Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers, Master’s Dinner

I attended the Masters’ Dinner of the The Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers Company on April 16 with the Clerk – preceded by a service at St James’s Garlickhythe. It is a lovely little Wren church; also the Needlemakers’ church and I can vouch for the excellence of the music, always.

After the service we went a few steps to the Skinners’ Hall for dinner. You will have heard the phrase “at sixes and sevens”. A version of this phrase has been traced back several centuries but the exact phrase is commonly thought to have resulted from a dispute between The Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors and The Worshipful Company of Skinners when the order of precedence was set in 1515. So in diplomatic fashion a compromise was reached where the precedence changes each year at Easter so each company alternates being at six or seven – the Needlemakers is at 65!

It was an excellent dinner with interesting speeches and very entertaining company. Our two companies both support the Royal School of Needlework and also the Guildhall School of Music and, of course, we had a joint Carol Service last year. It was interesting to hear that early in 2012, in conjunction with the Goldsmiths' Craft and Design Council, the Company sponsored one of the major awards in the fine jewellery section.