Page 9 - A4 Journal 2019

The Master’s Year

That evening we had a very memorable black tie dinner at the Hong Kong Club in Central – saved by the Master from having
the basement squash courts turned into swimming pools by water ingress! We were graced by the presence of Frances
Moffett – Kouadio, Trade Commissioner at the British Consulate and her husband. Conversations went on long into the night!
Early the next morning the charabancs were ready to take us to the port where we embarked on a 90 minute trip with
members of the Master’s Church community to Ap Chau (Duck Island) passing through a geological and UNESCO heritage
area. At Ap Chau the Company was welcomed by a traditional dragon boat dance and then refreshments before we sat down
for an event to celebrate the restoration of Ap Chau after the devastation of a recent cyclone.
Many speeches were in Chinese but one of the church community, now living in Hong Kong, provided a masterful translation
with his perfect Scottish lilt. The event ended with the Master presenting a plaque to mark the visit and then the Master gave
a speech which was loudly applauded as he broke into song in Chinese to be joined by the audience – to be repeated at the
next dinner? We then had a traditional lunch before visiting the story room to see the history of the island since it was
populated in the early 1900s by seafaring Chinese. After exploring the island and taking part in a dragon boat dance, including
percussion from the Wardens, we embarked again for the return journey.
More was to follow. In a room off a crowded restaurant in East Kowloon the Mistress’ family helped to organise a sumptuous
seafood banquet with Alaska crab and as many courses as the guests could remember. The evening was rounded off by a
demonstration of fish footwear by CA Deborah Pullen.
Those who attended were provided with a weekend not to be forgotten and we cannot thank the Master and Mistress and
their family enough for the care, time and attention which went into organising a superb event. Did I mention that there was
mist and rain – we did not notice it in the warmth and sunshine of the people that weekend.”
Senior Warden - Sir Vivian Ramsey

The Master’s Weekend in Cambridge

Conscious that some members were perhaps unable or disinclined to venture to the far eastern extremities of our former
empire, the Master and Mistress also organised a weekend closer to home, in Cambridge, the Master’s alma mater.
So, over the weekend of 12th to 14th July, the Master held his UK weekend in Cambridge, the City where he had been a post-
graduate scholar at Wolfson College. In this, his “Back to School” weekend, the Master had arranged for all of us to stay in the
splendid Halls of Residence of Downing College.

The weekend was attended by some 40 Constructors and their wives/partners and started with a reception in the tranquil
Betty Wu Lee garden in his old College. The pictures above show the Ladies (left) and the Gentlemen (right) in the sunshine in
the Betty Wu Lee Garden. The sun shone, the wine flowed and the canapés were eaten amongst the usual friendly banter of a
Master’s Weekend.
Afterwards, we had an enjoyable informal Friday evening dinner in Downing College, where the obligatory group photograph
was taken as we met in the quadrangle for pre-prandial drinks, as the picture on page 10 shows. We then progressed to the
Maitland room where we were wined and dined in true fashion.

On the Saturday morning we split into two parties to enjoy a guided walking tour of Cambridge and relax in chauffeured punts
on the river Cam. One party did the walk first and the punting later, whilst the others punted first and walked after.

Whilst the weather wasn’t quite as good as it was on the Friday, the rain held off and an enjoyable time was had by all, with
those of a strong constitution joining up for a lunchtime drink in the Anchor pub, overlooking the river.

Autumn 2019 | The Journal of the Worshipful Company of Constructors | Page 9