The GLASS SELLERNewsletter of The Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers of London

Issue Thirty Three November 2014

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The Glass Sellers’ 350th anniversary celebrationsChoral Evensong in St Paul’s Cathedral

On Wednesday 16 July the GlassSellers celebrated the 350th

anniversary of the granting of their1664 royal charter by King Charles II.

By a happy co-incidence, theWorshipful Company of Needlemakerswere also celebrating the sameanniversary and it was with delight thatwe joined with them in a celebratoryChoral Evensong in the City’s greatchurch, St Paul’s Cathedral.

And what an occasion it was in thepresence of the Lord Mayor and the Sheriffs,together with Aldermen and some 69 visitingMasters, the Prime Warden and the UpperBailiff. (The Worshipful Companies ofGoldsmiths and Weavers do not haveMasters, having Prime Wardens and UpperBailiffs respectively.) Not to mention apacked congregation as is usual at Evensongin the cathedral, many of them tourists, whowere about to be treated to a City spectacular.

The Masters, Wardens and Courts of thetwo companies assembled in the Dean’sAisle and, led by our Beadles, processedthrough the cathedral to our places under

the dome in front of our respective liveriesand their guests. After the processions ofthe Aldermen, choir and clergy, the civicparty arrived, were taken to their places, andthe stage was set with the staffs of the twoCompanies being set on velvet cushionsbefore the liveries.

The congregation was welcomed by theDean, The Very Reverend David Ison, andafter The Lord’s Prayer, the choir began tosing Evensong. To describe that sublimesound filling the majestic space of thecathedral is quite impossible. It simplyhad to be experienced.

The two Masters each read a lesson,and the Honorary Chaplains assisted inleading the prayers.

With the service concluded, theMasters, Wardens and Clerks of the twocompanies bade farewell to the civic partyand Elgar’s Imperial March thunderedfrom the organ – and the organ ofPast Master Bishop John Waine talking with Philip Need

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St Paul’s in full cry is quite something!Exhilarated, we left by the north

door for the short stroll to GuildhallYard where, at 6-30 p.m. the band ofThe Princess of Wales’s RoyalRegiment beat retreat in honour ofthe two Companies and a splendidsight and sound they made. After thetwo Masters had taken the salute, theband marched off leaving us to repair

to the Old Library for a reception anda celebratory drink (or two).

What a pleasure it was to meet ourfellow liverymen the Needlemakers, notto mention all the visiting Masters, thePrime Warden and the Upper Bailiff –all, most unusually, let out without theirClerks for the occasion. Later, theMasters of the two Companies proposedthe toast to each other, and the

proceedings were officially over, but ofcourse, everyone was enjoyingthemselves so much that few wereminded to leave, especially as the younglady waitresses were still circulatingwith a bottle in each hand!

We certainly celebrated the anniversaryin a style which will be remembered formany years to come.Brian Rawles

The Book of Revelation Ch 21 v18“The city itself was of pure gold,

bright as clear glass”That the Glass Sellers’ Company has been

famous in the City of London for 350 yearsis the reason for our celebrations thismorning and it would be true to say that,over those years, the Company has beenrenowned for its splendid reputation forhospitality, its generosity in charitablegiving and for the high regard in whichmembers of the company have been held byothers these three and a half centuries. Thelife of the company has gone on, for betteror for worse, during the reigns of variousdifferent monarchs and under huge numbersof political regimes, which would haveaffected the membership more, perhaps, inthe earlier days than it might do today. Glasshas been at the heart of the work of theCompany and, whenever we drink a toast,which we find ourselves doing withremarkable regularity, we hope that glassmay prosper and flourish today as it hasdone in the past.

The Worshipful Company of GlassSellers of London was granted a charterby King Charles II in 1664. The GlassSellers’ Company is a Livery Companysimilar to the guilds of medieval times andits original purpose was to regulate tradewithin London in articles made of glass,

to ensure quality and fair trade. Today the tradition of integrity, generosity

and fellowship that governed the companyin former times creates an unbroken linkwith the past and we have much for whichwe should be grateful as we look back to theinitial vision of the founding fathers of theCompany. But we would be sorry if the solepurpose of this anniversary were to engageus in looking backwards – the real art ofremembering is to hold in sharp focus in thepresent moment a deep gratitude for the pastand a sense of purpose for the future.

In 2014 the company actively promotesthe use of glass in arts, crafts, science andtechnology and supports education andtraining in all these areas as well asmaintaining its affiliation with the RoyalNavy, the Church and a range of other publicinstitutions. At present our Company hasaround 200 Liverymen of whom asignificant number have strong connectionswith the wider glass industries, howevermembership of the Livery today is notrestricted to people actively connected withthe glass industry and we celebrate the factthat our fellowship contains representativesof almost all the varied interests of themodern glass industry and those fromnumerous other disciplines too. The pastresounds as a golden age, the present givesus confidence, so what of the future? It is

interesting that in the closing pages of theBible, in the Book of Revelation, we aregiven a vision of the eternal city at the endof time and we are told that the great city, theNew Jerusalem, rising up as a place ofperfection, without suffering, tears orseparation, will have walls of clear glass, soobviously there is going to be a prime rolefor the Worshipful Company of GlassSellers in the heavenly kingdom. Glass, theBible is telling us, is a thing of beauty, athing of splendour, an artefact which willenable us to see God and one another withclarity and indeed allow us to be seen in therobes and vesture which we shall wear asmembers of the new creation.

The sellers of glass can therefore beconfident that, in Biblical terms, they willhave a place in the final vision of God’s gloryand, because God’s kingdom is a presentreality as well as a future hope, we are alsochallenged to work for that kingdom to come“on earth as it is in heaven” and doing somust mean bringing to bear in ordinary lifetoday the qualities of glass which we know tobe of eternal and transcendent value:excellence, purity, light, clarity andsplendour. If it is these gifts which, as acompany, we have to offer to others in afrequently broken and disillusioned worldtoday, then we can safely look back withthanksgiving and forward with hope.

