The Distillate - Summer 2006
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The Distillate
The Worshipful Company of Distillers
Summer 2006
INSTALLATION DINNER At the Court meeting on Wednesday 16 November 2005 the then Master Christopher Hayman presented a silver goblet to Past Master Mr Christopher Mitchell. This marked his appointment as Chief Commoner and he drew to the Court's attention the fact that Christopher Mitchell had served the City as a Common Councillor for over 35 years.
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The new Master, David Grant, takes the oath of office COMPANY BANNER The Company’s livery banner has recently been rediscovered in the cellars of Vintners’ Hall, although in desperate need of renovation. Our new Master, David Grant, approached the London School of Needlework at Hampton Court, who restored the banner to its former glory. It can now be seen at every livery function. Our thanks go to the Master for his generosity in funding the restoration.
The Master and Chief Commoner Christopher Mitchell in front of the Company’s refurbished banner At the conclusion of the meeting David Grant was installed as the new Master in front of the Court, members of the Livery and the Master’s family. At the same ceremony the new Wardens were appointed: Upper Warden Keith Garrard Middle Warden Derek Plant Renter Warden Charles Maxwell Following an excellent dinner accompanied by fine wines, Assistant Mr Anthony Westnedge OBE proposed the health of our guests with response by the Master’s guest, Mr Patrick MacDougall. The Master replied and invited the assembled diners to join him at the stirrup bar. The Master’s other guest was Mr Peter LeeJones Master of the Brewers Company
Photo to be scanned
The Master, David Grant, with members of the London School of Needlework, who carried out the renovation
by computer generated images using the special equipment installed in the room. The talk was followed by a buffet, which rounded off a most enjoyable evening. LORD MAYOR’S SHOW For the first time in living memory, the Worshipful Company of Distillers had their own Float in the Lord Mayor’s Show, held on th Saturday 12 November 2005. FEBRUARY LUNCHEON AND EDUCATION AWARDS On Thursday 9 February 2006, after an excellent luncheon, Assistant Mr Allan Cheesman welcomed our guests, whilst the Master’s guest Nigel Rugman responded with an extremely entertaining and amusing speech. The Master’s speech highlighted the tremendous success of the Company through the popular education programme with significant financial resources being allocated to this cause. The Master continued by explaining how the Company would work with the drinks industry to provide educational opportunities as well as extending the Company’s social events. In this connection a questionnaire has been circulated to ascertain everyone’s hobbies and interests. The Master’s other guests were Roger de Pilkyngton, Master of Marketers’ Company, His Excellency the Chilean Ambassador Senor Mariano Fernandez Amunategui and finally Graham Sutton, the Master of the Coopers’ Company. The luncheon concluded with the Master presenting the annual education awards to Mr Tim Watson WSET Professional Certificate in Spirits, Ms Christine Gellie WSET Diploma and Dr Matthew Polli MSc Post Graduate Diploma from the International Centre for Brewing & Distilling at Heriot-Watt University.
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The float with the Learned Clerk and Pat enjoying a unique experience. The Master looks pretty happy too! Besides the excitement of taking part in the show, much preparation work had taken place during the months in the buildup to the Show day. The Pageant Master had to approve both the design and the size of the Float, which required careful planning. The Float was designed with the help of Julia Hamilton of CMAS using, in part, the mural design completed by Colin Failes in the WSET’s Distillers room. The Float was helped by the generosity of Julian Temperley who provided the still, William Grant and Sons for the casks and an enterprising team who built the bar for us. The whole Float was constructed at the Thames Distillery in Clapham the day before, thanks to Charles Maxwell.
Mr Tim Watson and Mr Matthew Polli receiving their scholarships from the Master
The Float approaches St Paul’s The whole procession consisted of some 140 floats, bands and exhibits. It was a great day enjoyed by all on the Float and one that will be long remembered. Christopher sincerely thanks all those involved, especially his Wardens and David Raines. In addition our thanks go to Christopher’s company, Hayman & Co, for funding the venture.
