‘It feels audacious to speak of hope in these times, yet I believe we share an obligation to do so.’
In such a year as this, when so many have died, I count myself fortunate to have survived the virus and recovered to be here today writing my eleventh annual report. It will be a long time before any of us understand fully what has happened. At this moment, while we continue to struggle in the midst of a crisis without resolution, I am resolved to live quietly, striving to maintain sufficient equilibrium to face whatever may come next.
Never before I have I received so many messages of gratitude from readers for my daily stories as this year. They hearten my resolve by reminding me of the value of storytelling and celebrating the sacred nature of everyday life. It means that, in spite of the disruption that has befallen us, I have always known what to do. I am grateful that my daily task of preparing a story for publication has sustained me through the difficult days.
Perhaps the most significant achievement of this year was in May when we managed to raise several thousand pounds for the Solidarity Britannia Food Bank, supporting those with no recourse to public funds. This happened thanks to an article written by Delwar Hussain with photographs by Sarah Ainslie, published while I was recovering from the virus.
This year, I had so many plans for holding events, running courses and publishing books, all of which have been postponed. The collapse of Bertrams, Britain’s largest book wholesaler, leaving massive debts was a significant blow to all publishers in this country including Spitalfields Life Books. In spite of this I have been working with photographer David Hoffman, developing a book of his inspirational and humane pictures from the seventies, exploring the housing crisis, racism and the rise of protest in the East End in ways that have a startling immediacy for us today. I hope to share David’s work with you by publishing his book next year.
Although we await the fight to save the Bethnal Green Mulberry at a Judicial Review in the High Court, we were heartened that – thanks in no small part to letters written by you the readers – we were able to persuade the Secretary of State to call a Public Inquiry into the future of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. The Inquiry will be held under socially distanced conditions beginning 6th October at Tower Hamlets Town Hall. I will supply further information in September.
During the lockdown I was forced to recognise the virtue in doing less and thinking more. The outcome of this extended contemplation has been the hatching of new plans and projects for the future which I will reveal to you over the months to come. Surviving the unthinkable has given me the courage to look forward. It feels audacious to speak of hope in these times, yet I believe that we share a human obligation to do so.
Thus, with these thoughts in mind, ends the eleventh year in the pages of Spitalfields Life.
I am your loyal servant
The Gentle Author
Spitalfields, 17th August 2020
I am taking my annual holiday now and will resume with new stories in September
Schrodinger takes a nap
You may like to read my earlier Annual Reports