APOTHECARIES’ HALL 2nd APRIL 2007 
Are there would-be Formula 1 Racing drivers secretly lurking in the ranks of the membership of the Feltmakers’ Livery? What other special reason can there be for notching up the second highest attendance at a Livery Dinner this decade, exceeded only by the attendance numbers in our special quatercentenary year? The opportunity to sit at the feet (or at the table) of the now legendary Chairman and Chief Executive of the MacLaren Formula 1 Racing Equipe - Mr Ron Dennis CBE - was clearly too good a chance to pass up, and the customary numbers at this spring event were swelled by a pleasing number of the company whom we see less frequently. Their journey was well worth the effort. The Apothecaries’ Hall oozes character and history, and the pre-prandial drinks were taken in reception rooms where portraits of rotund Apothecaries’ Masters of centuries past gazed down upon us with no doubt benign approval at the choice of the champagne, while extensive cases of Apothecary essentials in labelled jars in serried ranks in high wall cupboards imparted a gently silent pharmaceutical warning against over-indulgence. The chaplain launched us into our meal with one of his memorable, striking graces, composed, so he told us, as he travelled in on the train. Rhyming couplets achieved a new dimension, but the company clearly appreciated the creativity of the composition. Apothecaries evidently do not dawdle over their food.  Ron Dennis Those who rise from the shop floor to become head of multi-million-pound companies or enterprises very often have a special fascination in the story they have to tell.  Commander Richard Moss of HMS Lancaster All too soon the evening was drawing to a close but not before we had a welcome update from Commander Richard Moss Captain of HMS Lancaster on recent and forthcoming activity of our ‘own’ ship. The Master, Derek Bonham, then sent us cheerily on our way with a timely stirrup cup. Rowland Brown
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