DISTILLERS LECTURE On Monday 7 November 2005 Shaun Harrison represented to members of the Company the 2005 Distillers lecture he had given to students at the ICBD at the Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. It took place in the new Distillers room at the WSET headquarters in Bermondsey Street. Shaun’s very interesting talk outlined the history of Plymouth gin from 1793 to the present time. His presentation was supported
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The Master with Ms Christine Gellie, the WSET Diploma winner
Photo of mural to be inserted
A photograph of the mural at the WSET painted by Colin Failes A MESSAGE FROM IAN HARRIS, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, WINE & SPIRIT EDUCATION TRUST I would like to place on record my thanks to those companies and individuals that supported us, both financially and spiritually, in our move. In particular I would like to thank the Worshipful Company of Distillers who helped us create “The Distillers' Room”, which hopefully will become a second home to the Court and Livery. I was very pleased to be able to thank so many of them in person at the party we held to mark the official opening of the International Wine & Spirit Centre, which was performed by Jancis Robinson MW. Jancis remains a great ambassador for the WSET and I am very grateful for all the nice things she says about us! I was delighted to share the stage with Jilly Goolden at our Awards of Excellence evening in Vintners Hall in January 2006 and to celebrate the achievements of the students who had performed so well in their recent WSET exams. The Master made the presentations for the two Distillers' awards. In addition to our London Awards ceremony, I was also delighted to attend the Diploma graduation ceremony in New York before Christmas, and to meet so many US-based WSET graduates going back to the 1990s. I also attended Diploma graduation ceremonies in Germany and Austria. The development of WSET’s international business grows apace, with the accreditation of new international ‘Approved Program Providers’ in Hungary, Russia, China and Spain. We are particularly delighted to have opened our first centre in mainland China and the development in Spain opens up the potential, through producing materials in the Spanish language, for South America – another market where we opened our first centre in 2005/06. We have plans to roll out the Professional Certificate in Spirits to many of these new centres once they have become established. The UK development team, under David Hunter, has made significant progress in the multiple pub groups and the major UK retailers, by stressing the benefits of educational at point-of-sale, and therefore point-of-purchase. The ‘Value of Education’ research, which we commissioned last year, has been a prime factor in convincing training managers that a relatively low investment in training can yield a very high return. In the quantitative research, the return on investment yielded an impressive 800% over a 3-month period. In a market where there is a proliferation of price promotions, the industry is now realising that the only way to break out of this vicious circle is for education, either at point of purchase, or at consumer level, to drive up average spend. So, in addition to our own ‘Value of Education’ research, I was delighted to see examples of research carried out by Wine Intelligence, (who share our offices at the International Wine & Spirit Centre). This clearly demonstrated that the more product knowledge UK
consumers have, the more likely they are to spend more on a bottle or glass of wine or spirit.
We are pleased to be working with the Wine and Spirit Trade Association and their new Chief Executive, Jeremy Beadles, on helping to spread the Social Responsibility message. This is an issue facing the whole of the alcoholic drinks industry and we, as the educational arm of the wine and spirit industry, need to play our part. From August 2006 we will be including a session on Responsible Consumption of alcohol and Social Responsibility within our lower level courses. Tying in with this initiative, you will start to notice the Drinkaware.com logo appearing on all our material. This, again, is part of our commitment to bringing the responsible drinking message to as many people as possible and I would urge you to visit the website. Tying in with this theme, we were delighted to host the AIM (Alcohol in Moderation) Forum at the International Wine & Spirit Centre in March. In addition to AIM, we are very pleased that our facilities are being used by more and more organisations within the wine and spirits industries, thereby enhancing the reputation of our new building as the hub of the industry. Please ask us if you would like to hire any or our rooms for tastings, presentations, meetings or other events. The Master, Wardens and Learned Clerk are currently reviewing all the Company’s memorabilia with a view to locating it in a locked cabinet on display in our new room.
Insert photo
Colin Failes at work on the mural
