The Inner Temple gains a member

“What do Geoffrey Chaucer, Prince Phillip, and Mahatma Gandhi have in common?”

This isn’t a pub quiz, but if it was, then most of you would surely have been quick on the buzzers with the answer, they were all members of The Honourable Society of The Inner Temple, one of the four Inns of Court to which all barristers belong.

You might not have known that recently the Inner Temple welcomed a new member to their ranks. If you hadn’t, you’d be forgiven, for they haven’t yet updated their list of notable members. But this new member is one very dear to us, our very own Tage.

The ceremony put on to admit the latest cohort of fledgling barristers is called being “called to the Bar”, and involves gathering in ancient cloisters, the donning of wigs and gowns, a suitably complex bowing routine, an address by a senior barrister, and plenty more. For Medha and I, who were unsuccessful in the fierce competition for tickets, it also involved calling up to an actual bar for a half of lager and white wine spritz while the ceremony took place.

After the ceremony and photos, we walked through the Inns of Court. Tage showed us the chambers in which he’s been offered a pupillage, and even the bit of courtyard he nervously paced around before his interview. It made for a satisfyingly full-circle moment.

If we’d been looking forward to the ceremony, Tage had been looking forward to our celebratory dinner afterwards. We went to Rowley’s, a restaurant in St James that is a bit of a Cammack special-occasion institution of our childhood.

The star of the show is steak in a house butter sauce, sizzling away on top of some tea lights, and the budding sidekick the unlimited hot and crispy french fries. When they say unlimited, they mean it. The waiter is practically forcing them onto your plate, knowing intuitively how far to push back against your protests. Bottomless brunch spots, and other places claiming to offer an “unlimited” offering should take note — that is hospitality.

It goes without saying that I’m incredibly proud of my young brother, and very impressed by his achievements. Though they probably don’t know yet the full extent of it, the Inner Temple have just made a decision that will stand them in very good stead, and they’re very lucky to have him.