You may have wondered about the rules for formal dining in the City.
When we join the Livery we swear allegiance to His Majesty, The King and this Company. There are a number of City Livery traditions which we value and undertake to adhere to.
The dress code for most dinners in a formal Livery Hall setting is Dinner Jacket (Black Tie) for gentlemen and a dress no shorter than knee length or evening trousers for a lady. The City is conservative so covering up is better than minimal attire!
The National Anthem is sung at almost all formal events. It is polite for Liverymen and guests to rise and sing the Anthem before drinking the Toasts even if the guest is not a citizen of the United Kingdom.
Most formal dinners in the City setting will include the Loyal Toasts, of which are 3 –
• The King
• The Royal Family
• The Lord Mayor and City of London Corporation.
It is polite and customary for Liverymen and guests to rise when asked to do so by the speaker or Toastmaster, raise their glass and drink after they have repeated the specific Toast. The words may be shortened when the Toast is drunk to “The King”, “The Royal Family” and “The Lord Mayor and the City”. If the Sheriffs are also present at a formal dinner then the third, City Toast, will include them as well.
The Loving Cup ceremony, which dates from Medieval times, is drunk by almost all Livery Companies at formal events. A large silver cup, traditionally filled with mead but most likely wine today, is handed ceremonially from guest to guest with one guest drinking and one holding the cup cover and a third guest guarding the back of the drinker. Having drunk and bowed to acknowledge each other, the guest who has just drunk from the cup hands it to his neighbour and turns to guard his neighbour’s back while he drinks. Thus the cup progresses round the table until everyone has drunk from it. It is quite acceptable to bow over the cup should a Liveryman or guest not wish to drink.
The Master will end his speech with a Toast to the Guests. All Liverymen are invited to stand and drink this Toast but guests should remain seated.
The principal guest who replies to the Toast to the Guests will end his speech with the Toast “The Worshipful Company of Chartered Surveyors, Root and Branch, may it continue and flourish forever, coupled with the name of the Master……” Both Liverymen and guests should rise and drink this Toast.
It is inappropriate to use mobile phones in an obvious way to photograph/video proceedings at a formal dinner. There will usually be an official photographer present from whom photos can be obtained.