A LIFE ON THE OCEAN WAVES! HMS MONTROSE The first HMS Montrose was an Admiralty Design class destroyer completed on 14 September 1919. She joined the Mediterranean Fleet where she served for the next ten years. She returned home in 1929 to serve with the Home Fleet. In th 1939 she was allocated as leader of the 17 Destroyer Flotilla, th stationed with the Western Approaches. On 27 May 1940 she assisted in the evacuation of Dunkirk and lifted 925 troops before being damaged. HMS Montrose was engaged in protecting minesweepers and convoys to North Russia. Her final action was supporting the Normandy landings where she was badly damaged and had to be towed back and was de-commissioned in 1946. The present Montrose is the eighth ship bearing the name and is a Type 23 Duke Class ASW frigate. She was built at Yarrow st Shipbuilders on the Clyde and launched on 31 July 1992. HMS Montrose is a member of the Devonport Flotilla and is based in Plymouth. The frigate is the mainstay of the surface fleet in the modern Royal Navy with a complement of 180 and cost £130 million to construct. We welcomed the Commanding Officer, Commander Andy Webb to our April 2005 Court Dinner, where he was guest of honour. He has since been awarded a MBE for his efforts in the well reported rescue of a Canadian submarine in the Atlantic. Commander Andy Watt has since succeeded him. Liaison with the Company is through Lt Cdr Paddy Parvin, the Engineer Officer. They are both to be invited as our guests to the November Installation dinner. The ship has been on deployment in the Gulf and has recently returned to the UK in March 2006. The Company has sponsored a Distillers’ Trophy competition for a series of deck games on ship. They include Death (but more normally called Deck) Hockey, Bucketball and Brighter Cricket. The Trophy was won in 2006 by the Petty Officers mess. We don’t think this is deck (otherwise known as death) hockey but it’s one of their sports! Additionally we were given a detailed tour of the engine room, of all the weapons on board which included firing machine guns which delivered 1,000 rounds per minute and a Gatling gun which delivered 6,000 rounds a minute! We were taken on operational flights in the ship's helicopter, witnessed a night time refuelling at sea, were invited for drinks in the Chief Petty Officers mess, the Petty Officers mess and the 26 man Seaman’s mess. We were victualled in the Wardroom and dined twice in the Captain's cabin with Tony Watt who was absolutely delightful.” Note: There are from time to time opportunities to sail with HMS Montrose, whilst in service. Liaison is through Assistant David Raines and if any liverymen are interested please contact David. Recently liverymen John Jessop and Peter Doran joined HMS Montrose in Iraklion and sailed to Barcelona. Their report follows: “Now that we have got rid of our sea legs this is a shortish note to report that Peter Doran and I had the most marvellous and memorable time on board HMS Montrose. We had a full programme of things to do every day and were spoilt rotten by the officers and crew from the captain downwards. I kept a diary of each day's events, which included being on the bridge when entering and leaving harbour and whenever there was anything of note to witness. We were spectators at the somewhat vicious game of deck hockey after which one team member was confined to the sick bay with 10 stitches in his knee! We presented the Distillers’ Trophy and cheque to the winning Petty Officers mess and it was gratefully received.
A serious game of deck cricket taking place. Apparently the ball is huge (not in picture) and hence cannot be hit over the side of the ship!
APRIL DINNER A dinner was held on Wednesday 26 April 2006 at Vintners Hall. Mr Bryan Burrough made the speech of welcome to the guests and mentioned the new liverymen. The Rt. Hon The Lord Hope of Craighead PC replied on behalf of the guests, mentioning that he grew up with the Master in Edinburgh. The Master, with great thought for his fellow dinners, kept his speech short in order that the members of the Livery and their guests could continue the evening in the stirrup bar.
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LIVERY NEWS Peter Hasslacher: th On Thursday 30 March 2006 a Service of Thanksgiving was held at St Lawrence Jewry to celebrate the life of Peter Hasslacher, who died last Christmas. He was a Past Master of the Company and well-known and much admired wine merchant with Deinhards. Peter was a great supporter of the Company and our functions and will be missed by his many livery friends. Nigel Strofton: Past Master Nigel Strofton successfully represented the England over 60's hockey team last summer in both the European and World Championships and has been selected again this year. Elephant Polo: Liveryman Torquhil Campbell, better known as The Duke of Argyll, again captained the successful Scottish team in this year’s World Elephant Polo championships, sponsored by Chivas Regal. The tournament held in Nepal produced an exciting final with Scotland scoring the winning goal with two minutes of play left.
The Master congratulating His Excellency the Ambassador of Chile Senor Mariano Fernandez Amunategui upon becoming an honorary liveryman of the Company LIVERY MEMBERSHIP ADMISSIONS TO THE FREEDOM AND LIVERY Since the last edition of the Distillate, the following have been admitted into the Company: Freedom: Mr Christopher Mason Mr Alex Turner Nicholas Bracknell Dr Matthew Polli Mr Aubrey Ngcungama Mrs Christine Gillie Livery: Mrs Geraldine Coates Mrs Vanessa Wright Mr Matthew Johnson Mr Patrick Darlington Mr Rupert Pritchett Mr Paul Hobson Mr Neil McKerrow
Insert elephant polo picture
Inter-livery Pancake Race: The Worshipful Company of Distillers team entered the interlivery Pancake race organised by the Poulterers’ Company, in aid of the Lord Mayor’s Charity. Twenty-four teams from different livery companies competed in the Courtyard of the Guildhall on a chilly February morning. The Distillers team consisted of the Master, David Grant and three liverymen: Robert Cecil, Susannah Grant and, as our Mad Hatter, The Duke of Argyll. The Distillers Past Master and the Chief Commoner, Christopher Mitchell, judged the best Mad Hatter’s headgear. Three of our teams were knocked out in the first round, but the Duke of Argyll, sporting a fine bonnet with red hair attached, made it to the semi-final. The final was hotly contested between the Hackney Carriage Drivers and the Clock workers. The latter won
