As I reflect on my year as Master there are some common themes.

The great companionship of my Paviors Family. Only last week we enjoyed a fascinating technical visit at the site of the London Museum. Our more senior members giving insight into working on the project some 30 years ago and more recent tales of the trials and tribulations of the planning process.

The fellowship of support from Lady Paviors as we undertook the Masters Challenge around an assault course in Surrey. Not for the feint hearted but we were all very proud of ourselves and had a lot of laughs.

The Mistress and I thoroughly enjoyed supporting the up and coming Paviors Ski Team at the inter Livery Ski Competition in Morzine and we are all very chuffed to have Liam Charalambou on the podium! Watch this space for future success.

Apprenticeship was one of my core themes and it has been a delight to work with more students at the London Construction Academy, celebrating our ten year anniversary. Our branded scheme with the Construction Youth Trust meant that 40 Paviors were involved in working with young people from 16 – 18 from our city schools and it was truly inspiring to see how much they gained from the experience. This week, it was a great pleasure to hand out three awards at the Master Certificate Scheme sponsored by the Construction Livery Group, to our own Sharon Field Clarke as Master and to my very own indentured apprentice Maggie Taylor as an Apprentice.

Our Imperial College Lecture underpinned our close and developing relationship with industry and academia. Matt Palmer lit up the room and so many postgraduate students came up to me afterwards praising the event. This event also allowed us to launch our journeyman offering and we now have a number of bright young academics who are keen on this taster of Livery and Pavior Engagement.

So many people met and causes supported, but the Mistress and I have been touched by how much our support means to our Military affiliates. My Top guns, RAF 29 Squadron made us most welcome on a number of occasions and this Master will never forget being fined for being “fit”! A magical evening looking across to France from Dover Castle with the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment Reserves 3rd Batalion and finally to sign a new affiliation with DTXG in Portsmouth. These men and women put their lives on the line to keep us safe and we owe them a huge debt.

I remain bursting with pride to be part of the Worshipful Company of Paviors. A group that welcomed me so warmly and has no barriers to entry or progression. Collectively, we achieve so much and we look forward to the new and exciting year ahead with Charlie and Alison Laing.