Chairman's Message February 2026

Ironmongers Hall lunch and Purcell Club tour of Westminster Abbey

Ironmongers Hall Luncheon – Monday 20 April 2026

Please buy your tickets soon. Deadline 10 April 2026.

Bridge Ward members and their guests can visit Ironmongers Hall for lunch on Monday 20 April 2026. Ironmongers is one of the Great XII Livery Companies of the City with links back 700 years.

The three course lunch is £70 + £3 booking fee. A wine package of a glass of prosecco and half a bottle of wine per person is £10 + £2 booking fee.

We have introduced booking fees to cover the costs of using Ticket Tailor, the payment app Square and BWC admin costs.

Please purchase your tickets asap using this Ticket Tailor link

 

 

A spectacular musical tour of Westminster Abbey – there are only 3 tickets left!

Join us for a very special visit to Westminster Abbey on 26 September 2026. Appreciate the beauty of the Abbey without any tourists!

The evening will commence at 17:30 in the Cellarium Restaurant of the Abbey

A two course meal with tea and coffee is included. (Other drinks are paid personally  on the night). Menu choices will be requested much nearer the event, the choices are shown at the end of this mail.

Then at 19:00 we join the Purcell Club musical tour of the Abbey.

The Purcell Club’s members are mainly former Choristers of Westminster Abbey. The guided tour of the Abbey, with music, lasts about two hours and offers a unique way of seeing the Abbey in the quiet of the evening. As well as visiting the Coronation Chair, the tomb of the Unknown Warrior and Poets Corner, the tour gains access to the King Henry VII Chapel and the Shrine of St Edward the Confessor. Each year the tours raise thousands of pounds for charity.

The event costs £81 per person including the 2-course meal and tea/coffee. The booking fee will be £4.00

Cellarium menu

MAIN

Roasted chicken with spinach and potato puree, spiced chickpeas and sundry tomato, crispy kale or

Pan-fried hake, courgette and sage risotto, crispy sage or

Wild mushroom gnocchi, tomato cream, basil pesto, pine nut, vegan parmesan chips

DESSERT

Seasonal homemade cheesecake or

Pistachio panna cotta, chocolate biscuit, rose petals or

Apple and berries crumble, vegan ice cream

I look forward to seeing you at one of our events soon.

Keith Etherington

Bridge Ward Club Chairman

Chairman’s Message 30/05/2024

As you will know, we sadly lost our Chairman, John Gavin in January this year. Those who knew him are feeling his loss deeply. I stepped in as Chairman from Deputy and am most certainly learning the ropes as I go along, however I am enjoying getting more involved in the city’s events and bringing people together to help build and strengthen Bridge Ward Club.

A little bit about my background, I am a Financial Planner in the City and I work with mainly private clients to help build their financial plans to support their longer term goals, whether that be assisting with retirement, inheritance tax planning or generation wealth transfers. I often travel to meet clients however my base is the city and it has been great to see a real buzz come back following Covid.

The charity which I have nominated this year is Headway – The Brain Injury Association, which is a cause close to my family.

We are really looking forward to bolstering the events we have this year, including a visit to Hatton Garden, our annual Carol Concert and …

Our Annual General Meeting is on June 18th 2024. We would really like to see more people get involved with the club so please do invite friends and family to our events and speak to myself or one of the other members if you would like to get involved with the committee.

Thank you for your support and I look forward to seeing you over the coming year.

Ellie Armson