Scan in photo
Three generations of liverymen, with Past Master Vincent Larvan, son-in-law Peter Johnston and grandson Matthew Johnson
Susannah Grant sets out in her heat
ALCOHOL ABUSE DEBATE CORPORATION OF LONDON LIVERY COURSES These “briefings” will be held at Innholders’ Hall on 5 October, th th 14 November 2006 and 13 February 2007. They are aimed at freemen and liverymen to give a short introduction to the work of the Corporation, especially in relation to the Livery companies. They start at 5:00pm and finish at 7:00pm followed by a light buffet. For further information please contact the Clerk. WEBSITE The design of the Company’s website has been completed and is now about to go online. Its purpose is primarily for information about the Company and dates for forthcoming events. Hopefully it will be of particular use to guests attending Company functions. The address is www.distillers.org.uk GOLFING SECTION The golf matches for the forthcoming year are normally all day, comprising of a morning round followed by an excellent luncheon and a few casual holes thereafter. We have already played a halved match against the Vintners, an inevitable result after loosing 5-1 two years ago and winning 5-1 last year! We nd also held our own golf day on 2 June at Burhill. Other Dates: th Monday 13 July: Painter Stainers Company at Tandridge. th Tuesday 8 Aug: Brewers Company at Denham. th Friday 7 July: Liveryman of West Kent Golf Club All those members wishing to join the Golfing Society should contact Past Master Budge Brooks on 020 8398 1010. FORTHCOMING EVENTS AND DATES 8 June 9 June th 5 July th 13 July th 8 Aug nd 2 Oct 15th Nov th 8 Dec 2007 th 8 Feb th 25 Apr rd th 3 to 8 June
th th th
Some 20 liverymen gathered in the Distillers room at the WSET in April to debate the contentious subject of the compatibility in our industry of innovation and social responsibility. Tony Mair led off with a well prepared and researched speech allowing, as he said, “the facts speak for themselves”. He drew attention to the decline of the Ready to Drink (RTD) sector in the last year or so; and to the greater volume of beer than any other type of drink consumed in what might be called the “binge situation”. Much discussion took place over the role of, and the degree of responsibility, exercised by “fashionable” bars and clubs frequented by younger drinkers. Alex Parker’s expert testimony proved particularly telling. The drinking habits and where they stemmed from of younger drinkers also attracted a great deal of discussion. The Industry’s efforts to make drinks more instantly appealing in taste was seen as an unarguably sensible principle, resulting as it did in a much wider assortment of drinks being available than was the case before the 1980’s. It could scarcely be expected to preserve the “pain barrier” many older drinkers had to go through before getting to like traditional alcoholic drinks. It was the lack of parental control and the lack of retailer control, especially in smaller outlets we were led to believe, coupled with the less responsible activities of what were described by several speakers as the “fringe operators”, which led to these more appealing drinks being consumed by under-age children. After an hour and a half of lively debate, Jean Coussins, chief executive of the Portman Group, left us with her wish list for the industry: • find and market some decent wines at 12% abv or less • get more products into plastic or other glass alternative containers • develop marketing campaigns to promote eating and drinking together • promote the message via brand advertising that drinking to excess is socially unacceptable. Finally our thanks go to the Master for initiating, chairing and organising a most interesting and enjoyable evening. COMPANY TIES Two new designs of tie are now available, which have been greatly admired. One is for City use whilst the other is regarded as a summer tie and is particularly striking. Each cost £20 although the two can be secured for the bargain price of £30. All profits go to the Company’s charity fund DISTILLATE If anyone has any news or stories for use in the Distillate, please contact the Editor, Robert Hobson. T: 020 8467 8656, Email hobsonrobert@hotmail.com All enquiries to The Clerk
Visit to Glenfiddich & Balvenie distilleries, Dufftown Court meeting and dinner, Edinburgh Visit Royal Hospital and Physic Garden Golf v Painter Stainers Golf v Brewers Ladies Banquet, Mansion House Installation Court meeting and dinner Carol Service and supper Court meeting and luncheon Court meeting and dinner Court visit to Bordeaux
THE MASTERS REPORT February st Lunch at the Old Bailey 1 6th Memorial Service G Hawkins-Byass th 16 Dinner Armourers and Braziers th 28 Livery Pancake Race March th 9 Benevolent Dinner th 10 Dinner Cordwainers th 16 Concert and Supper Mercers th 17 Meetings New Club Edinburgh th 20 Dyslexia Institute st 21 Lunch Tallow Chandlers Dinner Apothecaries rd 23 College of Arms Supper th 28 Museum of London th 29 Dinner House of Lords th 30 memorial Service P Hasslacher st 31 United Guilds Service St Paul’s April rd 3 Luncheon Marketers th 6 Livery Debate
The Worshipful Company of Distillers
71 Lincoln’s Inn Fields London WC2A 3JF Tel: 020 7405 7091
The Distillate
The Worshipful Company of Distillers
Summer 2006
INSTALLATION DINNER At the Court meeting on Wednesday 16 November 2005 the then Master Christopher Hayman presented a silver goblet to Past Master Mr Christopher Mitchell. This marked his appointment as Chief Commoner and he drew to the Court's attention the fact that Christopher Mitchell had served the City as a Common Councillor for over 35 years.
