December 2021 NewsletterLet me start by thanking you for all your kind comments about this newsletter and your overwhelming good wishes for Christmas. Can I reciprocate in wishing you all the compliments of the season and the hope that the New Year will bring us all a healthy and productive time ( as the Shrieval Christmas Card says).
Can I assure you that, whilst there have been some last minute changes in the diary for the Civic City ( the Lord Mayor’s Visit to Scotland changed to being virtual); the intention is to maintain a normal calendar as prevailing conditions allow. Business as usual This month the business agenda for me included several meetings and events and none more international than speaking at Chile Day conference in the Mansion House. This event is a real showcase for businesses from Chile and the UK to meet and speak about their engagement and interests. Chile is a vital partner for the UK, see: https://en.mercopress.com/2021/12/01/chile-day-in-uk-british-ministers-and-president-pinera-will-be-attending City Governance issues and the Livery The Lord Mayor keeps in touch with the Livery in many ways. Soon after he took office Vincent made the annual presentation to the Livery Masters which gave the Livery a chance to ask questions and raise topics. Interestingly topics included the voting arrangements for the Common Council elections and diversity. Both indicate how the Livery is getting more involved in the City Governance. This was also reflected in the letter that the Lord Mayor wrote to the Livery about the review of the Corporation’s structure and oversight as a response to a Report by Lord Lisvane in 2020. The letter to the Livery was a very useful update and link to the Report and to the status of the review, see: https://www.liverycommittee.org/city-corporation-governance-review-update-in-response-to-lord-lisvane-report/ The recommendations proposed and passed at the Policy and Resources Committee in November (mentioned in the letter) were agreed at a long, but useful, meeting of Court of Common Council on December 9th. They will be implemented from April 2022. You can watch the Common Council on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ItDGwDCbJ8 Some Livery Companies also took action to write to the members of the Common Council about a challenge to a planning permission granted in respect of a building in Houndsditch. The building (if built) would be tall and immediately adjacent to a residential area. The residents who submitted a challenge felt that the wrong decision had been made by the Planning and Transportation Committee and wanted to bring this to the Common Council to overturn. Unusually the Council was lobbied by many interests and took the view that they should not consider the application as it was in breach of process. As a property lawyer, I would like to stress how important real estate is to the economy of the City and the UK. Local authorities (including the City of London) in the UK have statutory and proper process to approve planning applications, and there are clear avenues for individuals to pursue objection or appeal. The relevant committee is obliged to weigh up these issues, assess planning applications & objections vs statutory parameters and governmental planning practice guidance (see: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/planning-practice-guidance ), take advice and ultimately decide on the application. Activities at the Old Bailey The Old Bailey’s business continues with many high profile trials but inside the building the human interaction is positive. Sheriff Nick and I, with Glenn and Felicity, were taken on a tour of the basement and found the boilers. Critical as the weather changes, they are also part of a £38 million pound investment by the City Corporation who own the building which is in need of a serious upgrade in many aspects. The boilers are being replaced by more efficient, smaller and cleaner models and we all hope to keep warm and well this winter and for decades to come. The City Corporation’s Property Investment Board based their away day at the Old Bailey. (I am a member of the Board). After an in depth review of our large £4bn property portfolio and some strategic thinking for our future needs, I took the Board on a tour and they enjoyed the cells, the Roman Wall as well as the new boilers! Livery and Ward Club attendance I had a variety of events with Livery Companies and Ward Clubs. The Masons’ Livery award The Duke of Gloucester’s Awards every two years and last time they were awarded I attended as Master Plaisterer. The skill of the craftsmen is exceptional. See it at: https://www.masonslivery.org/the-duke-of-gloucester-awards-2021/ I always enjoy making speeches and was pleased to be the guest at the Broad Street Ward Club. You might enjoy my sense of humour in this speech: https://www.alisongowman.org/blog/speech-to-the-broad-street-ward-club The envelope handed to me was for the Sheriffs’ and Recorder’s Fund and not my fee ( I come free on all occasions). Christmas celebrations I have been pleased to attend many Christmas events including the Bailey’s own carol service and homegrown choir of superb voices. With the Lord Mayor I turned on the lights at a bespoke and unique Christmas tree on the balcony of the Mansion House. Rivalling the tree in Trafalgar Square for adverse comments, this reflected the need to think about waste this Christmas. Designed by artist Áinne Burke, it was made of items that have been recovered from the City’s refuse – drinks cans, batteries, construction detritus and packaging. Whilst it does not look glamourous the news item whizzed around the world, proving that news can be mercurial ( if not fickle), see: https://www.euronews.com/2021/12/01/lord-mayor-of-the-city-of-london-unveils-a-rubbish-christmas-tree I turned on the lights at the wonderful tree outside St Paul’s Cathedral accompanied by singers from St Paul’s Cathedral School choir. However by far the largest crowd was at Leadenhall Market. The retailers here have had a very difficult time during the pandemic and the City Corporation, as Landlords, have been supportive of the plans to bring people back to shop in the City. The Markets’ Committee ( on which I sit) were entertained at various shops and restaurants and I broke my “ no drink” rule to share a glass with Andrien Meyers, the Chair of the Property Investment Board. Just before Christmas the City Corporation with the Mayor of London produced a one-off spectacle in Guildhall Yard – Borealis. No tricks or skulduggery but beautiful coloured lights projected onto a created mist that provided both eerie and ethereal designs overhead. With those gentle colours and music echoing in my memory can I conclude by wishing you a peaceful and healthy New Year. November 2021 Newsletter: Installation of new Lord Mayor, COP26For the City of London November means the Lord Mayor’s Show and the transition of power with a new Lord Mayor. The other international event was the COP26 Climate Summit and a pivotal time for the City and the world to transition to net zero.
