Be a Brick and Buy a Brick

It is true, I am not sleeping for worry about the future of the Drill Hall.

We have such an amazing team who are working tirelessly to keep this vital venue open at the heart of our city. So I was delighted to read in my Lincolnshire Echo (see below) an article written from an interview I gave on BBC Radio Lincolnshire. My delight was at the accuracy of the reporting and that fact that I had obviously said what I really wanted to say! (not always the case on a live interview).

So, what were these things I really wanted to say?

"Lincoln Drill Hall being a place for the people of Lincoln has continued for the last 130 years."

Peter Hennessy writes: Putting up prices is not an option according to Mr Hamlyn Williams. "Our purpose is to bring art and culture to the people of Lincoln, that's why we're here. We have to have tickets that are affordable - we want more and more people to come."

My predecessor as chair of trustees, Phil Cosker, puts it brilliantly in the animated video on the website. I have also written on Why it matters, on The Proms, on CompassionateLincoln Big Soup (next one 23 February), on Lincoln in WW1 and on some wonderful memories from years gone by.

That's why we are asking people to Be a Brick and Buy a Brick.

Compassionate Lincoln Big Soup

You are invited to join us for lunch (soup of course!) and hear pitches from local people with big ideas for making a difference in our community.

The formula is simple: 5 x 5 x 5 - Buy a £5 ticket - Hear pitches of no-more than 5 minutes in length - Dig a bit deeper with 5 questions from the audience. Once all the pitches have been made, lunch will be served and audience members can discuss the ideas they’ve heard - which one will make the most impact? which is the most exciting? which do we want to support the most? Then we vote! The winning pitch will receive all the ticket money from today’s event to turn their idea into a reality.

“When local people invest in the enthusiasm of others, making a positive difference becomes so much easier.” - Steve Kemp, CompassionateLincoln.

The Big Soup is organised by CompassionateLincoln - a campaign to encourage community-led action in response to the challenges our city faces: https://vimeo.com/171755688 

If you have a project for which you would like support please e-mail compassionatelincoln@gmail.com

The Big Soup will be held at Lincoln Drill Hall on 16 June. If you would like to come along and vote, follow this link to tickets.

Guardian - thank you

The Guardian has done a remarkable job this year in two particular ways. It has kept the plight of refugees in view and it has not faltered on its opposition to Brexit.

Alongside this editor in chief, Katherine Viner, wrote a thought provoking essay on what journalism is in the digital era. In this she made no attempt to paper over those places where we might think the Guardian slipped up or indeed worse. It showed the Guardian warts and all but with e true vision that can sustain this nation.

Refugees are I am sure a pain not least to the Greeks on the Island of Lesvos or to the French in Calais and Paris. Pain they may be, but human they are also. I remain ashamed that it took a spell working with them on Lesvos for me to realise that there but for the grace of God, or chance, go all of us. They are each our brother and sister. They may seem unimportant in the blaring sound of Trump, the lunacy of Brexit or indeed our own daily cares. The Guardian stands up and reminds us that they are there and matter.

It was the writer of the new testament letter to James who reminded, presumably James, that faith without works is nothing. We could paraphrase and say words without works.

Today, as I write, Guardian journalists are waiting to take calls and donations for the Christmas Appeal which is for those without homes and those who had fled their homes.

Thank you.

What truly matters - #CompassionateLincoln

I have written about school children writing their Magna Carta for the 21st century. Behind the scenes a group of us have been working out what a charter may look like for Lincoln.

It’s not about barons, great clashes of power, but ordinary people who live in this city. We’ve made a video of it. Please take a look.

It begins with the premise that everyone can make difference. You don’t have to be powerful or important; every small act of kindness can change someone’s day.

It is all about caring for our fellow human being, being compassionate; that is why we called it #compassionatelincoln.

It’s not trite; it matters. During and after the referendum campaign it became clear to me just how much it matters. It states our belief that everyone should be treated equally, with consideration and respect.

Who is ‘everyone’? I heard of a conversation between two people with eastern european accents where both agreed that, post Brexit, it was probably safer to speak only English. I was shocked and thought of the very long standing Polish communities in Lincolnshire. I also thought of a piece of paper I had found in my researches: the list of those British officers awarded Polish honours after WW2; my Dad was one of them. With the paper there were letters expressing in very moving language the gratitude of the Polish people. This is a relationship of equals that goes back a long way.