th
The new Master, David Grant, takes the oath of office COMPANY BANNER The Company’s livery banner has recently been rediscovered in the cellars of Vintners’ Hall, although in desperate need of renovation. Our new Master, David Grant, approached the London School of Needlework at Hampton Court, who restored the banner to its former glory. It can now be seen at every livery function. Our thanks go to the Master for his generosity in funding the restoration.
The Master and Chief Commoner Christopher Mitchell in front of the Company’s refurbished banner At the conclusion of the meeting David Grant was installed as the new Master in front of the Court, members of the Livery and the Master’s family. At the same ceremony the new Wardens were appointed: Upper Warden Keith Garrard Middle Warden Derek Plant Renter Warden Charles Maxwell Following an excellent dinner accompanied by fine wines, Assistant Mr Anthony Westnedge OBE proposed the health of our guests with response by the Master’s guest, Mr Patrick MacDougall. The Master replied and invited the assembled diners to join him at the stirrup bar. The Master’s other guest was Mr Peter LeeJones Master of the Brewers Company
Photo to be scanned
The Master, David Grant, with members of the London School of Needlework, who carried out the renovation
by computer generated images using the special equipment installed in the room. The talk was followed by a buffet, which rounded off a most enjoyable evening. LORD MAYOR’S SHOW For the first time in living memory, the Worshipful Company of Distillers had their own Float in the Lord Mayor’s Show, held on th Saturday 12 November 2005. FEBRUARY LUNCHEON AND EDUCATION AWARDS On Thursday 9 February 2006, after an excellent luncheon, Assistant Mr Allan Cheesman welcomed our guests, whilst the Master’s guest Nigel Rugman responded with an extremely entertaining and amusing speech. The Master’s speech highlighted the tremendous success of the Company through the popular education programme with significant financial resources being allocated to this cause. The Master continued by explaining how the Company would work with the drinks industry to provide educational opportunities as well as extending the Company’s social events. In this connection a questionnaire has been circulated to ascertain everyone’s hobbies and interests. The Master’s other guests were Roger de Pilkyngton, Master of Marketers’ Company, His Excellency the Chilean Ambassador Senor Mariano Fernandez Amunategui and finally Graham Sutton, the Master of the Coopers’ Company. The luncheon concluded with the Master presenting the annual education awards to Mr Tim Watson WSET Professional Certificate in Spirits, Ms Christine Gellie WSET Diploma and Dr Matthew Polli MSc Post Graduate Diploma from the International Centre for Brewing & Distilling at Heriot-Watt University.
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The float with the Learned Clerk and Pat enjoying a unique experience. The Master looks pretty happy too! Besides the excitement of taking part in the show, much preparation work had taken place during the months in the buildup to the Show day. The Pageant Master had to approve both the design and the size of the Float, which required careful planning. The Float was designed with the help of Julia Hamilton of CMAS using, in part, the mural design completed by Colin Failes in the WSET’s Distillers room. The Float was helped by the generosity of Julian Temperley who provided the still, William Grant and Sons for the casks and an enterprising team who built the bar for us. The whole Float was constructed at the Thames Distillery in Clapham the day before, thanks to Charles Maxwell.
Mr Tim Watson and Mr Matthew Polli receiving their scholarships from the Master
The Float approaches St Paul’s The whole procession consisted of some 140 floats, bands and exhibits. It was a great day enjoyed by all on the Float and one that will be long remembered. Christopher sincerely thanks all those involved, especially his Wardens and David Raines. In addition our thanks go to Christopher’s company, Hayman & Co, for funding the venture.
