June 2022 Shrieval Newsletter

STILL CHANCE TO BOOK:   for the Livery Climate Action Group in person Conference on Monday 4th July at Merchant Taylors’ Hall. This will give all aspiring Livery members lots of useful information and contacts to start looking at the need to reduce carbon emissions and green our City. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/lcag-annual-conference-tickets-330660052117

Old Bailey news
As you will be aware the Sheriffs have been using temporary offices at the Old Bailey but the weekend of 18/19th June saw the apartments ready for our use. I just had to unpack the boxes that have accumulated items over the first 9 months. They are air conditioned and spacious and will make the job a bit easier with more meeting space as well.  Thanks to a great team from the City Surveyor’s Department and Mansion House for speeding the work.   
One of the longest serving female judges retired earlier this year and promptly published a book! This is a really great read for an insight into the work of the Old Bailey and criminal trials. HHJ Wendy Joseph QC held the book launch at the Bailey and sales were brisk. It was very well reviewed in The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/unlawful-killings-by-wendy-joseph-the-inside-story-of-six-murder-trials-l9kkrnlsf

Some of you might have enjoyed Anatomy of a Scandal on Netflix and, yes, some of the general scenes were filmed at the Old Bailey, but not in the court room which was a mockup.  Filming in the common areas, such as the Grand Hall, takes place at weekends and brings in some useful income. 

The new Sheriffs to take office on 28th September were elected at Common Hall on 24th June. Alderman Alastair King and Andrew Marsden made a very good outing in their acceptance speeches in Guildhall. All good wishes to them as they plan their year ahead.

My business plan initiatives
In one week of June two of my long-planned events took place both using the wonderful Old Bailey Grand Hall as a venue to discuss some weighty matters. 

On June 14 the Solicitors and Insurers Livery Companies held a joint dinner in their Food for Thought with Food series. The topic of how professionals address issues of environmental risk and the role of values and ethics in advising clients threw up some interesting discussions around the tables. A full note of the event is available here with follow up points highlighted. https://www.citysolicitors.org/news/news/sustainability+dinner+-+report+of+key+themes

In the same week, on June 16, the award-winning group Next 100 Years held the Heilbron Lecture in the Grand Hall of the Old Bailey. It was entitled "Climate Change and the radical potential of outrage to advance the frontiers of Law".  It was given by Prof Lavanya Rajamani and former President of the Supreme Court, Lady Hale, gave the response. https://next100years.org.uk/lecture-series/

Livery links
Hilary Lindsay, Past Master Chartered Accountant, has been leading the Livery Charity Chairs Group that aims to help Livery Companies better operate their charitable interests. She has run a series of virtual events for her 60 or so members.  The in-person conference took place on June 6th at Ironmongers’ Hall and an important topic that I led was to discuss Environmental Social and Governance issues for investments.  

Speaking with Eoin Murray and Stephen Beer we provided a comprehensive insight and answered questions. The whole day’s proceeding are very well summarised here.  https://www.liverycommittee.org/the-livery-charity-chairs-group-first-annual-conference/
 
The spectacular Beckett Pageant finally took place after Covid delays for two years.  The musical play London’s Turbulent Son written by Past Master Skinner Emmeline Winterbotham was sensational with professional finish but rooted in the Livery and City story. My own Ward business Nomura helped out with rehearsal space and in true The Sound of Music fashion provided some old curtains to be used for costumes. The Livery Fair attracted a lot of interest and the Glovers’ Livery and Saddlers shared the fun. 

Treloar School set up by a former Lord Mayor in 1907 retains a strong link to the Livery and City. I was honoured to lead the Civic team on the annual visit by Livery Masters to Treloar School. I was particularly delighted to meet Oscar Anderson who is a Student Governor and was awarded an MBE in the birthday honours for services to global Disability Activism and Healthcare Reform. He was one of so many remarkable young people who are given every opportunity to contribute to a better world for themselves and others.
https://www.treloar.org.uk/treloars-student-governor-oscar-anderson-has-been-awarded-an-mbe/

On tour. The annual weekend away of the Livery Masters was held in Sheffield this year with the expert and generous hosting by James Tear the Master and the Cutlers of Hallamshire. On the Saturday the Masters visited Sheffield at its best with its glorious industrial past, present silversmiths and future innovative technology all on show.  
The Sheriffs enjoyed the train journeys with many others letting the train take the strain.

Wider City matters
The Lord Mayor and Sheriffs make an annual visit to the three wholesale markets and a trip to Spitalfields is always colourful with a great array of interesting fruit and veg. As an Alderman I am a member of the Markets Board that oversees the markets and the Chair is Deputy Henry Pollard who is my Deputy in Dowgate Ward. Spitalfields had thrived during Covid and traders were now working towards the plan to consolidate all three markets at a new site at the former Barking Power Station under the City Corporation’s Masterplan.

Another annual event is the Lord Mayor’s dinner to celebrate London Government. It was held a little later this year on 30th May and provides an opportunity for the Lord Mayor and the Mayor of London to speak about current issues.
The Lord Mayor’s speech is here: https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/assets/About-us/london-government-dinner-speech.pdf

I was pleased to attend the first in person event at St Paul’s Cathedral outside of services. In their series of Recovering Well after the Pandemic, the evening’s discussion took the theme of How can London be a place of flourishing for all people – culturally, economically, justly - as we move forwards from the pandemic? I was pleased to say a few words alongside the Bishop and Peter Hugh Smith the CEO of CCLA. They have published a report about businesses and mental well-being and aim to provide a benchmark of good practice around this topic. https://www.ccla.co.uk/documents/2022-mental-health-benchmark-uk-100-report/download?inline

I am particularly interested in this topic as a member of the Expert Advisory Group of the City Wellbeing Centre that offers greater access to therapeutic mental health treatments in the Central Boroughs. https://www.fis.cityoflondon.gov.uk/directory/city-wellbeing-centre