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Looking after the Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor

Under the watchful eye of the Master, Liveryman Ivan Wainer adjusts “the product of our time-honoured craft” which he had produced for the Lord Mayor, Alderman Ian Luder, on behalf of the Company - before sampling the Mansion House’s traditional hospitality.

A Papal Blessing for the Master

At the June 2008 Court Luncheon, the Master was presented with a blessing from the Pope

The blessing was presented by Alessandro Spiezia, President of the Associazione Italiana Ottici (AIO), the Italian equivalent of the AOP. Signor Spiezia dispenses spectacles to His Holiness, and was intrigued to discover that Liveryman Roger Pope, who visited Rome in December 2007, is the Queen’s dispensing optician. Accordingly, he included Mr Pope in the AIO’s delegation that had been granted an audience in the Vatican, thereby gifting the optical press the headline “Pope meets Pope.” (see photograph right).

The other photograph, taken in the Hall on 17th June, depicts (above, left to right) Roger Pope, Signor Spiezia, Dr Marion Casini, the AIO’s Chief Executive, the Master and Signor Andrea Dorigo, managing director of Luxottica UK.