DISTILLERS LECTURE On Monday 7 November 2005 Shaun Harrison represented to members of the Company the 2005 Distillers lecture he had given to students at the ICBD at the Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. It took place in the new Distillers room at the WSET headquarters in Bermondsey Street. Shaun’s very interesting talk outlined the history of Plymouth gin from 1793 to the present time. His presentation was supported
th
The Master with Ms Christine Gellie, the WSET Diploma winner
Photo of mural to be inserted
A photograph of the mural at the WSET painted by Colin Failes A MESSAGE FROM IAN HARRIS, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, WINE & SPIRIT EDUCATION TRUST I would like to place on record my thanks to those companies and individuals that supported us, both financially and spiritually, in our move. In particular I would like to thank the Worshipful Company of Distillers who helped us create “The Distillers' Room”, which hopefully will become a second home to the Court and Livery. I was very pleased to be able to thank so many of them in person at the party we held to mark the official opening of the International Wine & Spirit Centre, which was performed by Jancis Robinson MW. Jancis remains a great ambassador for the WSET and I am very grateful for all the nice things she says about us! I was delighted to share the stage with Jilly Goolden at our Awards of Excellence evening in Vintners Hall in January 2006 and to celebrate the achievements of the students who had performed so well in their recent WSET exams. The Master made the presentations for the two Distillers' awards. In addition to our London Awards ceremony, I was also delighted to attend the Diploma graduation ceremony in New York before Christmas, and to meet so many US-based WSET graduates going back to the 1990s. I also attended Diploma graduation ceremonies in Germany and Austria. The development of WSET’s international business grows apace, with the accreditation of new international ‘Approved Program Providers’ in Hungary, Russia, China and Spain. We are particularly delighted to have opened our first centre in mainland China and the development in Spain opens up the potential, through producing materials in the Spanish language, for South America – another market where we opened our first centre in 2005/06. We have plans to roll out the Professional Certificate in Spirits to many of these new centres once they have become established. The UK development team, under David Hunter, has made significant progress in the multiple pub groups and the major UK retailers, by stressing the benefits of educational at point-of-sale, and therefore point-of-purchase. The ‘Value of Education’ research, which we commissioned last year, has been a prime factor in convincing training managers that a relatively low investment in training can yield a very high return. In the quantitative research, the return on investment yielded an impressive 800% over a 3-month period. In a market where there is a proliferation of price promotions, the industry is now realising that the only way to break out of this vicious circle is for education, either at point of purchase, or at consumer level, to drive up average spend. So, in addition to our own ‘Value of Education’ research, I was delighted to see examples of research carried out by Wine Intelligence, (who share our offices at the International Wine & Spirit Centre). This clearly demonstrated that the more product knowledge UK
consumers have, the more likely they are to spend more on a bottle or glass of wine or spirit.
We are pleased to be working with the Wine and Spirit Trade Association and their new Chief Executive, Jeremy Beadles, on helping to spread the Social Responsibility message. This is an issue facing the whole of the alcoholic drinks industry and we, as the educational arm of the wine and spirit industry, need to play our part. From August 2006 we will be including a session on Responsible Consumption of alcohol and Social Responsibility within our lower level courses. Tying in with this initiative, you will start to notice the Drinkaware.com logo appearing on all our material. This, again, is part of our commitment to bringing the responsible drinking message to as many people as possible and I would urge you to visit the website. Tying in with this theme, we were delighted to host the AIM (Alcohol in Moderation) Forum at the International Wine & Spirit Centre in March. In addition to AIM, we are very pleased that our facilities are being used by more and more organisations within the wine and spirits industries, thereby enhancing the reputation of our new building as the hub of the industry. Please ask us if you would like to hire any or our rooms for tastings, presentations, meetings or other events. The Master, Wardens and Learned Clerk are currently reviewing all the Company’s memorabilia with a view to locating it in a locked cabinet on display in our new room.
Insert photo
Colin Failes at work on the mural