The gathering in the Old Library The Band of the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment Beating Retreat

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Sermon preached by Canon Philip NeedHONORARY CHAPLAIN TO THE WORSHIPFUL COMPANY OF GLASS SELLERS OF LONDON ON 25 JULY 2014,

AT A SERVICE AT ST JAMES GARLICKHYTHE TO MARK THE 350TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF THE COMPANY

All photographs by Gerald Sharp Photography

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Our Master, Dr Andrew Parmley, wasduly elected Aldermanic Sheriff for

2014/15 at Common Hall in Guildhall on 24June. He is the fourth Glass Seller to attainthis high Office following John Blades(1812/13), George Burt (1878/79) andWilliam Gilbert Allen (1955/56). PhillipSheppard was nominated in 1713 butdeclined to accept. In our 350 year history wehave yet to have a Lord Mayor of London!

The Lay Sheriff is Fiona Adler, PastMaster Tobacco Pipe Maker and TobaccoBlender, and the Sheriffs took up residencein the Old Bailey in September for theiryear in Office.

Alderman Dr Parmley was born inManchester and grew up on the Lancashirecoast. He was educated at BlackpoolGrammar School, the Royal Academy of

Music, Manchester and London Universitiesand Jesus College, Cambridge. He is a Fellowof the Royal College of Organists and TrinityCollege, London and an Honorary Fellow ofthe Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

A life spent in teachingAndrew Parmley’s career started as

Director of Music at Forest School, nearSnaresbrook, thence to South HampsteadHigh School and the Grey Coat Hospital inWestminster. Since 2001 he has been Headof the Senior School at The Harrodian inWest London. His broad experience inmusic, education and the creativeindustries has led to a life spent in teaching,research, examining, adjudicating, writing,composing and editing and his mission forthe City is to promote Education, Trainingand Qualifications across the full spectrumof disciplines, together with the Arts andthe commercial and financial City. For over30 years he has been Honorary Organist ofSt James Garlickhythe in Vintry Ward.

Andrew Parmley became a CommonCouncilman for Vintry Ward in 1992 and itsAlderman in 2001 and has served on many ofthe committees of the Corporation of London.He has been Chairman of both the City ofLondon School for Girls and the GuildhallSchool of Music & Drama. He is a very keensupporter of the Livery movement and is a

Past Master of the Parish Clerks and theMusicians. At present he is the Master GlassSeller and Swan Warden of the Vintners, anHonorary Freeman of the Educators and anHonorary Liveryman of the Joiners, Hornersand Water Conservators. He is a member ofthe Royal Society of St George and the UnitedWards Club and is joint Patron of the Vintryand Dowgate Wards Club.

Other charitable activitiesOutside the City he is Chairman of the

Montessori St Nicholas Charity and asupporter of many other charities includingthe Leukaemia Research Fund and theSons and Friends of the Clergy. In 2013 hewas a founding director of Thomson Housefree school in Mortlake. He is Patron ofseveral choirs and instrumental ensemblesand Captain of the Corporation of LondonFishing Team. Andrew Parmley is aDirector of several companies, many ofwhich have charitable objectives.

Dr Parmley is married to Wendy, formerHeadteacher of a South London Academyand founding partner of the TranscontinentalSchools Innovation Alliance. As a CourtAssistant of the Information Technologists,Wendy is a founding governor of theHammersmith Academy and has served onthe board of Christ’s Hospital and asChairman of Aiglon College in Villars.

On 13 May three young musicianscompeted for the Guildhall School of

Music’s annual Gold Medal. Our GlassSellers’ prize is awarded to the runner-up,but with three players in the final, the thirdcompetitor is left without anything.

This year the competition was forinstrumentalists, the competition for singersbeing held in odd-numbered years.

The first to play was the Taiwanese-bornviolinist Rose Hsien. She chose ErichKorngold’s concerto in D Major whichplaces the soloist at the centre of the actionfor almost the whole of the three movementsand needs the fiercely concentrated interplaywith the orchestra which she gave.

The second soloist, Max Mausen fromLuxembourg, who has already had notablywide ranging playing experiences,performed Aaron Copland’s clarinetconcerto. Like the Korngold, this piece datesfrom the mid-twentieth century and wascomposed by an American. BennyGoodman, the well-known jazz player

commissioned Copland to write it. Jazzidioms appeared throughout and the lightorchestration (strings piano and harp) meantthat individual contributions such as slappedbass effects were very effective.

During the drinks interval the GlassSellers present were buzzing with opinions –who was preferred so far, how can playing beassessed when the music itself varies sowidely, and so on.

The second half of the concert consisted ofa single piece, Dmitri Shostakovich’s CelloConcerto no 1 played by Bulgarian cellistMichael Petrov. This was the most recentcomposition (1959) and was written for therenowned cellist Rostropovich. Petrovproved to have the power and intensity tocope with it. Some of the effects were quiteextraordinary from an orchestra made up ofstrings, woodwind, timpani, celesta togetherwith a single horn which interplays with thesolo cellist.

The Chairman of the adjudicators wasGuildhall Music Director Jonathan Vaughanwho introduced his colleagues, Tasmin Little,the violinist, Ivan Hewett, the critic, andDominic Wheeler who conducted the concert.

Our Master and the Master Musician were

also on the platform to present the prizes.Tasmin Little praised all three players who

were by now sitting at the side of theauditorium but said that the decisions wereunanimous. She first of all named MaxMausen as the winner of the Glass Sellersprize before announcing Michael Petrov asthe gold medal winner to all round acclaim.