The charter goes on to say that we are a city that accepts everyone, whatever their situation, and gives them the support they need to play an active part in local life. That people are accepted matters, but mattering only really comes with involvement.

If I put on my Drill Hall hat, as an arts centre we can only truly do our job if we are there for everyone in our community. This is not just about everyone coming to watch professional performances, but also that we can be a space where everyone can perform.

All of us know that harm can come just as easily from words as from acts. The charter states that, through our words and actions, we take care of those around us and actively strive to avoid causing anybody hurt.

It is sadly true now that those of our fellow citizens who have come from other EU countries feel at risk. The confusing words coming from government don't help. Daily lives though run their course in spite of government, and so what truly matters is what we do and say each day. Is there something wrong with striving to avoid causing hurt?

Possibly one of the bravest claims in the charter is that compassion breaks down all barriers, whether they be political, religious, social or cultural. We need to be city without barriers. I remember leafletting on the High Street with ‘us’ on one side and the ‘opposition’ on the other. Somewhere in the middle was a group campaigning to save the Fire Station for the city. I think perhaps that they had a lot to teach the rest of us.

#CompassionateLincoln is a campaign for everyone. We all have a part to play. Where difficulties affect our city or our community, we all can help. You can find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/compassionatelincoln/

This piece was published in the Lincolnshire Echo on 25 August 2016, although I must point out that I ceased to be Chief Executive of Lincoln Cathedral on 31 March 2014. I am now a writer and chair of trustees at Lincoln Drill Hall

Acting to make the world a better place

The job of a charity is to make the world a better place. I have heard this said more than once and it got me thinking.

I have supported charities since my teens when I realised just how lucky I was to have a home. I have also worked for some, but I had never really thought of charities having such a big, almost impossible task.

Of course the person who said it to me was suggesting that charities can make the world a better place in many tiny ways, not in one huge all encompassing sweep.
So, I thought of those charities which we as a family support and have supported, those for which I have worked and others I know. I guess it is true: to a greater or lesser extent charities do indeed seek make the world a better place.

My involvement in the arts sector is relatively new, and so I hope I may be forgiven for not knowing that many arts venues and organisations are charities. A good many do indeed call themselves charities, but are they really? Do they really make the world a better place? Or do they just provide entertainment for a select few? After all, all I do is to buy my ticket and attend a performance. What is charitable about that?

This matters for all sorts of reasons. All charities, these days, must be able to prove that the provide a public benefit. It is no good making a little bit of the world feel better for a regular audience. The role has to be much bigger.

So do they make the world better?

There is a good deal of research that suggests that by going to a live performance you do feel better. In early December, the Lincoln Cultural and Arts Partnership is running a seminar on Arts and Happiness to explore this assertion in a local practical context.

It is though more than attending a performance. Participating has been shown to improve confidence. Children who perform in one way or another are better prepared for what life has in store for them. Music has been shown to improve a child’s learning in many other areas of the curriculum.

Art, music, theatre, poetry, literature all enable us to express feelings or concerns that are difficult to put in plain words. I was talking to a young woman who works with children to explore and overcome their difficulties through drama, and another who, through a spoken word competition, both improves the confidence of participants but also enables them to express what otherwise might stay worryingly inside. This surely is about making the world better. An example I came across a few years ago was about child protection. I didn’t truly grasp the issue until I had seen it portrayed in drama; it opened my eyes.

Organisations are challenged by government to reduce obesity, to cut the amount people drink, to eliminate smoking. Endless words can be written, schemes launched, but it might just be that the penny will only truly drop when the issue is presented imaginatively in drama or dance. I don't think this is so far fetched.

Art, though, is also much closer to home. It makes us happy. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if it were accessible to all?

This, I think is the point. An arts organisation benefits the public if it offers art that will appeal across a broad spectrum, that reaches out to people and groups for whom art is remote and at a price that is affordable to as many people as possible.

This article appeared in the Lincolnshire Echo on 3 December 2015