A LIFE ON THE OCEAN WAVES! HMS MONTROSE The first HMS Montrose was an Admiralty Design class destroyer completed on 14 September 1919. She joined the Mediterranean Fleet where she served for the next ten years. She returned home in 1929 to serve with the Home Fleet. In th 1939 she was allocated as leader of the 17 Destroyer Flotilla, th stationed with the Western Approaches. On 27 May 1940 she assisted in the evacuation of Dunkirk and lifted 925 troops before being damaged. HMS Montrose was engaged in protecting minesweepers and convoys to North Russia. Her final action was supporting the Normandy landings where she was badly damaged and had to be towed back and was de-commissioned in 1946. The present Montrose is the eighth ship bearing the name and is a Type 23 Duke Class ASW frigate. She was built at Yarrow st Shipbuilders on the Clyde and launched on 31 July 1992. HMS Montrose is a member of the Devonport Flotilla and is based in Plymouth. The frigate is the mainstay of the surface fleet in the modern Royal Navy with a complement of 180 and cost £130 million to construct. We welcomed the Commanding Officer, Commander Andy Webb to our April 2005 Court Dinner, where he was guest of honour. He has since been awarded a MBE for his efforts in the well reported rescue of a Canadian submarine in the Atlantic. Commander Andy Watt has since succeeded him. Liaison with the Company is through Lt Cdr Paddy Parvin, the Engineer Officer. They are both to be invited as our guests to the November Installation dinner. The ship has been on deployment in the Gulf and has recently returned to the UK in March 2006. The Company has sponsored a Distillers’ Trophy competition for a series of deck games on ship. They include Death (but more normally called Deck) Hockey, Bucketball and Brighter Cricket. The Trophy was won in 2006 by the Petty Officers mess. We don’t think this is deck (otherwise known as death) hockey but it’s one of their sports! Additionally we were given a detailed tour of the engine room, of all the weapons on board which included firing machine guns which delivered 1,000 rounds per minute and a Gatling gun which delivered 6,000 rounds a minute! We were taken on operational flights in the ship's helicopter, witnessed a night time refuelling at sea, were invited for drinks in the Chief Petty Officers mess, the Petty Officers mess and the 26 man Seaman’s mess. We were victualled in the Wardroom and dined twice in the Captain's cabin with Tony Watt who was absolutely delightful.” Note: There are from time to time opportunities to sail with HMS Montrose, whilst in service. Liaison is through Assistant David Raines and if any liverymen are interested please contact David. Recently liverymen John Jessop and Peter Doran joined HMS Montrose in Iraklion and sailed to Barcelona. Their report follows: “Now that we have got rid of our sea legs this is a shortish note to report that Peter Doran and I had the most marvellous and memorable time on board HMS Montrose. We had a full programme of things to do every day and were spoilt rotten by the officers and crew from the captain downwards. I kept a diary of each day's events, which included being on the bridge when entering and leaving harbour and whenever there was anything of note to witness. We were spectators at the somewhat vicious game of deck hockey after which one team member was confined to the sick bay with 10 stitches in his knee! We presented the Distillers’ Trophy and cheque to the winning Petty Officers mess and it was gratefully received.
A serious game of deck cricket taking place. Apparently the ball is huge (not in picture) and hence cannot be hit over the side of the ship!
APRIL DINNER A dinner was held on Wednesday 26 April 2006 at Vintners Hall. Mr Bryan Burrough made the speech of welcome to the guests and mentioned the new liverymen. The Rt. Hon The Lord Hope of Craighead PC replied on behalf of the guests, mentioning that he grew up with the Master in Edinburgh. The Master, with great thought for his fellow dinners, kept his speech short in order that the members of the Livery and their guests could continue the evening in the stirrup bar.
th
LIVERY NEWS Peter Hasslacher: th On Thursday 30 March 2006 a Service of Thanksgiving was held at St Lawrence Jewry to celebrate the life of Peter Hasslacher, who died last Christmas. He was a Past Master of the Company and well-known and much admired wine merchant with Deinhards. Peter was a great supporter of the Company and our functions and will be missed by his many livery friends. Nigel Strofton: Past Master Nigel Strofton successfully represented the England over 60's hockey team last summer in both the European and World Championships and has been selected again this year. Elephant Polo: Liveryman Torquhil Campbell, better known as The Duke of Argyll, again captained the successful Scottish team in this year’s World Elephant Polo championships, sponsored by Chivas Regal. The tournament held in Nepal produced an exciting final with Scotland scoring the winning goal with two minutes of play left.
The Master congratulating His Excellency the Ambassador of Chile Senor Mariano Fernandez Amunategui upon becoming an honorary liveryman of the Company LIVERY MEMBERSHIP ADMISSIONS TO THE FREEDOM AND LIVERY Since the last edition of the Distillate, the following have been admitted into the Company: Freedom: Mr Christopher Mason Mr Alex Turner Nicholas Bracknell Dr Matthew Polli Mr Aubrey Ngcungama Mrs Christine Gillie Livery: Mrs Geraldine Coates Mrs Vanessa Wright Mr Matthew Johnson Mr Patrick Darlington Mr Rupert Pritchett Mr Paul Hobson Mr Neil McKerrow
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Inter-livery Pancake Race: The Worshipful Company of Distillers team entered the interlivery Pancake race organised by the Poulterers’ Company, in aid of the Lord Mayor’s Charity. Twenty-four teams from different livery companies competed in the Courtyard of the Guildhall on a chilly February morning. The Distillers team consisted of the Master, David Grant and three liverymen: Robert Cecil, Susannah Grant and, as our Mad Hatter, The Duke of Argyll. The Distillers Past Master and the Chief Commoner, Christopher Mitchell, judged the best Mad Hatter’s headgear. Three of our teams were knocked out in the first round, but the Duke of Argyll, sporting a fine bonnet with red hair attached, made it to the semi-final. The final was hotly contested between the Hackney Carriage Drivers and the Clock workers. The latter won
