The Master’s Voice – A Record of Letters to the Livery Sandra Raine 2025 – 2026

This page features the latest letter from the Master of the Worshipful Company of Plumbers to the Livery, alongside a growing archive of past messages. These letters reflect on the Master’s year in office—sharing milestones, personal reflections, and key developments within the Company and the plumbing industry. Together, they offer a rich and enduring insight into the values, traditions, and leadership of the Worshipful Company, strengthening the connection between the Master and the wider Livery community.

 

Master Sandra Raine

Raine Drops 3 – The Master’s Blog, January 2026

The Christmas and New Year closure was an opportunity for us to compile our Masters break brochure for 8 – 11 June this year in Northumberland & Durham. Look out for general release. The first week in January we were again operating at full throttle. On 6 January, I was a guest at the Masons’ Lunch at Mercer’s Hall and found myself on the top table enjoying the Company of the Master Mason, my second visit to them in just a few weeks.

The following day I joined many other Livery Masters at a reception to say farewell to the Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mullally, before she took up her position as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, the first woman to hold this office in its 1,400-year history. The reception at Guildhall was hosted by The Lady Mayor, Dame Susan Langley.

Lady Mayor & Bishop of London

On 8 January, after a pleasurable New Year lunch with the office team, it was off to Guildhall again for a Freedom Ceremony where, Jonathan Stone, Emmet McParland and Simon Evans, became Freemen of London. We then retired to the City Livery Club for drinks and an informal chat with our new Freemen.

Freedom Ceremony

On Friday 9 January, Ian and I attended the City New Year Service at St Michael Cornhill where we heard from The Lady Mayor and the Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey. This was followed by an informal lunch at Drapers’ Hall.

The following week started with a rather sad occasion. I was honoured to represent the Company and deliver a eulogy at the funeral of my old friend Lvy. Owen O’Neill, a Past President of CIPHE, who passed away last November. One of his last public outings had been as my guest at my installation last October. The wake was an opportunity to meet REME Chatham and Mid-Kent College lecturers.

Lvy Owen O’Neill and me – ‘Plumbers Afloat’ 2014

The next day, 13 January, Ian and I were at Mansion House for a tasting to select the menu for our Annual Banquet on 16 March. I hope you will approve of our choices! It was then to the office for a meeting with members of the Executive and afterwards a quick change to attend the Plaisterers’ Masters and Clerks Dinner at Plaisterers’ Hall. I sat next to the Prime Warden of The Worshipful Company of Shipwrights, a former First Sea Lord. We had a fascinating discussion about world events and defence. Ian, meanwhile, attended another consorts event, this time a gathering of male consorts, where they were joined by Gary Langley, the Mayoral Consort.

My first Court meeting as Master was on 19 January where we clothed two new liverymen, Emmet McParland and Thomas Sterling, and presented a military award to Sgt Chrisopher Canning. It was fantastic to learn of the efforts of 19 Past Masters’ Consorts, organised by Wendy Hamilton, in raising money for Amberley through sponsored walks. Our thanks and congratulations to all who participated. There is still time to donate, contact RW Michael Cooper for a gift aid form. Lunch followed with a change in format from recent years. We limited this lunch to court members, new liverymen, military award winners and stewards to allow greater interaction and discussion on a particular topic. We had a very interesting debate around the table on how we can improve and maintain our contact with the armed forces. I will be following up on the ideas.

Military Award

Court Lunch

New Liverymen

Whilst I was at the Court lunch, Ian was at yet another consorts event, their annual lunch at Ironmongers’ Hall (he seems to have as many functions as I do!)

The following evening, Ian and I attended a fundraising event for Dolma Foundation where I was privileged to be speaking alongside Lord Blunkett. As some of you will be aware, Dolma does a significant amount of work in Nepal investing in education, health and sustainable business. Recently, four volunteers from our Plumbing Professional Development Scheme rose to the challenge and successfully installed a clean water supply to a village in Nepal as part of Dolma’s initiatives. The Plumbers’ Charity supports Dolma and has just donated £7,600 to help continue its important work.

Speaking at Dolma Fundraiser

Dolma Fundraiser

The second event in my social programme, a tour of the Royal Opera House, was on 22 January and another sell-out (in fact, to accommodate as many as we could we had to arrange a second tour to run in parallel!). We enjoyed watching ballet dancers in one of their practise sessions and were treated to seeing part of a rehearsal in the main theatre. Our guides, Marilyn and Alex, were excellent and we had a final talk and Q&A session with Stuart Robinson, Assistant Technical Director. The staff were intrigued to learn about the Plumbers links to the ROH courtesy of Lvy. and former Senior Steward John Carnaby who had repaired an old Jennings toilet in the Bedford box. Guests retired to an enjoyable lunch next door at La Ballerina restaurant. My thanks to steward Mel Gumbs for organising this and to Ian for helping with the arrangements.

