Celebrity culture - no talent required, please apply

There is a much quoted comment from American artist Andy Warhol to the effect that in the modern world everyone wants their 15 minutes of fame.

Warhol is believed to have made this statement at an exhibition in 1968. Since then though his words have proved prophetic, encapsulating a whole culture of people simply wanting to be famous for fames sake.

There has always been a celebrity class, usually made up of singers, actors, sports people and an occasional politician. What has defined their celebrity status has been some sort of talent.

So Frank Sinatra, the Rolling Stones and Elton John are/were all talented performers, with huge worldwide acclaim. Similarly, actors, particularly film actors, like Brad Pitt, Angelina Joley, Laurence Olivier, Elizabeth Taylor or sports stars like Roger Federer, Serema Williams, Lionel Messi and Maradona excel at what they do.  Ironically, many of the true celebrities often want to shun fame, do not want cameras and reporters intervening in their every waking moment.

However, over recent years people have come into the celebrity genre based on what they don’t do. They have no talent but simply appear in strange constructs to be observed by a curious populous. This began with the reality shows like Big Brother, the Apprentice, the Only Way is Essex and Made in Chelsea.

All the people taking part in these programmes, for the most part, have to offer is  themselves and maybe being prepared to behave in ways that will interest the onlooking audience.

The whole thing is odd. Now though, due to the explosion of the celebrity culture, the demand for celebrity means these oddities are spreading out across the media.

So, someone from the Apprentice will appear on BBC’s Question Time or Newsnight talking about Brexit. Others will land columns in papers, in Katie Hopkins (former Apprentice contestant) usually to spout right wing bile.

Programmes like Strictly Come Dancing have run out of what you might call bona fide celebrities, so now they too go looking for the manufactured versions.

So those taking part in the likes of Made in Chelsea and The Only Way is Essex can go straight onto the dance floor of Strictly Come Dancing. Or they may feature on programmes like Who do you think you are – quite an apposite question, in some circumstances.

So really, the celebrity culture highlighted all those years ago by Warhol has exploded via the reality TV genre to make celebrity an objective in itself – no talent required, please apply.

Funny looking back, I bet Warhol would never have dreamt that the 15 minutes of fame world would lead to the likes of Towie and Made in Chelsea.  But then 1984 author George Orwell would never have guessed his totalitarian concept of Big Brother would end up as the template for a reality TV show.

Has anything changed over the past 20 yrs with the DSEI arms exhibition, aside of it getting bigger?

There has been much controversy surrounding the recent Defence and Security Equipment International  (DSEI) arms fair at the Expo centre in London.

Condemnation of the event has come from a number of quarters, including the Mayor of London and faith leaders. Rightly so, the arrival of so many people in the business of trading weapons, designed to kill people more efficiently, is not a good look for a major capital city.

Yet the bi-annual arms fair has endured. Some  20 years ago, the DSEI was held in Chertsey, welcoming arms dealers to the Hampshire countryside. There was protest then but the arms fair went on regardless.

Travelling on the train, then wandering around the exhibition, it was striking how many people just regarded being in the arms business as like any other job. The ‘I’m just following orders’ attitude seemed to abound.

The 1999 DSEI turned out to be a big story for myself as a journalist. I had had a tip off that there was a Romanian company exhibiting, selling illegal anti-personnel landmines.

I had been involved as a journalist, exposing some of the damage done by these weapons across the world. I had seen at first hand in Cambodia in the 1990s, the damage done, with young and old struggling through life, after having legs blown off.

A memory that has always stuck with me was of a 10 year old girl at the Cambodia Trust amputee centre in Phnom Penh, working her way along parallel bars, as she learned how to use her two news prosthetic  legs.

There were also the stories of arms makers, designing these weapons in bright colours, so that children might pick them up. No doubt the same individuals would then go home to their own children, having compartmentalised their day time activities. Just doing the job.

