I’ve been one of the lucky ones during this period of lock-down in not having to worry about day-to-day work. It has given me the time to think about the future and mull what the Company stands for and what should be our priorities. One thing is certain: life will not be the same as before.
The Court had planned to hold a strategic away-day during the summer for some navel-gazing and to look forward a couple of decades but, like many other things, it’s had to be postponed. That’s a pity but it does give us longer to think about the shape of the hospitality industry after Coronavirus, and where the Company fits into the overall pattern.
The main points are:
- how we can make the most effective use of our ‘convening’ ability and connections within the industry to bring people together,
- how we can strengthen links with other Livery Companies involved with Food and Hospitality,
- what we have to offer younger members of the ‘misterie of cooking’, while still keeping a prudent balance between Freedom and Livery,
- what more can we do to be ‘relevant’ to the trade; for example, how we can develop our Apprentice Programme
- in a nutshell, answer the two key questions: what are we here for? And, who would miss us if we weren’t to exist?
- And from the answers to those questions, how we should go about adapting to the new realities?
One of the few good things to come out of this period has been the community spirit, the way in which people of all ages have volunteered to devote time and energy to help those less fortunate than themselves. That is part of the spirit in which the guilds developed centuries ago and an ethos that still exists. We see it principally in our charitable giving, which is generous by any standards for a Company of our size, and in the fraternity of our entertainment and events. I suspect we should be more outward-looking in our fraternity/entertainment in the future.
In this time of enforced isolation, we have the opportunity to reflect on our relationships not just in the narrow sense of the Livery, of London, or even of the UK but, more importantly, with the wider, natural world. How, for example, this tiny, invisible virus can have created a truly global crisis which has shown up the fragility of even sophisticated, developed societies, and how we, in the developed world, have become such a materialistic, self-centred, and unequal society that’s been shown to be so vulnerable.
We talk a great deal about sustainability. But do we really want to sustain what we’re doing right now? Should we not be considering recreating a society that values business that “regenerates” rather than just “sustains”, which creates and enhances new value. At the heart of regeneration lies the concept of diversity, diversity that enriches our world to make it more resilient and more productive – which applies just as much to people as it does to the environment. To follow up on some of the thoughts of our Company chaplain at Candlemas, we have the opportunity for self-regeneration, spiritual regeneration if you like, and social regeneration for our wider society.
Is that too idealistic? Probably. There is, however, a political cliché that one should never let a good crisis go to waste. So, perhaps, we could all use this time to reconsider our values and, acknowledging that we can’t change society as a whole or deal with global problems, to see how we, in our own small way, can live up to and build on the spirit of our Guild forefathers. Thoughts from the Court, the Livery, or the Freedom? Or, indeed, any other reader of this article! All will be gratefully received.