ROH Tour

ROH Lunch

25 January saw us at the City of London Club for a traditional Burns Night Supper organised by the Master of The Worshipful Company of Architects. This was a fun evening with about 140 attending, mainly Masters from other companies and their consorts. The Lady Mayor and Sheriffs were also present and joined us in the ceilidh that followed. Some of us were a little rusty with our Scottish country dancing!

Burns Night Supper

Addressing the Haggis

Early the next morning, I was at the Barbican Centre at City St Georges University of London Graduation Ceremony. At the ceremony, the Lady Mayor was installed as Rector of the University with a select bunch of Livery Masters in attendance. What is the collective noun for a group of Masters?

Masters Group at Barbican

My last formal engagement in January was as a guest at The Worshipful Company of Chartered Secretaries Masters’ Lunch at Innholders’ Hall where I enjoyed a delicious lunch of roast beef with all the trimmings. A great opportunity to meet up with some of my fellow Chartered Secretaries

Master with Master Chartered Secretary

Between events were the usual round of Committee and organisational meetings, speech writing and thank you notes and even the occasional opportunity to sleep.

Bookings are now open for our Annual Banquet at Mansion House on 16 March. This year, thanks to the generous support of our sponsors, PEW and HDR, we have been able to hold the price at the same level as last year. We are fortunate in having the Lady Mayor join us and I have secured a best-selling thriller writer, Felix Francis, as our guest speaker. Please come along and bring your friends and colleagues to this superb event. Book early and you could win one of five signed copies of our speaker’s latest novel.

Raine Drops 2 – The Master’s Blog, December 2025

I hope you have all had a very happy Christmas and a relaxing New Year.

As 2025 drew to a close, there were still a number of City and Livery events on the calendar.  On 1 December, Ian and I were invited to a reception at the RAF Museum at Hendon, together with the Clerk and her husband Avi.

RAF Museum

There was a fascinating display of equipment and uniforms through the ages.  It was an opportunity to meet officers from the RAF and has resulted in a useful follow up contact.

Consorts Lunch

Earlier that day, Ian was at the City Consorts Festive Lunch at Innholders Hall, joining past, present and future consorts from many livery companies for their noisy and good-humoured Christmas lunch.

Carol Service

Carol Service

Many of you attended our record-breaking Carol Service on 10 December at St Magnus the Martyr.  The church was close to capacity as we enjoyed mulled wine, with delicious mince pies once again baked by Penny Brooks, Immediate Past Mistress.  The choir were excellent, as was the organ playing by our former Clerk, Lvy. Adrian Mumford.  The service was followed by a fabulous buffet arranged by our stewards which again proved to be excellent value. Huge thanks to the Past Masters, Consorts, Liverymen and Stewards who helped with the clear up and to Fr Philip for allowing us use of St Magnus.

Royal Society of St George Christmas Banquet

Royal Society of St George Christmas Banquet

On 12 December, Ian and I attended the Royal Society of St George Christmas Banquet at Guildhall. It was a delight to see many Masters, civic dignitaries and Company members, including Alderman Prem Goyal CBE.  We had a fabulous meal followed by carol singing led by the Scholars and Voices of St Brides, Fleet Street. N.B. Master without a sling!

RAF Cadet Dinner

RAF Cadet Dinner

The following evening, we were both at the RAF Club in Piccadilly at the 1147 (Barking) Squadron, our affiliated Cadet Squadron, Annual Dinner.  The dinner was also attended by PM Air Cdre Paul Nash OBE, Honorary President of the Squadron, Lvy. Air Cdre Barbara Cooper, former Commandant of the Air Cadets and our Clerk, Debbie Abergil.  We were very impressed by the confidence of these cadets, a great credit to Squadron CO Flight Lieutenant Sulaiman Faisal, the officers and civilian instructors of the Squadron.

Dickens Performance

Dickens Performance

Carols at Royal Exchange

On 17 December, In the presence of the Lady Mayor, we attended a splendid and rather unique performance of A Christmas Carol by Mark and Oliver Dickens, direct descendants of Charles Dickens, at the Old Library in the Lloyds Building.  All proceeds from the performance went to The Lord Mayor’s Appeal.  We then adjourned to the Royal Exchange to sing carols under the Christmas Tree and to enjoy mulled wine and mince pies courtesy of Fortnum & Mason.

Masons Awards

My final event of 2025 was the Masons Awards at Mercers Hall on 18 December, with HRH The Duke of Gloucester.

We had the last round of committee meetings for 2025 during the month.  After a short but very relaxing break over Christmas, it was back to work preparing for events in January.