Installation of new Lord Mayor The weekend starts with the Silent Ceremony – the most moving event in the calendar as the new Lord Mayor makes a short declaration and the insignia of office are presented to him in silence. Next day, the Lord Mayor’s Show is a full programme of fun and purpose. Watch highlights at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyu9guWMczk I was pleased to see both the Glovers’ and Plaisterers’ floats in my honour this year! I also enjoyed the Upholders where I am an honorary Liveryman alongside the Lord Mayor. Photo credit: Gerald Sharp For the Lord Mayor, the Show is punctuated by two formal events – one is the blessing at St Paul’s Cathedral and secondly the stop at the Royal Courts of Justice to make the oath of allegiance to the Queen in front of the Lord Chief Justice and other senior judges. Neither have I been able to photograph as I am not present at St Paul’s (being in an earlier carriage) and the Courts ban photography. See my book The City of London: who, what, why if you want to know more! Find it at: - https://www.alisongowman.org/how-the-city-of-london-works.html On Monday 15th November the Lord Mayor’s Banquet took place and the splendour and delight of the Guildhall is a wonder to behold. The Banquet is hosted by the Lord Mayor and the Sheriffs and we believe our planning came to a successful conclusion. Fine speeches by the principal guests included a tour de force by our new Lord Mayor Alderman Vincent Keaveny.. Read it at: https://news.cityoflondon.gov.uk/lord-mayor-calls-on-city-to-boost-social-mobility-and-deploy-finance-for-social-impact/ The Prime Minister spoke on foreign policy - https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pm-speech-to-the-lord-mayors-banquet-15-november-2021 And the Archbishop of Canterbury delivered a thoughtful speech reminding us of the important foundations of people, vision and God’s faithfulness which should make us bold and give us hope -https://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/speaking-writing/speeches/archbishops-speech-lord-mayors-banquet Old Bailey news A dedicated member of the Shrieval team retired just at the end of October, Nick Lee. Nick had been a footman at the Bailey for decades and was a font of knowledge and stories about the place and the people. It was a testimony to his popularity that so many City folk knew him. He was an invaluable help to Sheriff Nick and me in the start of our year. He leaves for a happy retirement with his boat in Devon. We have had a cautious start to the lunches with the Judges and are now hosting guests on about 4 days a week. I held the first themed lunch in November which was on the topic of Property – one of my focuses this year. The coats of the arms of the Sheriffs appear on the wall in the Judges’ Dining Room and ours are now on show in the long line with all the previous Sheriffs who have served the City so well. COP26 The international event that I have been working towards for some time and on which the whole world is depending landed in Glasgow from 1 – 12 November. You cannot have missed it! I attended in the second week for the day focussing on Cities, Regions and Built Environment. I took part in the Green Zone Carbon Trust panel session: Enhancing ambition on climate change in cities and regions, speaking about the work of the City of London’s Climate Action Strategy; our huge ambition and how to achieve it. I attended various other events including the UK100 hub, which is a confederation of cities and regions of the UK who have pledged to meet net zero. I had a useful bilateral with a representative of the Mexican Minister of Finance, pursuing my work in Latin America. Since COP I seem to have done a lot of talking or writing about it! Including at the Rotary Club in Mayfair and with the World Traders’ Livery online. Read my blogs here https://www.alisongowman.org/blog Livery links My mother Livery Company, the Glovers, held an impressive seminar on the history of gloves and glovemaking at the Old Bailey and had the benefit of noted medieval historian Professor Caroline Barron as well as our own Liveryman Mike Redwood and Peter Brown. We learned a lot about the medieval context in which the glovemakers thrived and created beautiful and intricate gloves for adornment. Supreme examples of these are part of the Glove Collection Trust held at the Fashion Museum in Bath - https://www.fashionmuseum.co.uk/search?search_api_views_fulltext=glove I have attended several Livery dinners and learned a lot about the various companies. A distinct theme has been developing around the maritime industry and the interplay with the aviation sector regarding the use of heavy fuels and transition to more sustainable energy sources. It started at the Green Aviation Conference convened by the Air Pilots and Scientific Instrument Makers where I spoke ( see contemporaneous article in Air Pilot - https://www.airpilots.org/news-and-comment/air-pilot-magazine/) A really compelling story was discussed of the need to innovate but with news of ideas and improvements over time. The air sector were looking to maritime to collaborate on ideas and dining with the Shipwrights, Master Mariners and Baltic Exchange ( all separately) it was clear that this was a common aim. I hope that some engagement might blossom in this important area as the success of these sectors is vital to our trade. Best wishes Alderman & Sheriff Alison Gowman |
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