Rose Hsien was left sitting by herself withonly her brave smile to comfort her.

The classical music world is a tough place.Bill Cook

Master elected as Aldermanic Sheriff

Clarinettist wins The Glass Sellers’ Prize

The Master, pictured in Guildhall Yard on the dayof his election

Max Mausen with Dr Andrew Parmley © Clive Totman

The Worshipful Company of GlassSellers’ 350th Anniversary Salt was

presented at the Court Dinner on 11 June2014 by Past-Master and Father of theCompany, Michael Nathan and his wifeLiveryman Jenny Nathan MBE, tocommemorate the Company receiving itscharter from King Charles II in 1664.

The engraver, Katharine Coleman MBE,has kindly provided a description of the Salt:

The salt was blown to my design in twoseparate parts by Potter Morgan Glass ofAltarnun* in Cornwall. It is some 29cm highand 13cm in diameter and weighs nearly 2kg.It was blown in 24% lead crystal with ayellow glass overlay. The top and the basewere cut, polished and engraved separately,much of the yellow glass being cut away tothe underlying clear crystal and re-polished.

The design represents a traditional glasscone, the flames of the furnace below and thesun, from the arms of the Company, shiningdown from above.

The overlay on the basewas cut away from themiddle section of the coneand it was ground andpolished back before the armswere engraved in copper wheelintaglio on one side, lit from theother side (to make the engravingmore visible) by a small windowhigh up on the back wall. Thename of the Company and dateswere cut in relief through theflames in yellow overlay aroundthe base.

The bowl of the salt was cut torepresent the sun and its rays.

The ravens supporting thearms were originallypolished back to lookblack, but bearing in mindthat as supporters, theircolour should bemurrey, were re-engraved with

diamond hatching. Thismade them appear as ifthey were in an orange

bag from the supermarket,so they were engraved for the

third time, with token hatchingsto indicate their colour.

The cup on the arms bears thearms once more in miniature.

When both parts had beenengraved and ground together toform a good purchase forlaminating, they were gluedtogether with epoxy resin.

A stout leather (hide)carrying case was suppliedwith the arms of the companyembossed and gilded, alsoan engraved horn spoonengraved with theCompany’s name.

If required, the salt maycarry a tea light andserve as a candlestick.

* famous for the devious vicar of Altarnun whose real-life smuggling activities excited the interest of Daphnedu Maurier when she wrote Jamaica Inn.

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Katharine Coleman is a freelance glassengraver and designer. She was taughtpoint, drill and copper wheel engraving onglass by Peter Dreiser at Morley College,Lambeth during 1984-7 and continues toexplore these techniques at herworkshop in Clerkenwell.

Engraving on clear lead crystal glassforms, blown to her design and overlaidwith a thin layer of coloured glass,Katharine’s work requires closecollaboration with glassblowers PotterMorgan Glass and Sonja Klingler. The topsurface of the glass form is cut, ground andpolished. After it has been engraved on theoutside surface, one can see inside thepiece, with all the reflections of the

decoration outside repeated on the innersurface, creating an illusion of one bodyfloating inside another.

The optical properties of glass fascinateKatharine and she feels that they provide arich world for the artist, as yet barelyexplored.

Although wheel engraving on glass is atraditional technique, the style and contentof the engraving can be adventurous.

Engraving the glass surface with lathe-mounted copper, diamond and stonewheels, Katharine is able to obtaincrispness, textures and fine finish whichare difficult or impossible to achieve withsandblast and drill. The inspiration for herwork ranges from natural history to the

modern urban landscape. Her work hasbeen exhibited widely in the UK andEurope, USA and Japan and can be seen inmany public collections. She is verypleased to have two works selected for theCoburg Glass Prize Exhibition in 2014 atthe Europäisches Museum für ModernesGlas, Rödental, Germany.

Katharine Coleman regularly teachesshort courses in the UK, Segovia in Spainand Germany.

She is an Elected member ofContemporary Applied Arts, Fellow of theGuild of Glass Engravers, Member of theArt Workers Guild, The Glass Circle,Contemporary Glass Society and TheGlass Association. Gwen Rhys

Dedication panel The Carry Case

The Engraved Salt

The Glass Sellers’ Salt

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When I was asked to help to restartthe Glass in Society initiative for the

Company several years ago, I could nothave imagined how the project would haveadapted, improved and moved forward insuch a positive manner.

For those newer Liverymen who are notaware of the inception of the concept I willbriefly write about the beginnings. Initially,the idea was to offer funding for projects toassist in educating young people in the wideruses of glass. The early projects were allmainly based around the concept of creatingglass objects – stained glass windows werethe favourite choice with one group ofstudents making a trinket box. These projectswere very much out of the normalcurriculum, and helped to inspire manyyoung people to use their artistic anddextrous skills.

Wider uses of glassThe Charity Fund was able to help about

three or four schools a year which was a smallbut useful beginning. Matters moved into asignificantly different area, and went up a gearor two when Liveryman Tony Thatcherproposed that, rather than focusing on the‘glass window’ type projects, we consider thewider uses of glass in a technological context.I am sure that all readers will know there is adesperate need in schools to encourage youngpeople to consider the STEM subjects(Science, Technology, Engineering andMathematics).

The Isle of Wight Glass in Society projectwas born, with considerable help andsponsorship from the glass composites andboatbuilding industry on the island. Thisengaged many schools and a much largernumber of students took part than hadpreviously been possible.

