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Fund Kenwood concerts, problem solved
ENGLISH Heritage and IMG are straining themselves to bring back the Kenwood concerts next year.
Understandably, they will make whatever concessions are necessary to pacify opposition from residents to the noise generated by the concerts.
At the moment, they are working on the concept of a new stage.
But what is not being sufficiently debated is how EH and IMG got into this mess in the first place.
Basically, everything started to go downhill in the late 90s when EH, faced with the almost impossible task of having to make a profit, however small from the Kenwood concerts, sub-contracted the job to IMG. From then on it was really mission impossible.
It all then came down to more bums on seats which in turn led to more popular concerts which led to cries of protests from residents.
Governments for decades have never been able to make up their minds about the arts – should they be subsidised? Or simply let to sink or swim?
Gordon Brown boasts of how much he has poured into education and health but often he shows every sign of preferring the private to the public.
In the old days, when the Kenwood concerts were run by the London County Council, later by the Greater London Council, the concerts were popular – and there was no trouble with the neighbours.
Why? Because both local authorities were willing to pay for them. And concerts could be tailored accordingly.
The moment EH took over the reins they were onto a hiding for nothing at Kenwood.
If New Labour had been willing to fund these concerts properly, EH, the public and Camden council, would not be in the trouble they are today.
The real devil here can be found in Whitehall.
Trust is splintered
THE evidence that piled up against the swindler John Baptiste in the court showed exactly how he managed to steal hard-earned savings from local people who had put their trust in him.
What it didn’t show is how he managed to get away with it for so long.
The police got their man. But what urgently needs investigating is the accounting system employed by the council that allowed Baptiste to salt so much away without anyone noticing.
Each time a fraud scandal breaks at the council, the authorities mount an investigation – and then refuse to reveal their findings in detail.
Trust us, they say. There have been so many frauds at the council that that trust has been splintered.
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