Debates, 19 June

As part of the tax profession's contribution to the Lord Mayor's Business of Trust agenda, the Worshipful Company of Tax Advisers and the Chartered Institute of Taxation co-hosted an event at the Mansion House with a very full audience of some 300 from the Livery and the City. The Lord Mayor introduced the programme and the first debate was a UK perspective on whether the public trust in the UK tax system has been impaired by unprecedented levels of tax avoidance. The second debate was an international perspective on the tremendous efforts that Governments and international institutions have put into changing the tax “landscape” in which multinational enterprises operate.

Both debates were extremely interesting. There was a general theme that there was a need to engage with corporations and the public more. On tax avoidance more legislation in the Corporate area was thought to be required and Corporation tax needed to be more robust. It was also considered that Tax Advisors should not be pushing schemes which were against the public benefit. It was considered that some sectors still think tax avoidance is something to be achieved!  Principles of taxation therefore need to be embedded in their culture. 

The debate continued after over drinks and canapés! 

84. Master’s Weekend 15/17 June

A small group of seven met at the De Vere Hotel in East Horsley on the Friday night and had a splendid convivial dinner at the local Duke of Wellington Public House. The following morning, joined by two more guests, we met at Polesden Lacey where we toured the most interesting house which included a very interesting talk by one of the guides about it’s history. 

It was a beautiful sunny day and the ensuing walk around the gardens where there were magnificent floral displays was extremely pleasant. It was our intention to move on elsewhere, but following a light lunch we decided to explore further and watch a couple of the “Pop-up Shakespeare” performances. Not unnaturally Sandra and I volunteered to take part which allowed us to slightly “overact”. Following that we returned to the hotel to prepare for the evening event.

For that we were joined by a further 4 couples and were transported to Denbies Vineyard in Dorking. There we were treated to an interesting film about the development and workings of the vineyard. This was followed by a tour of the vineyard by “train” ending up at the highest point with magnificent views. The weather was very kind to us and here we were treated to sparkling wine and canapés. Returning to the main building we then had a delicious dinner in the Gallery Dining Room overlooking the vineyard with extremely pleasant local and foreign wines. We were then transported back to the Hotel. A splendid and very convivial occasion.

83. Admiral of the Port Challenge

Sandra and I clambered into the Company Cutter, “The Water Forget-me-not” which was beached on the shaol just below The National Theatre. For the first time for several years our Bargemaster Johnny Dwan was unable to assemble the  highly successful team of ladies who have won on so many occasions and had assembled a splendid team of men which included his son Merlin. There were two heats for the men’s crews and we were in the first. Starting opposite HQS Wellington our team pulled away and immediately went into the lead which they maintained all the way to the Westminster Boating Base, winning by a massive margin. The second heat had a slight advantage as the tide had turned and the wind gave them a boost. As a result our team were defeated by a margin of ten seconds into third place! Never-the-less a splendid effort and a well deserved reception with drinks and canapés afterwards.