I realised that we needed to develop newroutes to the schools and through variouscontacts got in touch with the local co-ordinator in the West Midlands of the ASE(Association of Science Education). Thisorganisation helps to facilitate relationshipsbetween schools and industry to further thedevelopment of Science education. Dr.Gaynor Sharp proved to be an invaluablecontact as she was able to promote the Glassin Society project across some 1500educational establishments in the region.With the help of Anna Pinto, ScienceDirector at Kingswinford School wedeveloped what were described as “mini-projects” that were designed to offer simpletechnology-based ideas with a theme ofglass; that could be picked up and used byteachers who wanted help and support fortheir local STEM groups. It should be noted

that STEM groups usually occur after schoolas an extra-curricular activity, with studentsand teachers working in their free time.

It was quite apparent to me that the changein the emphasis of the projects towards thetechnology theme was absolutely the rightthing to do, as the need to inspire andencourage children to consider sciencesubjects is clear and unsatisfied. The initialprojects proved to be successful with studentsmaking rudimentary telescopes, the creationof an endoscope and even studies relating tohow glass beads can be used to affect certaintypes of cancer.

All was progressing well with theseprojects, until what turned out to be the real‘game-changer’ for GIS West Midlands,namely the “crazy” request (as it wasdescribed at the time) for an Observatory atKingswinford School. I think it is fair to saythat the Trustees of the Charity Fund wereimpressed by the concept of the project, but itwas going to mean a major change in thelevel of funding required to support theongoing initiative. It was at that time theChairman of the Trustees, John Whiteman,together with Past Master Martin Scarth,suggested that we seek external funding fromother sources.

After much work and persuasion wegained funding from the 29th May 1961Trust which is based in Coventry, and theirhelp was instrumental in the Trustees beingable to confirm their support for thisimaginative and exciting plan. The Companyreceived hugely positive Press coverage atthis time, both locally and nationally. TheGlass Sellers name has even reached NASAnow as a result of this project!

Members of the Company should note that

one of the current projects being pursued atKingswinford School is going to result in usbeing part of a World Record attempt. TheirSTEM club is building three scale models ofthe Bloodhound car (currently being built atSwansea University) – the current WorldRecord for the scale models is now just over220 mph! More of the progress on theattempt will follow!

I am delighted to say that we are lookingto develop and run a similar initiative to theIsle of Wight glass composites project in theWest Midlands. Discussions havecommenced with a number of schools in theregion with a view to starting an inter-schoolcompetition in 2015.

Greenhouse effectToday, the projects adopted by GIS West

Midlands are wider than ever. St. ThomasAquinas School, Birmingham is undertakinga project that will involve the construction ofa greenhouse on the school site. Thegreenhouse will be the centre of the efforts ofthe school to become more sustainable incertain foods. It will also show the studentshow plants develop and their uses to humans.The project will also link into the curriculumstudying coloured light and its effects onphotosynthesis. Some of the greenhousepanels will be coated in a nano-coating to seeits usefulness which will also link into thechemistry curriculum. The project is destinedto become part of the eco schoolsprogramme, which will affect the widerschool community when the ideas ofsustainability are promoted.

The Trustees have also granted funding forour third Primary School GIS WestMidlands project. I believe passionately thatwe must try to engage and inspire children atthe earliest opportunity in their school lives.It is amazing to think that, in spite of all ofthe political parties stating that they supportthe engagement of children in sciencesubjects, most Primary Schools in the UK donot have a designated science specialist. TheGlass Sellers can only do so much, but I amsure that we can all agree that continuingdoing nothing will not benefit futuregenerations; or even the UK as a whole!

At the last meeting of the Trustees it wasfelt that we could develop another area in theUK, perhaps adjacent to London, where asimilar GIS initiative could develop.

If there are any members of the Companyliving or working in Essex or East Londonwho would be interested; I would encouragethem to contact John Whiteman atjohn.whiteman@brunel.ac.uk so that thisidea may be progressed.

GIS West Midlands continues to inspire u

Glass in Society – West Midlands

Staff and students at Kingswinford Observatory

Kingswinford School Observatory

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u and excite students of all ages, but ofcourse this does not come without a price.Each and every member of the Livery canplay a part if they choose to in thisinspirational initiative. We have new andeven more ambitious projects for the futurewhich will be unveiled by the Mastershortly. I hope that the information in thisreport will encourage everybody in the

Company to consider offering morefinancial help to this very worthwhilecause. Once again, I acknowledge the helpgiven by the 29th May 1961 Trust, andhope that they will feel able to continuetheir assistance during the furtherdevelopments in the future.

The theme of GIS West Midlandscontinues to be one of inspiration and

imagination. Albert Einstein said ‘logicwill get you from A to B but imaginationwill take you everywhere’. Students acrossthe West Midlands are having theirimaginations stimulated and I hope thatyou will feel motivated to help in thefuture and extend this work to other partsof the country. Leigh Baildham

The following is a report from AnnaPinto, Science Director at KingswinfordSchool and Science College:

The Kingswinford Observatorythe sky’s the limit

On Tuesday 27 September 2011 the newSpace observatory at The KingswinfordSchool was formally opened by The MasterGlass Seller, Mr Martin Scarth, whorepresented our sponsors, The WorshipfulCompany of Glass Sellers of London. Hisaddress highlighted how the students andstaff were delighted with the immenseopportunities this project would makeavailable, in promoting a scientific ethosand engaging partner schools and the widercommunity. There is a huge range ofScience, Technology, Engineering andMathematical (STEM) opportunities in thisburgeoning field. We would like to thankall members of the Worshipful Company ofGlass Sellers of London for the amazingopportunities this has created.

To infinity and beyond!Almost immediately after the opening of

the Observatory,

• The Kingswinford School was invited tojoin the Lead Space Education Programmein November 2011 (Specialist Schools andAcademies, SSAT). We obtained the LeadSpace Education School Award 2013 GoldAward, at the highest level.

• Achieved Specialist Quality Award,October 2012, Highest level Extending andTransforming 2011 (Specialist Schools andAcademies, SSAT).