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Three generations of liverymen, with Past Master Vincent Larvan, son-in-law Peter Johnston and grandson Matthew Johnson
Susannah Grant sets out in her heat
ALCOHOL ABUSE DEBATE CORPORATION OF LONDON LIVERY COURSES These “briefings” will be held at Innholders’ Hall on 5 October, th th 14 November 2006 and 13 February 2007. They are aimed at freemen and liverymen to give a short introduction to the work of the Corporation, especially in relation to the Livery companies. They start at 5:00pm and finish at 7:00pm followed by a light buffet. For further information please contact the Clerk. WEBSITE The design of the Company’s website has been completed and is now about to go online. Its purpose is primarily for information about the Company and dates for forthcoming events. Hopefully it will be of particular use to guests attending Company functions. The address is www.distillers.org.uk GOLFING SECTION The golf matches for the forthcoming year are normally all day, comprising of a morning round followed by an excellent luncheon and a few casual holes thereafter. We have already played a halved match against the Vintners, an inevitable result after loosing 5-1 two years ago and winning 5-1 last year! We nd also held our own golf day on 2 June at Burhill. Other Dates: th Monday 13 July: Painter Stainers Company at Tandridge. th Tuesday 8 Aug: Brewers Company at Denham. th Friday 7 July: Liveryman of West Kent Golf Club All those members wishing to join the Golfing Society should contact Past Master Budge Brooks on 020 8398 1010. FORTHCOMING EVENTS AND DATES 8 June 9 June th 5 July th 13 July th 8 Aug nd 2 Oct 15th Nov th 8 Dec 2007 th 8 Feb th 25 Apr rd th 3 to 8 June
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Some 20 liverymen gathered in the Distillers room at the WSET in April to debate the contentious subject of the compatibility in our industry of innovation and social responsibility. Tony Mair led off with a well prepared and researched speech allowing, as he said, “the facts speak for themselves”. He drew attention to the decline of the Ready to Drink (RTD) sector in the last year or so; and to the greater volume of beer than any other type of drink consumed in what might be called the “binge situation”. Much discussion took place over the role of, and the degree of responsibility, exercised by “fashionable” bars and clubs frequented by younger drinkers. Alex Parker’s expert testimony proved particularly telling. The drinking habits and where they stemmed from of younger drinkers also attracted a great deal of discussion. The Industry’s efforts to make drinks more instantly appealing in taste was seen as an unarguably sensible principle, resulting as it did in a much wider assortment of drinks being available than was the case before the 1980’s. It could scarcely be expected to preserve the “pain barrier” many older drinkers had to go through before getting to like traditional alcoholic drinks. It was the lack of parental control and the lack of retailer control, especially in smaller outlets we were led to believe, coupled with the less responsible activities of what were described by several speakers as the “fringe operators”, which led to these more appealing drinks being consumed by under-age children. After an hour and a half of lively debate, Jean Coussins, chief executive of the Portman Group, left us with her wish list for the industry: • find and market some decent wines at 12% abv or less • get more products into plastic or other glass alternative containers • develop marketing campaigns to promote eating and drinking together • promote the message via brand advertising that drinking to excess is socially unacceptable. Finally our thanks go to the Master for initiating, chairing and organising a most interesting and enjoyable evening. COMPANY TIES Two new designs of tie are now available, which have been greatly admired. One is for City use whilst the other is regarded as a summer tie and is particularly striking. Each cost £20 although the two can be secured for the bargain price of £30. All profits go to the Company’s charity fund DISTILLATE If anyone has any news or stories for use in the Distillate, please contact the Editor, Robert Hobson. T: 020 8467 8656, Email hobsonrobert@hotmail.com All enquiries to The Clerk
Visit to Glenfiddich & Balvenie distilleries, Dufftown Court meeting and dinner, Edinburgh Visit Royal Hospital and Physic Garden Golf v Painter Stainers Golf v Brewers Ladies Banquet, Mansion House Installation Court meeting and dinner Carol Service and supper Court meeting and luncheon Court meeting and dinner Court visit to Bordeaux
THE MASTERS REPORT February st Lunch at the Old Bailey 1 6th Memorial Service G Hawkins-Byass th 16 Dinner Armourers and Braziers th 28 Livery Pancake Race March th 9 Benevolent Dinner th 10 Dinner Cordwainers th 16 Concert and Supper Mercers th 17 Meetings New Club Edinburgh th 20 Dyslexia Institute st 21 Lunch Tallow Chandlers Dinner Apothecaries rd 23 College of Arms Supper th 28 Museum of London th 29 Dinner House of Lords th 30 memorial Service P Hasslacher st 31 United Guilds Service St Paul’s April rd 3 Luncheon Marketers th 6 Livery Debate
The Worshipful Company of Distillers
71 Lincoln’s Inn Fields London WC2A 3JF Tel: 020 7405 7091
