The School Council’s Visit to the Guildhall by Imogen and Evie
Procession of the Lord Mayor
When we arrived, we sat in our seats in silence. Then a man came in and said “All stand for the Lord Mayor”. He was carrying a mace. Then a couple of people came in including the Lord Mayor. The mace was placed in the middle of the room and the Lord Mayor said into the microphone “You may now sit.”
The Mace of Civic Regalia
The mace is made from solid silver. It weighs 4.5kg. It is carried on the right shoulder. The mace is only used on rare and special occasions. It has lots of patterns and details on it with no stakes. We all got to hold the mace.
Rotten eggs for fines
A long time ago, the Mayor would go around the public and call them for a meeting. The Lord Mayor would demand to pay their fines. The people got really angry and they started to throw rotten eggs at the Lord Mayor. They realised this was upsetting people and so they decided to stop.
The Burghmote Horn
Back in 1155, a soldier climbed to the top of the tall building to blow the horn. The horn was blown to get the Lord Mayor up for a meeting.
The Vision Sword
The Vision Sword was made in 1988. It has six crests on it:
- The Canterbury Cross
- The University Coat of Arms
- The Queen’s Regiment
- The Archbishop’s See
- The Tudor Rose
- City of Canterbury coat of arms
The Three Chuff Birds
On the Canterbury Shield, there are three chuff birds. They have red beaks and legs. There is a story about how they got their red beaks and legs. Thomas Beckett was struck by a sword in Canterbury Cathedral by the kingsmen. When the men ran away, birds flew down, including the chuff. When the chuff landed, it landed in a puddle of blood making their feet turn red. When they pecked at the body, their beaks turned red. So that is why chuffs have red feet and beaks.
School Council Meeting
We were lucky enough to have our usual weekly School Council meeting at the Guildhall. We talked about how we will hold a tombola on the 14th November. This will be to raise money for Forest Area and for a Little Free Library project. There will also be a win every time stall.