• Joined a programme co-ordinated byNASA to combat the problem of Obesityworld-wide: Mission X – Train like anAstronaut. This was co-ordinated in the UKby the UK Space Agency in January 2012,2013 and 2014. The Kingswinford Schoolnow hosts 120 Y5/6 children plus ScienceAmbassadors, Sports Leaders and staff tolearn about health and fitness under theumbrella of training to be an astronaut.Aimed at children aged 8-14 years in 24countries.

• Involved in BBC2 Stargazing 2012,2013, 2014

• Made a contact with Dr Warren Skidmore,Thirty Meter Project, NASA, Pasadena,Houston USA through Stargazing. He is alocal gentleman and his parents still livenear the school. He contacted me when hisparents saw what we were doing forStargazing in the local press. He now is

employed by NASA and delivers workshopsvia Skype to our students.

• Local primary and secondary schoolsinvited to Kingswinford for specific Spacedays/workshops through various groups.

• Local Specialist groups ask to use facilitieseg Kidderminster Astronomy Club, Scoutand Brownie groups.

• Transition Project KS2/KS3 ‘Race to Mars’3 week project annually. 2012, 2013, 2014

• Annual Rocket Competition. Family event.Summer Term. 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

• National Science and Engineering Week/Space Week – focus Space Education

• Invited to represent Team UK for MissionX International Closing event atEuropean Space Agency, Noordwijk,

Holland 4 – 6 July 2013

• Lead School in the Mission X programmedelivering opportunities availablenationally to other schools. 24 September2013

• Invitation to Wordsley History Society,Dudley 14 November 2013, Guest SpeakerAstronaut Andrew Lound.

• Attended Awards October 2012. Houses ofParliament, Westminster, London

• Anna Pinto joined the judging panel forUK Space Agency funding available forinstitutions to promote Space Education,Headquarters – Polaris House, Swindon,20 October 2013

• Invited to speak and representKingswinford School at Houses ofParliament 4 December 2013. Invited toattend Christmas Parliamentarycelebration held in the evening.

• Rocketry Club – every Tuesday Year 9 at3.15pm to 4.15pm

• Astronomy students trialled GCSEAstronomy extracurricular, 2013

• Ten Year 10 students attending Tuesday eve. 6.00pm – 7.30pm GCSE Astronomy 2014

• Celebratory Assembly Mission X Summerterm 2014.

• New Science laboratory being built andequipped. To be named The Timothy PeakeLaboratory, after Major Peake who is atpresent training to be the first UKAstronaut to embark on a Mission to theInternational Space Shuttle (ISS).

(Hopefully publicity will be involved via theUK Space Agency).

Glass in Society Success Story

New Space Observatory at Kingswinsford School

Kingswinford laboratory students

Stargazing class at Kingswinford School

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EuroDisney by taxiPast Master Joanna Emms and the Clerk

represented the Master at breakfastattended by the Lord Mayor LocumTenens Alderman David Howard andSheriff Adrian Waddingham at CanaryWharf in September.

They were there to witness the start ofthe Magical Taxi Tour to EuroDisneywhich is organised and run by theHackney Carriage Drivers. The GlassSellers’ sponsored taxi took ReemMedjaoud, who has just completed acourse of chemotherapy, together with hermother and sister.The Clerk

Steve Cahill made his declaration as a Liveryman at the Court meeting on 25September 2014. He is currently Country Manager for Spain at Colt TechnologyServices, a UK FTSE listed company, as well as Vice President and General Managerfor their pan-European Shared Services Centre based in Barcelona. He initiated andchairs the CSR Board in Spain for Colt Technology Services – nearly 1100 employeesin Spain drawn from 46 nationalities. He is a welcome addition to the Glass Sellers’Company and strengthens our growing links with the Telecoms and Technology sector.Maria Chanmugam

Past Master Joanna Emms and the Glass Sellers’ sponsored taxi

Reena (in blue) with (from left) her sister, Past Master Joanna Emms, and Reena’s motherRaring to go! Reena can’t wait to start the journey

New Liveryman

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Some 50 Liverymen with partnersgathered at the Hilton, Cardiff at midday

on Thursday 15 May, warmly welcomed byThe Master and John Hitch, the organiser ofthis year’s “350th Anniversary Jolly”.

Our first visit was to the School of Glassat Swansea, where we were hosted byProfessor Vanessa Cutler and the UniversityDean of Art and Design, Dr Ian Walsh.Unfortunately, delayed construction work ofthe new, unique Glass Centre, housed in abuilding which had originated 160 yearsago, prevented us seeing students workingin their new facilities. Our hosts presentedtheir work with great enthusiasm andpassion, particularly an archive ofArchitectural Glass Design by students,

many of whom had become well-knownglass designers. Ultimately, the Centre’shighly eye-catching building will be in fulloperation, not least the fully restoredVictorian circular reading room, the locationof scenes of a recent Dr Who episode.Common interests in Glass and Designensure that we Glass Sellers and theSwansea Glass Centre team will worktogether into the future.

Back to our excellent hotel for a quickchange and a short walk to Cardiff Castleand drinks on the lawns in the castlegrounds on a wonderful balmy earlysummer evening. A splendid dinnerfollowed, set out amongst the displays,stories of service and courage in the Castle’s

“Firing Line” Museum of the Welsh Soldier.Needless to say John Hitch was quick topoint out his namesake’s valour: one PrivateFred Hitch, awarded one of the eight VCs atRorke’s Drift. We also toasted Caroline andRobin Arculus, who celebrated their 49thwedding anniversary that day!

