The WCoBM Float was in honour of the new Lord Mayor Fiona Woolf CBE, who is an Honorary Member of the Company. Fiona is the 686th Lord Mayor but only the second woman to take the role.
Despite the wet weather, crowds of people lined the City’s streets to celebrate the occasion and cheer the three mile procession of vehicles, marching bands, spectacular floats, carriages and much more. The Show represents charities, community groups, business and Livery companies as well as Her Majesty’s Forces and the City Police. The WCoBM Float was captured live on the BBC thanks to comprehensive briefings and lobbying of BBC researchers. It also caught the eye of The Metro and many in the crowds. Many said it stood out from the rest and some said it was the best Float.
The theme of the Float was ‘Builders’ Merchanting through the Ages’ with prominent banners drawing attention to the importance of builders’ merchants’ in ‘Supplying Britain’s Building Needs’ for roads, housing, public sector and commercial buildings. The new strap line was also on 2,000 highly visible, bright yellow builders’ hats and rulers, handed out to the crowds as the Float passed by.
The Float started with an old hand cart pulled by two Liverymen, followed by Ridgeons’ Dray pulled by two large Shire horses, then three classic vehicles including Buildbase’s 1920 Model T, Buttle’s 1934 truck and Calor Gas’ 1950’s truck, ending with Lawson’s brand new flat-bed vehicle. Thirty Liverymen dressed in long brown ‘Arkwright’ work coats and flat caps with pencils behind their ears, as worn by Ronnie Barker and David Jason in the popular ‘Open All Hours’ TV comedy, walked in the procession, handing out yellow builders’ hats, rulers and pencils. Others in building material costumes included Naylor’s clay pipes, Catnic’s lintels, IKO roofing felt, Dulux paint can, Knauf insulation, Lafarge cement and many more including two Toilet Pans.
Everyone maintained great enthusiasm despite the pouring rain. Members and guests on the North Sand all wearing their yellow builders’ hats, took 150 seats and defied the weather to cheer the WCoBM Float and the Lord Mayor in her Gold Coach as it passed, throwing their hats in the air. The hats were very popular, with many wearing them on the way home and into the evening. At 5pm a spectacular firework display over the Thames ended the celebrations perfectly.
The Master John Poore explains: “It was a truly magnificent and memorable day and not even the heavy downpour could spoil one of London’s annual highlights. A lot of time, effort and preparation went into our Float but, it was all worth it – it was a great opportunity to put builders’ merchants centre stage. A huge thank you must go to the Working Party, which I set up 18 months ago. Their eagerness to be involved and help raise money and support for the Float wsa superb, together with our sponsors and walkers on the day. Without their involvement, our outstanding Float and the coverage received for builders’ merchants would not have been possible.”
The WCoBM Float can be viewed here: http://vimeo.com/82292510 and on YouTube from 4mins 50secs:http://bit.ly/1bqWMvz