So the DSEI exhibition held a particular relevance for me. The whole process of ascertaining what was going on at the Romanian company Romtehnica’s stand proved surprisingly easy. Having got into the exhibition on my press pass, I went over to the company’s stall and asked about anti-personnel mines. The informant that told me of the illegal weapons had mentioned one or two mines. The salesman brought out a whole list of products available.

After obtaining the evidence I left, to be met outside by Channel  4 News. They had agreed to do the story, which then went on to headline that evening (Friday) and on into the evening. It ran across the media after that. I contributed across the national press.

A government inquiry was established to look into what was going on. After the initial furore died down I heard little more for a couple of months. Then the Ministry of Defence Police got in touch. Two officers came to my home to take a statement, as I was a witness to these illegal actions on British soil.

The statement process was completed, though it was difficult not to get the impression that the MOD police were more interested in myself than the alleged crime – or was I just being paranoid?

Anyway, nothing further was heard on the case. I returned to the exhibition two years later, this time on 11 September 2001 – there wasn’t thankfully any sign of illegal anti-personnel landmines being sold. Had there been, it would have been very difficult to get the news out that day with events in New York taking over the world news agenda.

There have been instances down the years of companies selling things they shouldn’t have been at DSEI but it does seem scrutiny and security tightened up following the landmines incident.

What is surprising and disturbing though is that the DSEI arms exhibition seems to have grown as a major place for companies to sell weaponery. The exhibition has been smack in the middle of the London Docklands at Expo for a number of years, so no longer out in the Hampshire countryside, miles away from anywhere.  DSEI appears on the up, not in decline.

That is what makes the protests at the recent event so important, as well as the intervention of London Mayor and church leaders. It is a sign that the event is at last becoming seen as unacceptable – a market in death. An event that normalises killing, as well as the industry that helps create the tools of that trade.

Journalists too must continue to report on what is going on inside the confines of DSEI – the PR operations may be slicker now but the very presence of journalists does help to police the activities of those attending. All of these factors should combine together to one day lead to the exit of DSEI from Expo. It is not something wanted in London now or in the future. The promotion of war and death is not something that should have a place anywhere in our country.
 

 

Celebrating Wanstead life

The Wanstead Festival and Fringe are a time when the best of the community spirit is on display.

There is so much going on over this week in September that it is difficult to keep up.

The different theatrical productions, the art trail, street parties, comedy and the spreading kindness initiative. Then, the day of the Festival itself, when Christchurch Green comes alive.

People coming out to celebrate together. The kindness project is a particularly laudable venture. A recognition of the importance of treating each other properly, with respect.

What is difficult to reconcile is the vital spirit of celebration seen at the Fringe and Festival, with some of the hysteria seen on social media, particularly around the topic of crime.

There are criminal incidents occurring in Wanstead, there always have been. I have been victim of crime on a number of occasions over the years, not a pleasant experience but a sad reality.

What we did not have in the past was social media, which amplifies every criminal act into an apocoliptic happening that threatens our very way of life. Wanstead is not what it was etc etc.

There has also been a rather disarming tendency, on the part of some, over recent times, to address almost as much venom toward the police as to the perpetrators of the crime itself.

Something happens on the high street and it apparently is the police’s fault because they did not know in advance it was going to happen, so were not standing ready in the exact place to take action.

Making it even more difficult is that it appears that some crimes are not reported to the police. How are they supposed to investigate or devote the resourcing required to deal with the demand if people are not reporting the crimes?

Ridiculous, crystal balls were never a standard issue amongst police equipment.

The police are doing a difficult job, their numbers have been cut hugely by the present government over the past nine years. Yes, they could do a better job but so could we all. What they cannot do is prevent crime, only advise how best to avoid becoming a victim.

Police are essentially social dustmen, picking up the pieces of society - not the solution.

Stopping crime requires a much wider response, that includes providing good jobs, rehabilitation for offenders, support networks for young and old and a fairer division of wealth in society.

The gap between the haves and have nots continues to grow… and for the most part Wanstead is inhabited by haves – hence its attraction to the criminal element.

