The City of London is best known as a thriving financial centre, perhaps the most dynamic financial stronghold in the world. Yet there are further factors contributing to the unique character of the City, not least its mysterious, innovative, and sometimes controversial governing body, the Court of Common Council. Often perceived as an anomaly by Parliament and neighbouring boroughs, yet populated by a dedicated community of elected members who regard their office as ‘an honour as well as a duty’, this chronicle of Common Councilman C Douglas Woodward’s rise through the ranks of the Council documents the evolution of the governing body as well as its sometimes contentious relationship with Parliament, alongside the author’s personal recollections of such occasions as the creation of the Barbican Arts Centre, the dissolution of the GLC, and encounters with the great and the good.

With the sharp insight and understanding that only an insider can provide, C Douglas Woodward weaves a highly engaging memoir with a detailed history of the political and civil life of London in the late twentieth century. A fascinating portrait of personal experience and social change.