Autumn Clachan: October 25th – The Counting House, London

The 2018 Autumn Clachan saw the Old Friends trying a new venue, and what an excellent choice it was! The Counting House in Cornhill, in the heart of the City of London, was designed by H.C. Boyes and built in 1893 as Prescott’s Bank. It stands on the site of the former bank of Dimsdale, Fowler and Company, the building’s foundations sitting partly on the north sleeper wall of an approximately 2000 year-old Roman basilica. Following a number of mergers and acquisitions, it finally became part of the National Westminster Bank in 1970. In 1998 the bank closed and the premises were very stylishly redesigned as a Fullers Ale and Pie house. The Counting House always has at least 5 ales on tap, and the Old Friends made sure they tried them all, along with the pies which were absolutely delicious!

The Old Friends committee met before the Clachan and President David Langdown was able to inform the members present that 9 new applications for membership had been accepted, as the membership remains robust during what have been challenging times. He advised of the upcoming dates, starting with the Christmas Clachan, the Spring Dinner and going through to the AGM – all dates can be found in the upcoming events section of this website. The President said that he is in the process of trying to secure the entertainment for the Spring Dinner. Several names are in the frame, but fees and availability are always challenging, however it will be the last dinner of his presidency and he is trying to secure a speaker worthy of the occasion.

The raffle was won by Simon Bishop.

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