So yes, crime does occur in Wanstead but let’s not get it out of all proportion. I think that the picture of the community coming together in celebration over Fringe week and the Wanstead Festival is much more reflective of our area than that of a crime hotspot. We are lucky to be living here, so let’s be positive and all contribute to making our community an even kinder, better place to live.

Energy provision needs to be addressed under climate emergency

Buildings are one of the biggest contributors of carbon emissions causing climate change.

It is estimated that 40% of the carbon emissions generated in the UK come from domestic and non-domestic buildings, so it is clearly an area that has to come under focus as part of the climate emergency declared by Redbridge Council in June.

Under the Mayor’s London Plan any new built homes are supposed to have been zero carbon, since 2016. The latest plan, extends this provision to non-domestic buildings.  

Local Planning Authorities are supposed to set up carbon offset funds for developers, so that if they do not meet the zero-carbon provision a payment has to be made.

In Islington, they have been operating such a scheme since 2012, with the funds raised from the carbon offset funds being used to insulate social housing stock.

The Mayor has also operated a number of other innovative schemes to cut emissions, including the London Community Energy Fund, Re-Fit – a retrofitting scheme and Solar Together.

In Redbridge, we need to take a comprehensive look at energy provision and emissions. It is an area that cuts across many council functions. So there are public buildings, schools, housing and a variety of other areas all impacted upon. This would include existing buildings and new housing stock, that may come about through council buying property or new builds. Equally on public buildings there are existing buildings like the town hall and new builds such as under the hubs programme.

All of these existing buildings must be on a council property inventory, which needs to come under a sustainable energy audit. This will  be a big piece of work but needs to be done if the council are to reach the targets of carbon neutrality by 2030 and zero carbon by 2050.

Redbridge council also needs to work with other neighbouring boroughs, particularly on things like renewable energy networks. There can be joint networks and schemes that can really help reduce the overall carbon footprint.

There is much to be done, with little time to do it but the will is certainly there to bring about the change.

Individuals and civil society must play a part as well. There is a surprising lack of renewable energy schemes in Redbridge, say compared to other parts of the country. Only relatively small numbers of people seem to have got solar panels and the like fitted to their homes. Then there are other energy sources such as heat pumps.

There was an interesting session earlier this week, as part of the Wanstead fringe events, looking at green roofs. These are another biodiverse way of being more energy efficient.

If we really do want to be cleaner and greener, then people need to look to live more sustainably - which includes energy use.

There are though also civil groups like churches, who really do want to have some of these schemes. In the past, they have been frustrated in that ambition, now things need to change, with help and support being provided for groups that want to make these positive changes.

There is lots we can all do to address the climate emergency and using energy more sustainably is certainly a key area.

Lets pick up litter, then take the plastic back to the supermarkets

It has been good over recent weeks to see Wanstead looking so clean. Congratulations should go to the local community and the council’s cleaning teams for the excellent work  being done.

The Labour Council dedicated extra funding this year to cleaning, so it is great to see the benefits in our part of the borough.

In addition, there have been the voluntary litter picks. These are fairly numerous in our area.

There is a regular litter pick held on a Saturday, around the Eagle Pond area. Then there is the councillor led litter pick on the third Saturday of each month, starting at 10 am from Woodbine Place (by the buses).

There are other ad hoc voluntary litter picks going on all the time, such as in Wanstead Park and on the Flats. So there is a lot going on, from a variety of people to keep the area tidy and environmentally sustainable.

Things can always be done better ofcourse. A major improvement would come about if some people did not just discard their litter. The council have cracked down on this, with substantial fines for fly tipping etc. However, there is still a lot of rubbish just being dropped by people walking about or out of car windows. It is not like we do not have a lot of bins in Wanstead, where people can put the rubbish.

There is also sometimes a problem, with people dumping household waste in public bins. There are more than adequate refuse collection services in the borough, why are some people bagging stuff up and filling up the public bins, which are required for rubbish generated in other ways?

