Dear London Branch members
I am delighted to present my third report to you as Chairman. It has been a memorable year with a wide variety of outstanding, and in some cases unusual, events.
We have seen a continued demand for interesting meals and are particularly grateful to David Wakefield for his superb lunches at Sam’s Riverside and his tasting dinner with fine clarets. We are delighted to be visiting the University of West London once more. Many thanks to William Arthur, Beverley St John Aubin, Roger Ellis and indeed to all our organisers.
We have also enjoyed some superb wine tastings, including mature wines generously donated by Richard Duncan and Ian Shane from their own cellars, as well as many very interesting and innovative tastings from Dr. Bernard Lamb and Chris Davenport-Jones. We are grateful for their continued support.
I must also mention our garden party at Cumberland Lodge – a superb experience which went without a hitch, and one that few other organisations are able to offer. We are very grateful to Michael Rogers-Nash for making it possible.
At this point I must mention one member who has sadly passed away in the last year: Keith Ellis, who was so generous to us over many years as a member of our Committee and events organiser. He was a great supporter of our Branch and will be very sadly missed.
I should also like to thank all our Committee members for their hard work and support over the last year. Particular thanks are due to Rachel Burnett for taking on the role of Secretary, and William Arthur for starting to promote our activities on Social media.
As I mentioned last year, we are always looking for people who are prepared to organise or facilitate events, and also for members who would be prepared to serve on our committee. None of us are getting any younger, and I am very concerned that we do not have potential successors lined up for most of the major roles. So we would very much like to hear from any members, and particularly the younger ones, who would be prepared to help out in any way whatsoever. Please do not be concerned that you lack relevant experience: we are very happy to help people to learn on the job. Succession Planning is an important part of my role as Chairman, and one which is now becoming critical.
We are also keen to recruit new members to the Branch. Please consider encouraging some of your friends and relatives to join us.
In spite of these challenges, your Committee is still working hard to provide you with a wide range of excellent events: probably we offer more variety than any other branch. We are always looking for new ideas, and are prepared to run almost any event that has an organiser and an audience. Would there be an interest in reviving blind tasting competitions for example, or food tastings and cookery demonstrations? I am very sad to report however that a few events have been poorly attended. We really do need our members to support all our events if they possibly can, and not just those that are exceptional.
That said, we are in a strong position financially, and looking forward to another excellent year. Rising prices in London are a major challenge, but we are doing what we can to offer excellent value for money, and look forward to seeing you all at many of our events over the coming year.
Alan Shepherd
Chairman, London Branch
October 2025