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Jon and I got invited to a black tie event on Friday night. It was the Annual Livery Dinner of the Worshipful Company of Lightmongers. A couple of ATL’s guests had to cancel at last minute and Jon and I attended in their place.
But, who and what are the Worshipful Company of Lightmongers? (the following information has been taken from: http://www.lightmongers.co.uk/)
Back in the 50s, a few members of the Lighting Industry decided to proceed with the formation of a Society called the Lightmongers to foster friendship within the industry. The appeal of the Society was immediate and membership grew rapidly, but was agreed to be limited to 110 members which was the City voltage at that time. Historically the Wax Chandlers and Tallow Chandlers were suppliers of light, but both regarded electric light as being worthy of a new Guild and became very supportive.
Trade and craft associations have flourished all over Europe for many centuries, but the City of London companies, originally known as Guilds are now collectively known as the Livery and unique in their survival, number and diversity.
The social and economic conditions which gave birth to the original guilds have long since been overtaken by the development of industry and commerce, but the livery companies still flourish today as living institutions. They have survived by doing what they have always done: fostering their trade in a wide context, serving the community through education and charity, and embracing modern skills and professions. Today there are 107 livery companies in the City of London. (More information in this page)
For me, attending this event was an unique experience that I don’t think will repeat any time in the near future. It was quite an honour to be part of this tradition, even for one night only. The Hall where the event took place was just stunning, full of history and character (read about the Hall here and see a few pictures here). The catering was pretty much immaculate and the company very nice indeed (I spent half the night talking to Eric Anderson, Siemens’ National Sales Manager). We all even took place in the “Ceremony of the Loving Cup”. (Read about it here or here). I was told by different people that a) you’re not meant to drink the wine inside it and b) that you ARE meant to drink it. I was conquered by curiosity, so I tried the mulled wine! It wasn’t bad at all! It was a bit fizzy and quite sweet…
Jon looking great in his black tie, and me getting ready!
There’s a guy who admitted to commiting a crime 27 years ago. Consequently, he’s spent all that time in prison, where everybody agreed that he should be. Read more about the story here.
Well, basically, now it has been proven that he did not commit that crime (through DNA tests… CSI have lots to answer for!) and he has been freed. What annoys me about the whole situation, and something that could only happen in the UK (and maybe the States too), is that his lawyers are now looking for compensation for all the years that he was wrongly imprissoned!
Excuse me? He admited the crime! He said he’d done it! He WANTED to go to prison! If anything, he would have to pay the relatives of the poor dead girl who have believed for all these years that justice had been done, and now all their fears and wounds have been reopened.
And yes, somehow I believe that the British Justice system will grant him quite a substantial compensation for having spent all his adult life in prison.
Bollocks.
I’ve been watching a bit of America’s Next Top Model Cycle 11. I’m not watching it religiously, but I just happen to have seen 90% of the episodes so far 
I still believe the quality of the girls, shots, etc, is soooooo much higher than in the UK (not really looking forward to the next cycle in the UK, as last year’s was such a rip-off) and until now I haven’t been disappointed with the shoots and eliminations.
My two favourite girls are Elina and Annaleigh. I know Annaleigh is not your typical model, but she is so cute and has such a nice personality, that it makes me like her anyway (on the other hand, I can’t stand Marjorie…), and Elina, well, she’s just stunning.
Elina:
I hope Elina wins… (I am really struggling not to go to the Wikipedia and find out who wins!)
Annaleigh:
I also liked Lauren Brie, but she was eliminated a couple of weeks ago. A shame, because I really think that she could have made a gorgeous and versatile model.
Lauren Brie:
I must apologise to Jon. When he first introduced me to AutoCAD I was very rude to him, asking him to get that shitty product up his … as I thought it was VERY complicated to use and really not worth the effort.
But I’ve changed my mind. I’ve just been in a three-day AutoCAD training course in Crowthorne and it was fantastic! In just three days I have such a better understanding of the programme, and at the end of the first day I had even drawn my first office plan from scratch! I still believe it is a very complicated yet powerful tool, and I only will become 100% confident with it when I get hands on little projects of my own that I can play with.
The problem?
The software costs almost a grand! There’s no chance in hell that I can afford that! But Carl at work has told us that now that there’s a few people in the office who can actually use the software, they are going to buy a few copies. But I want it at home as well! Maybe I should put it in the wedding gift list?
The training has been on the latest edition of Autocad LT: 2009. It is SOOO much better than its predecesors, as it has got a Vista-like interface that makes it very easy to use. Of course, you still have to learn how to use each idividual command, but with practice you can get around. I don’t thinl you have to be a computer wizzard to get a basic knowledge of the programme in just a couple of days. It is THAT user friendly!
I have really found the course fascinating. The teacher was great, he knows so much about autoCAD it is scary. Even the place where the training took place was great, the lunches they gave us of quite high standard (compared to what we actually offer to our visitors in the office).
I just hope now that my workload doesn’t suddenly duplicate because of my newly-developed skill!
I’ve just finished watching a film called Cashback (totally recommendable, I enjoyed it a lot). In one of the scenes, two of the main characters are talking about their life’s dreams. He wanted to be a painter and she wanted to travel South America.
This has made me think about what I want from life, what my life’s dreams and goals are. And, honestly, I have no idea.
When I was about 12-14 I wanted to be a DJ. One of my mum’s friends had a pub back in Motril and he even let me DJ once (at the age of 13!) I still remember it so well, I loved it. I even remember some of the songs I played. Among them, “Killer” by Seal/Adamski, “Unbelievable” by EMF, and “Groove is in the Heart” by Deelite. And I must have done well, because a lot of people complemented me on the night (although in hindsight I am not sure if it’s because they were feeling sorry for me!)
Then, later on in life, I wanted to become a teacher. And I tried very hard to become one. I did all my training courses and even worked shortly as a teacher of Spanish as a foreign language, and although I briefly enjoyed it, it was also very stressfull and decided against it. No, that was not going to be my career path.
And now, I don’t really know what to expect from life. If money was no object I can think of many a thing to do, like become a concert promoter or a fashion photographer. I could even move to the countyside and have a little farm. But money IS an object and I have to decide (or not) what I want to do with my life. Because that is the question. Is it really dishonourable to just live life and not worry about tomorrow? And I don’t mean it in the “carpe diem” sense, but in the “well, we’ll see what happens in two years time…” I am happy like I am at the moment. I have a great man who I’m going to marry in just a few weeks’ time, I have a good job, some good friends, and I am actually living one of the dreams I always had: living in the UK.
But, what happens when you’re content with what you’ve got?
When is it ok to stop desiring things?
And, is it okay at all?
Wouldn’t many people think that when you stop having aspirations then you’re dead inside?
Where’s my inspiration?