Friday was another beautiful summer’sday, perfect for a visit to the open-airSt Fagan’s National History Museum. Set invibrant woodland about 15 miles outside theCity it has over 40 re-erected and restoredbuildings from various parts of Wales whichcapture how the people lived, worked andenjoyed themselves over centuries. Stars thatcaught particular attention were theSt Teilo’s Church (C 12th) with stunningfrescos of the Stations of the Cross, a circularthatched Cockpit (C 17th) which becamederelict when cock-fighting was abolished in1849, a woollen mill (C 18th), an aluminiumpre-fab of 1948, and a Unitarian chapel of1777. We then ambled round the gardens ofSt Fagan’s castle, donated to the people ofWales in 1946 by the Earl of Plymouth; therestored Italian garden and rosary areparticular spectacles. Lunch, in the privateElizabethan Dining Room, was a traditionalWelsh lamb “cawl” (nourishing soupy stew)served with bread and a wedge of Caerphillycheese, and washed down by a glass or twoof cider and wine. During the meal theMuseum’s Keeper of History kindly andpatiently answered our questions. Then wereturned to the City to visit the NationalMuseum of Wales, just across the park fromour hotel.

This incredible museum in the centre ofCardiff contains a wide variety of exhibits,from natural history to fine art. Amongmany beautiful artefacts we saw Blaschkaglass models of jellyfish and other seacreatures (similar to Blaschka flowers thatLiverymen saw in the USA on JohnThorpe’s Jolly in 1996). Hugely informativeguides helped us see the meaning behind

Who says it always rains in Wales? The Master’s Jolly, Cardiff 15-18 May 2014

The Master playing the Snetzler organ in the National Museum of Wales

The Group’s own ‘Land Train’ at St Fagan’sNational History Museum u

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u some lovely landscapes, includingConstable’s “Salisbury Cathedral”. Inrecognition of our Livery’s 350th year, theMuseum curator singled out for us a finecommunion cup manufactured in 1664 fromsolid West African (Guinea) gold presentedby a Thomas Davies to St Mary’s,Welshpool in gratitude for having survivedhis time on the West African coast and as asugar plantation manager in Barbados. Andfinally, our Master did what he does best andgave an impromptu and stirring recital of 3works (by William Boyce, Ralph VaughanWilliams and William Matthias) on aSnetzler organ of 1774 housed in theMuseum – and usually played only 12 timeseach year.

Saturday was another bright sunny day,ideal for a Waterbus trip on “PrincessKatharine” down the River Taff into the(now) permanently flooded freshwaterCardiff Bay. An impressive barrage acrossthe Bay entrance copes with one of thelargest tidal ranges in the world (up to 14metres!). En route we were regaled by theboat’s owner with tales of old, mainlyassociated with his family! We disembarkedat the Pierhead Building, and made our wayto the Wales Millennium Centre (not to beconfused with the Millennium Stadium),passing Norwegian families in nationalcostume going to celebrate their NationalDay at the Old Norwegian Church. TheCardiff connection with Norway stems fromthe docks being the port of entry forNorwegian pine pit props used in the mines.

The Millennium Centre is a majorlandmark in Cardiff Bay with a front façadeof copper plated steel …with glass alsoplaying a key architectural role in thedesign. It seems little expensewas spared for thedesign of thiswonderful artscentre with

many fine features picking up aspects of theWelsh country, language and culture.Highly enthusiastic and knowledgeableguides took us backstage and front-of-house, including a brief view of rehearsalsof Verdi’s Nabucco.

The last quick visit that morning was tothe finely-restored Pierhead Building wherewe watched an excellent film-cum-slideshow of the history of Cardiff Bay, from thehey-days of exporting coal to today’srecreation and tourist centre. After asplendid substantial ‘light’ lunch at BaysideBrasserie overlooking the Bay, it was FreeTime until the Banquet.

The Banquet was held in our hotel and 23guests joined The Master’s party. With ourHonorary Chaplain and our Beadle, HonLiveryman Tony Parker with his wife Pam onthe Jolly as well, all the standard proceedingswere well taken care of, making this occasionas superb as any of our Livery Dinners inLondon. The Master proposed the toast to ourguests which was briefly responded to byWindsor Coles MBE, Master of theWorshipful Livery Company of Wales whichreceived its Charter earlier this year, the

Priest-in-Charge of Cardiff City Church andPeter Beck, the Lord Lieutenant for SouthGlamorgan. The Renter Warden presented afine, engraved Dartington glass claret jug toThe Master as a small token of appreciationand gratitude from the Jolly participants for amost charming and entertaining weekend.Before a final toast to Glass, The Masterpresented a gift to Past Master John Hitch inrecognition of his highly efficientorganisation of the four days which had gonelike clockwork.

Finally, on Sunday, we woke to – youguessed it – another cracking sunny day forthe last formal event of the Jolly, morningservice at the nearby Cardiff parish church ofSt John the Baptist, led by Rev. Canon DrSarah Rowland Jones. We enjoyed some finesinging; a stirring sermon from our Hon.Chaplain on the theme of faith drivesinspiration; and, as a finale, our Masterplayed the very first performance of“Heaven in ordinaire”, an organ voluntaryby Andrew Campling composed especiallyfor our 350th anniversary.William Knocker

Glass Sellers enjoying pre-dinner drinks in the grounds of Cardiff Castle

Glass Sellers in the Victorian Circular Reading Room at Swansea School of Glass

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Pomp and circumstance through the Glass Sellers’ looking-glass

In the annals of our august Company,with its reputation as one of the City’s

friendliest Liveries, can there ever havebeen such a joyous and joyful occasion asthe 2014 Annual Banquet at The MansionHouse on 28 October?

Yet this year there seemed to be anadded sparkle to the glamour and glitter aswe were greeted by a Guard of Honourfound by The Rifles of the City of Londonand North East Sector Army Cadet Forcein their smartly turned-out camouflageuniforms at the top of the stairs.