Things are getting better but there is still some way to go. It remains a matter of amazement to me that the human being can be so destructive toward his or her own environment – is there any other animal that acts in quite such a self-destructive way.

Ofcourse one of the most lethal forms of waste is plastic. There has been much publicity recently about how humanity is literally choking the earth. Much of the land and sea are already totally saturated. Moving forward, the plastic out there needs to be dealt with but there must also be less produced. It is this motivation that has led to actions to get individuals. shops and high streets to stop single plastic use. It is one of the objectives of the Wanstead Environmental Charter to help create a cleaner, greener  area.

Back in June, some residents took their plastic back to Tesco, the Co-op and M&S, writing a message on the item in question to the shop about what they wanted to happen about plastic. The supermarkets engaged at the time but we have seen little change since in terms of reducing plastic use.

The latest initiative will combine the aims of clearing up litter and getting rid of plastic. So on 21 September, there will be a marathon litter pick from 10 am till 2pm. People can come for any part or all of that time. We will then see what results, with any plastic that identifiably from a supermarket being returned to that place of origin. The more people take part, the stronger the message  will be – we want to continue to clean up Wanstead and to make the high street single plastic free.

published - Wanstead and Woodford Guardian - 5/9/2019 & 7/9/2019 - online

Voluntary action group secures millions for investors in defunct Secured Energy Bonds

Hundreds of people, who invested in a solar panel project, have got back money back after a four year battle

 

The 900 people who invested  £7.5 million and looked to have lost all, are now being compensated by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (up to the scheme’s maximum £50K limit) as the result of the collective action of a small group of investors. 

 

All looked gloomy, when investors in Secured Energy Bonds (SEB) came together on a warm April day in 2015 for the creditors meeting called by administrators Grant Thornton.  

 

It had all looked so different 18 months before, when investors flocked to invest in a seemingly ethical project to put solar panels on selected UK businesses and schools across the country with a decent rate of return of 6.5% over three years. 

 

As with all investments, there were stated risks. The banks were not lending much at the time and the project initiators were seeking to raise the funds from retail investors.  However, investors’ concerns were satisfied by the actions and undertakings of Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulated firm Independent Portfolio Managers (IPM). 

 

IPM approved the financial promotion of the mini-bond which, in the investors’ eyes, gave legitimacy to the mini-bonds.  IPM also took on the additional roles of Corporate Director and Security Trustee, ostensibly for the purpose of protecting bondholders’ interests.  

 

Despite any reservations there might have been, this mini-bond seemed pretty safe, just so long as all involved did what it said on the tin (i.e. fulfilled the promises made in the Invitation Document) and the sun continued to shine!  The solar panels were to be fitted to commercial buildings and schools so that, even if some problems arose, those assets would be in place to claim against. 

  

All went along smoothly for the first year, the quarterly interest payments being made as expected.  The first sign of trouble was in January 2015 when the fourth interest payment was not honoured.  The problems arose when a large amount of the £7.5m raised, intended to fund the solar panel installations, was siphoned off by the Australian parent company, CBD Energy, for other purposes.  Unknown to SEB investors, CBD Energy had been placed into administration towards the end of  2014.  

  

The creditors’ meeting was the first opportunity to meet any of the other investors who had similarly put their money into SEB in good faith.  There was a lot of anger and a decided lack of optimism.  A few of us met afterwards, agreed to stay in touch and established an email contact list so that investors could be kept informed about what was going on.  It was this group that rapidly became the SEB Investors’ Action Group (SEB-IAG). 

  

There was media coverage and contact was made with MPs to highlight our plight.  Investors were directed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to contact IPM in the first instance, then if their response was not satisfactory to go to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).  A number of investors took this route. 

  

In September 2015, it was doubly irritating to learn that, on their website, IPM were boasting about their “high quality investment analysis and research on UK and offshore collective investment schemes” and their “expertise in the solar park industry”.  They were also boasting that they’d  “launched the first successful secured mini-bond in the UK”.  