Our next social event is on 22 January 2026, a tour of the Royal Opera House.  This sold out within 48 hours of launching.  However, we managed to arrange a second guide and so have been able to accommodate additional numbers.  There are still a very few places left if you would like to tour this famous venue.

Raine Drops – The Master’s Blog November 25

It was wonderful to see so many of you at my Installation. It was a full-on day ending with dinner at the Grocers Hall as a guest of the Musicians Company. Those of you who attended the Installation Lunch would have heard me say during my speech that I was going to throw myself into the role. Well, five days after my installation, I did just that! I took a tumble at Mansion House, no alcohol involved, and fractured my humerus, although I found it far from amusing. Eating with one hand, is a great way to keep the pounds from piling on but not one you will find in any diet book.

A mere broken bone did not stop Ian & I from enjoying a fabulous evening that same week as guests at the Installation Dinner for the Worshipful Company of Builders Merchants held at the spectacular Merchant Taylors Hall on 24 October.

The first social event in my calendar was on 28 October, a splendid sell-out tour of the Houses of Parliament, kindly hosted by Lvy. Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate. He also arranged for Lord Young of Cookham, a Deputy Lord Speaker, to join us for tea which was an added bonus.

The same evening, Ian and I attended a reception at Wizardry in Wood, a fascinating display of woodcraft arranged by the Worshipful Company of Turners.

My busiest week so far started on 3 November when I was privileged to join Masters from every Livery Company at the Garden of Remembrance Service at St Pauls’. In a moving ceremony, the Lord Mayor led us in the planting of crosses to commemorate the fallen. I was honoured to plant a cross on behalf of the Plumbers Company in memory of those who gave their lives so that we could enjoy the freedom we have today.

I then joined many of the Masters for lunch at Grocers Hall. The day rounded off with a Service of Thanksgiving for the out-going Lord Mayor, Alderman Alistair King, at St Stephens Walbrook.

The only fireworks for me came from the witty repartee on 5 November, as a guest at the Court Lunch of the Worshipful Company of Carpenters seated next to the Master Carpenter, Laurence Mallinson. In the evening, I was a guest of the Worshipful Company of Gardeners at their Autumn Dinner at Vintners Hall. Both events provided opportunities to meet and see their students/apprentices acknowledged and awarded. Is it time for the Plumbers to think about providing such an opportunity?

On 6 November, Ian and I attended the Horners’ Lecture at the Royal Society of Medicine. Dr Alicia Chrysostomou gave a compelling talk on the use of plastics and in particular dispelled common misunderstandings and myths, often presented as facts re recyclability.

On Friday 7 November, I joined many other Livery Masters at the Silent Ceremony where Alderwoman Dame Susan Langley was installed as the 697th Mayor, only the third woman to take the role and the first to adopt the title, Lady Mayor. This solemn service dates back more than 800 years and is a poignant reminder of preservation of our history and tradition.

It is often said that every cloud has a silver lining. I would have been walking with the Plumbers in the Lady Mayor’s Show on 8 November. However, as soon as Dame Susan heard of my ‘armless’ mishap, she kindly invited Ian and I to join her as guests in the grandstand at Mansion House. Following an enjoyable Mansion House breakfast, we had a superb view of the entire parade as it passed. We saw many friends from the Company in the parade and the crowd.

The Ladle Dinner on 11 November was the usual informal friendly event. Chaired by the outgoing Senior Steward, Assistant Kevin Thomas, I managed to serve soup one handed without spilling any, despite the reservations of our Clerk! IPM Charles Brooks provided one of his usual well-polished speeches, a fitting tribute to his time as Master.

I was privileged on 18 November to be invited to lunch with the Judges at the Old Bailey by Sheriff Alderman Robert Hughes-Penney. Judges make great dining companions and after interesting discussions over lunch with a select group of guests, I was able to sit in on one of the cases. The lady judge presiding who sat next to me at lunch was about my height. She was in full control and took no nonsense from the barristers. Clearly, she is one of those little things sent to try us! Groan!!

After attending the Annual PMWT Trustees’ Meeting on 19 November at Amberley, I travelled to London for the Lady Mayor’s Address at Mansion House where Alderwoman Dame Susan Langley set ambitious plans for the year ahead to ‘unsquare’ the square mile.

Following various committee meetings, my last event in November was on Friday 28th as a guest at the Broad Street Ward Club Civic Lunch in the Guildhall Crypt in the presence of the Sheriffs.

Sleep is in short supply as the business of the Company, new projects/planning, attending civic and other livery company events, social programme, Masters break finalisation, writing speeches and thank you notes still must be done but I am greatly enjoying the buzz of it all. Ian’s input is invaluable.

Look out for the flyer for the next social event on 22 January 2026, a tour of the Royal Opera House.