The greeting by the Beadle and hisstentorian announcements of our namesled us to the receiving line headed by TheMaster, and then to the champagnereception, that always puts us in the ‘right’frame of mind for this grandest ofCompany events, duly recorded by theofficial photographers.

All proceeded to custom, with a fanfareto announce the arrival of theRepresentative Lord Mayor Sir DavidWootton and Lady Wootton, and oncemore there were formal photographs takenuntil the Beadle’s ‘grand smash’ on thehuge tam-tam outside the Egyptian Hallcalled us into dinner.

And that was when the fun started! Wewaited patiently to begin the slow hand-clap to accompany the procession of thedignitaries to the traditional March fromScipio, only for the orchestra, The LondonBanqueting Ensemble, to break into I do

like to be beside the seaside as a tribute toThe Master’s home town. If anyone haddoubts as to the propriety of such anaction, the roar from the assembledCompany and guests, and the broad grinon Sir David’s face dispelled such worries.

The menu, as usual at The MansionHouse, was beautifully chosen, preparedand served, all to the dulcet strains of theorchestra in the Musicians’ Gallery untilthe final offering of The Post Horn Gallopin which the two trumpeters at oppositeends of the room battled out a series ofvariations on the main theme that almost

brought the house down.The Toasts were called first by The

Master to The Queen and Royal Family andto The Lord Mayor and The City of LondonCorporation. Sir David made a delightfullyinformal formal reply to the City Toast.

Past Master Philip Willoughby donned hisaccountant’s hat to welcome the guests, andmade great play with the visiting Masters byreferring to them not by name, but by the‘number’ in the Order of Precedence, daringthem (and the Liverymen present) not torecognise their own Company. They were, ofcourse, The Barbers, the Actuaries, theGlaziers, the Launderers and the MasterCutler in Hallamshire, while a specialmention was made of the Needlemakers,who share 1664 with us as the year of their350th anniversary.

The response on behalf of the guests wasmade by Canon Roger Royle who will beThe Master’s Chaplain during his year asAldermanic Sheriff. Those of us who havedelighted in Canon Royle’s broadcasts andwritings were not disappointed this time,either. We could see that the ‘Andrew andRoger’ show will keep spirits high duringthe Shrieval year.

After The Master’s call for the toast ‘ToGlass’ the distinguished procession lined upagain, this time without musical reference toa certain place ‘noted for fresh air and fun’,and reluctantly, oh so reluctantly, we left theparty content that The Master’s year hadbeen satisfactorily ‘crowned’.Editor

The Procession forms up before entering the Egyptian Room

The Musicians’ Gallery provides an excellent view of the Banquet

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Youth Work at St Luke’s, Canning Town

Iwant to start by thanking the Glass Sellersfor their ongoing financial support which

allows the youth work at St Luke’s tocontinue to thrive. As a result of yoursupport young people in and around StLuke’s are supported, assisted, encouragedand challenged as they grow into the leadersof tomorrow’s church and society. Throughthis youth work it is my goal to see horizonsexpanded, questions wrestled with,behaviours challenged and hope encouraged.It is a privilege to walk with young people inboth good and difficult times in life and toshare in their successes and distress.

There are currently around 18 teenagers atSt Luke’s church ranging from Year 7 all theway through to Year 13, as well as a coupleof teenagers who have recently starteduniversity who I support in my role as youthworker. Week by week we meet together todiscuss life’s big questions through a groupthat meets on Sunday where we eat somepizza, build relationships, discuss relevanttopics for young people both in society andas a result of today’s culture alongside faith-based issues too. In addition, a smallergroup meets on Wednesday nights for aBible study aimed at young people,allowing more space for big questions to beasked as faith is explored in an open,relevant way.

On top of our two set groups I alsoendeavour to regularly meet up one-on-onewith many of the teenagers in a mentoringtype relationship. This allows the youngpeople to discuss openly all areas of life theywish to talk about, ask questions about or seekadvice. It is through these one-on-onerelationships that I’m able to support youngpeople in nearly every aspect of life. In thesediscussions I have recently had the opportunityto listen to young people as they expressedconfusions over what to do after school; howthey felt completely overwhelmed by examsand were unsure of who to turn to due toextreme pressure for results at home and atschool; I’ve supported one young person withquestions of how to deal with bullying andanother about how her family just annoy her.

PrivilegeIt is a real privilege to be the person young

people turn to with their questions and to bethe listening ears to the journey young peopleare on. It is also great to see teenagers grow inconfidence in themselves and in what thefuture could hold. Too many young people inBritain today are growing up in broken homes,in schools rotting under the pressure of examsand results, held back by stereotypes andcrime statistics and with no one to turn to whocan listen to them without judgement andsimply give them a platform to share where

they are and what they would like to be. Thankyou for allowing me to be at St Luke’s tosupport and walk with the young people here.

As well as working with the young peoplearound St Luke’s church I am also fortunateenough to work in St Luke’s primary school.I work mostly with Year 6 offering one-on-one support in literacy, maths and life. Also,I support some of the children who strugglesocially during lunch time in the hope thatwith increased support they can join in withthe other children and grow in theirinterpersonal skills. With the rest of the StLuke’s church team I also deliver weeklyassemblies. Year 6 is an intense year in ourprimary schools with preparation for SATS,the onset of the first stages of puberty and thetransition to secondary education to benegotiated. It is so worthwhile for the schooland for the young people to have anotherperson available to help those who arestruggling academically and socially.