 

In 2014, IPM took on a similar role in approving the financial promotion of other mini-bonds such as Providence Bonds plc and Providence Bonds II plc, which also subsequently went into administration in September 2016. 

  

The initial response of the FOS to investor complaints was favourable, indicating that they were minded to look at the investors’ case against IPM.  However, with a change of adjudicator, this then changed – in January 2016 the FOS adopted the opposite viewpoint. 

 

The SEB IAG highlighted the FOS’ reversal of opinion to more MPs, made representations to the Treasury Select Committee and to the FCA.  Legal firm, FS Legal, had already been appointed by the SEB-IAG to represent those investors who needed support in handling their claims with the FOS. 

 

However, it was at this point their brief had to change as it was evident that the negative opinion on ‘jurisdiction’ would need to be overturned to enable investors to have their claims considered by the FOS.  A barrister’s opinion was obtained – this was instrumental in getting the FOS to change its position. 

  

In January 2017, after deliberating over matters for more than a year, the FOS indicated they’d changed their position and, in April of the same year, issued a decision on a “sample case” which found that there was a customer relationship between investors and IPM – this meant that the FOS could look at the complaints. 

 

It wasn’t until June 2018 that another “sample case” investor received a Final Decision from the FOS, which ruled that IPM’s involvement was not only approving the promotion documents as “fair clear and not misleading” to retail investors but that it “had an ongoing role in the investment scheme” and was “central to the security and quality assurance arrangements” of SEB.  It also ruled that the security that was put in place for the mini-bond was flawed, “leaving the security secured, in effect, on nothing. This was a fundamental flaw and one which IPM should reasonably have spotted.” 

 

IPM were then ordered to repay the “sample case” investor their capital sum plus compensation but failed to do so.  For this reason and for other failings, the FOS declared IPM “in default” in the summer of 2018.  Consequently, the complaints against IPM were transferred to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) and IPM has subsequently gone into liquidation.  The SEB-IAG continued to guide investors in dealing with the different elements of the new scheme. 

  

The move from the FOS to the FSCS inevitably meant more delay for investors but, in March this year, the FSCS began paying out on SEB and Providence Bonds investors’ claims against IPM.  The FSCS deserves praise for the speed and professionalism with which they were able to quickly assess the complex evidence that existed against IPM in relation to their involvement in approving both the Secured Energy Bonds and Providence Bonds.  This evidence was assembled and provided by the relevant legal representatives and Investor Action Groups for each bond.  The FSCS have ruled in favour of investors and have now set out an award for all those involved - although less than originally set by the FOS, it represents a huge victory nonetheless. 

  

Investor and key member of SEB-IAG, Fiona Pitkeathy said: “The collective actions of a few people on that April day and over the past four years have resulted in success for all those who invested in SEB and Providence Bonds  -  a cause for celebration as these investors thought they might never see their money again. 

“However, as the SEB-IAG intends to continue to campaign for regulatory reform for better protection of retail investors, it is hoped that our actions will eventually result in significant benefits to investors across the country.” 

 

Baljit Ruprah, Legal Director and Solicitor at FS Legal Solicitors LLP said: “We have worked very closely with the SEB-IAG throughout this matter and they have been a pleasure to work with. We are of course delighted that so many investors have been compensated and hope that they can move on from this dark chapter in their investment lives as soon as possible. In my view, the FCA need to work harder to ensure that all parties involved in the investment process are regulated properly so that retail investors are offered full protection at all times.  Only then will consumers regain confidence in the industry, thereby giving the industry a chance to thrive.”  

 

It has been a long hard battle which, for a very small number of committed people in the SEB –IAG, has taken up huge amounts of time.  However, the result is enormous.  Hundreds of investors are finally being reunited with their money, due in large part to the voluntary actions of a few. 

- also see: https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/investing/article-7447777/SEB-mini-bond-investors-win-5m-payout-FSCS.html

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2019/sep/07/not-so-grand-the-fca-must-protect-investors-in-high-risk-mini-bonds