The initial and most congenial task in this, my first anniversary address, is to record, more formally than I could do in taking over from him last year, thanks to my predecessor, Simon Jervis, for his distinguished service to the Society. He guided the Fellowship for six years with great panache, as well as wisdom, and for this we are deeply indebted. I am sure we all miss his benign and learned asides and the wealth of the anecdotes which enlivened his Anniversary Addresses and his comments at the Thursday lectures. Luckily, past Presidents do not immediately disappear, leaving only a smile behind, but they are transmuted into Honorary Vice-Presidents, and, if they are Simon Jervis, they also continue to provide help and comment – for example, during this year as the editor of The Antiquary, which he has revived with considerable success.