Youth work at St Luke’s is busy. There isnever a shortage of young people to supportand work with. It is both enormouslyrewarding and challenging in equal measures.Thank you for standing with us at St Luke’sand giving us this platform to inspire,encourage, challenge and walk with so manyteenagers in so many areas of their lives. Amy Stott

Glass Sellers’ Programme 2014Sunday 23 November

Service in St James’ Garlickhythe andinformal luncheon

Thursday 11 DecemberInstallation Dinner – Stationers’ Hall

Glass Sellers’ Programme 2015Wednesday 18 February

Ravenscroft Innovation LectureGoogle Offices, Central St Giles

Tuesday 10 MarchCourt and Livery Dinner

Thursday 11 JuneCourt and Livery Dinner

Painter Stainers’ HallThursday 24 September

Court and Livery Dinner – HQS WellingtonThursday 22 October

Annual Banquet – The Mansion House

New to the Glass Sellers’ Company

Liverymen:Steve Cahill

We bid him a hearty welcome

I’m both honoured and delighted that theCourt has elected me to serve the

Company as Master in 2015. FollowingMaster Andrew’s footsteps will not be easybut I am proud to have been associated withthe Company since 1983, being clothed inthe Livery in December 1993, and will domy best to uphold the traditions of theCompany and its reputation in the City.

I wanted my year to have a theme thatemphasised the purpose of the Companypast, present and future, and provided aframework for various activities.

My chosen theme is INNOVATE | COMMUNICATE.

I hope that, above all, Liverymen will findany changes refreshing and that as many ofyou as possible will be able to participateduring the year.

I’ve already circulated informationabout the Company’s key events and willsoon be able to tell you more about theplanned Jollies and other innovations thatwill take place.

You can follow my year as Master onTwitter (@GlassSeller) and email me onmaster2015@glass-sellers.co.uk.

I look forward to meeting many of you atthe December Installation Dinner andduring my year. Gwenllian Rhys

The Master Elect, Gwenllian Rhys

The Master Elect, Gwenllian Rhys, looks forward to 2015

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Aparty of nine Glass Sellers, led byThe Master, congregated at the

Majestic Hotel in Barrow at 12.30pm onMonday 21 July.

PM John Whiteman and CarolineWhiteman, Edgar Mobbs and John Savagehad made their own way up to Barrow,however the remainder led by the Masterhad enjoyed a hearty Virgin Breakfast onthe train from Euston, namely RichardKatz, Bill Chesshyre, Andrew Brocket andPM Richard Lawman.

We were met by three members of thecrew, Lt Chris Purvis who had made allthe arrangements, Lt Pete Gow and LtGez Green who conveyed us through thevery tight security system into the BAeYard in which the crew have theirWardroom and other facilities. We wereentertained to lunch by the CommandingOfficer, Cdr Scott Bower, and othermembers of the crew, during which TheMaster and Cdr Bower made briefspeeches of welcome and exchanged giftscelebrating our association with Artfuland our 350th Anniversary.

Building the Astute Class We were then conveyed to the BAe

Boardroom where we met Brian Benn ofBAe, who had joined what was thenVickers Shipbuilders in the mid-1970s andis now responsible for entertaining alloutside visitors to the shipyard. He ranthrough a brief history of the shipyardwhere submarines have been built sincethe beginning of the 20th century and thengave a visual display and talk on thebuilding of the Astute Class of submarineof which Artful is the third to be

constructed. He took us through thedesign and the construction of the boatfrom a sheet of heavy steel from France(unfortunately we do not make the qualityof steel suitable in the UK) through to theassembly of all the components in theConstruction Hall, built in the late-1980s.He also introduced us to the proposedSuccessor Class of boat which mayreplace the present Vanguard Class whichare equipped with Trident missiles. Ifthese vessels get the go ahead from thegovernment in 2016, the first vesselshould enter service in 2028.

From plate shop to pontoonAfter the lecture Brian took us on a tour

of the yard commencing in the fabricationshop where the plates arerolled into rings whichwill form the hull of theboat and are formed intothe various shapesrequired. We then movedinto the Construction Hallwhere we were able toinspect the three boats invarious stages ofconstruction, the finalseventh boat still being inplate form. We viewedthese from one of thegalleries some 15m abovethe shop floor. Finally wedescended to ground level

and moved onto the ship lift which wasused to “launch” Artful into the waterearlier this year. Unfortunately we couldonly inspect “our boat” from a distance,floating serenely in the dock.

Sea trialsThe expectation is that Artful will be

ready for her sea trials in the spring of2015 and once these have been completedsuccessfully will travel to her base atFaslane (still part of Britain!). We havebeen promised a further visit when weexpect to have the opportunity of a trip onboard; however we may have to travel toFaslane to achieve this.

We returned to the hotel for a well-earned drink and to prepare forentertaining five members of the crew, thethree who had been with us all daytogether with Cdr Scott Bower and Lt CdrMurray Adam. We enjoyed an excellentmeal whilst we all got to know one anotherbetter which was one of the main purposesof the trip. After dinner we adjourned tothe bar and enjoyed a drink or three intothe small hours.

It had been a very full day and we left inthe morning to go our various ways, theMaster leaving at the crack of dawn as hehad a meeting in London which he couldnot miss.

We all look forward to the next time weget to see our boat.Richard Lawman

Glass Sellers see work progressing on Artful

Acknowledgements: November 2014. The Glass Seller wishes to thank those who have contributed articles for this issue. Their names appear at the foot of thearticle or in the body of the text. The Editor is Jacky Manning and the design and artwork is by Andrew Jones, to whom we owe a great debt of gratitude. TheMagazine is printed and distributed by Crossprint on the Isle of Wight. Photographs were supplied by Gerald Sharp Photography, Clive Totman, members of theLivery, or are from the public domain. Our thanks go to the Clerk and Assistant Clerk whose active support is greatly appreciated.The Glass Seller is published by The Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers of London. www.glass-sellers.co.uk © The Glass Sellers Company 2014.

Modern submarines are huge! This is HMS Audacious, sister boat to Artful, on the building blocks

Glass Sellers, BAe staff and Submariners in the Boardroom at BAe