Horn Blower

of levity into life. I was on the Piccadilly Line
recently when a young man amused me hugely
with his imitation of a robot. I tried to stifle my
mirth and maintain my reserve, as did the other
passengers. At the next stop, a middle-aged lady
boarded the train with her friend and sat down.
The robot turned his head and said to them, “I am
a robot; I have no human feelings.” The lady
looked at him for a second then said, “You must
be from the Treasury, then.”
The season of Epiphany, which ends today,
introduces us to some interesting characters, and
not only to the three wise men in the margins of
history. There was also, for example, the baptiser
of Christ. I guess that most of you would find John
the Baptist’s dress code disturbing: he must have
been a colourful character; his clothes made of
camel hair and held in place with a leather belt.
And the fragrance must have been more camel
than Chanel. Robust Hall Porters all over Palestine
were having cardiac arrest at his appearance. As
the former secretary of a London Gentleman’s
Club, I understand the problem! And his diet!
Have you ever asked the Maitre D for “locusts and
wild honey”? It does not want to make you clasp
the man to the bosom of your clientele. Yes, John
the Baptist must have presented himself as a
gaunt figure when he emerged from his cave in
the Judean wilderness.
Then in the lesson this morning we read of the
holy man in the shadows of the Temple - Simeon.
He was a man in the mould of Malachi and Isaiah.
He quoted Isaiah, who had said, “I, the Lord....
have destined you to be a light for peoples, a lamp
for nations.” When Simeon held the infant Christ
in his arms, he didn’t say, “Couchy couchy coo”,
but instead, “My eyes have seen the light to
lighten the Gentiles.” Christ was to be an example
and a beacon to the whole world, and not just to
an exclusive group. That is something the Livery
Companies of the City of London readily
understand.
I said a moment ago that we should use this time
to reflect soberly on the nature of this Worshipful
Company. It deserves and merits such reflection,
for I believe you have a good track record of
service to the community.
Though, not quite as good a record as Noah. For
Noah floated a successful company when the
whole world was going into liquidation. As
Horners, you don’t just sit on your hands and
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enjoy each other’s company; you are energetic in
reaching out to those who need your help in
realising their ambitions.
One of the saddest sights is to see young boys and
girls, young men and women, hanging about
street corners out of work, their life drifting by.
For very many years, this Company has been
involved with the education of the young. It has
always encouraged young people in craft training,
and enlarged the education of those wishing to
enter the plastics industry. I have found that
young people, in the main, really do want to be
employed. They want the respect of their peers
and their parents. And, of course, they want
money in their pockets. They need -- and deserve -
- our encouragement.
Through the City and Guilds of London Institute,
and through your annual Awards --- the Student
Design Award in Innovation in Plastics, the
Bottlemakers Award, the Horners Jewellery
Award, and your scholarship to a student at the
Guildhall School of Music and Drama, through all
these you encourage to a very high degree the
pursuit of excellence. I am particularly impressed
with the Advanced Physics Course (SHAP), the
Polymer Study Tours, and especially the superb
presentations in the Fantastic Plastic programme.
But it isn’t enough to train those who come to you
for help. What about those who feel unloved,
hopeless, the unmotivated, who, in the words of
Isaiah, are in “the dungeon where they lie in
darkness”? Those whom even their friends have
deserted.
They need endless patience, and there will be
precious little gratitude for our pains, but is there
something we can do to kick-start their lives? The
trouble is that there are too many proficient
young con-artists and thieves on the streets. I am
not talking about them. I have in mind the young
people who don’t know how to get one foot on
the bottom rung of the ladder of life. They need
opportunities to learn a craft, and they need
encouragement and support to overcome the
great inertia which has surrounded them.
The Master’s charity, “Thrive”, offers a workbased
training, and the charity’s 'in-work-support’
provides the opportunity to gain a vocational
qualification, and the skills required to access
and sustain paid employment in horticulture.
For I am often surprised by the depth of integrity
(and sometimes knowledge)