Belated report of Christmas Festivities

Given the vageries of the late December weather and the Clerk's almost immediate flight to even worse weather in the United States (where, at least, they have a very effective snow ploughing regime) this report has been a long time in coming. Sadly there are no photographs to illustrate the happy gathering of members of the Company and their opposite numbers from the Furniture Makers' Company at song and supper in the Church of St Mary-le-Bow and at table in the Furniture Makers' Hall in Austin Friars.

The service was unremarkable apart from the facts that the sermon was preached by the Reverend Oliver Learmont - an old friend of the Master and there were a few unusual readings. The first was an extract from a letter of Bishop Leo of Rome to Bishop Flavian dated AD449. In the times of Bishop Leo the Great there were disgreements about the correct way to state the truth that Jesus Christ is both God and man. It was this letter (known as the Tome of Leo) written to Bishop Flavian of Constantinople, in which he affirmed that Christ has two Natures in one Person. The other two were poems - one by Richard Crashaw (1613 -49), the other from Sir John Betjeman.While it is accepted that those who preside over City of London Churches are subjected to rather a lot of Carol services in the run up to Christmas and look for opportunities to introduce a bit of variety, there were some in the congregation who felt sad that the traditional readings had been dispensed with.

The supper which followed at Furniure Makers' Hall was, as usual, a convivial affair. The Architects were heavily outnumbered by Furniture Makers this time - perhaps beacuse of the wearther, perhaps the distance between church and hall or perhaps because of escalating prices. Perhaps a combinbation of all three. Watch this space.