A Tale of Two Halls

The Clothworkers’ Hall off Mincing Lane is one of the newest livery halls in the City of London, only opening for business in 1958, but it’s the sixth estabishment on that site run by the Clothworkers’ Company since the 15th Century. Such a venerable tradition made appropriate surroundings for the annual meeting of Friends of the Elderly (FOTE) at midday today, at which the focus was on ‘The Fourth Age’ — in other words, people over 85, which is the fastest growing group in our increasingly inverted population pyramid. I was a member of the advisory council for the Friends’ centenary events in 2005, and in the past have done some consultancy work for Age Concern. But even I was startled by some of statistics revealed at the meeting and the crisis of care that is looming, especially regarding dementia. There was a moving keynote address by the widow of the Radio 3 presenter Malcolm John Pointer, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 1991, but died only earlier this year, in her loving care. FOTE will be highlighting the well-being of the Fourth Age and the need for support for people at different stages of dementia in its work programme.

My day ended in a very different Hall: East Ham Town Hall (or Newham Town Hall, as it’s generally known these days), an imposing edifice on the Barking Road. Along with Stephen Timms, Labour MP for East Ham, and Keith Rayner, LibDem Deputy Leader of Waltham Forest Council, I was attending a seminar on Kashmir, organised by the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), which campaigns for an independent Kashmir — or failing that, whatever the people of Kashmir decide they want for their future. The Kashmir issue has been festering for 60 years, with appalling casualties amongst the civilian population, as well as military fatalities when India and Pakistan have gone to war over the territory. The matter shot to prominence in LibDem politics in the run-up to the LibDems’ Spring Conference, thanks to a draft report for the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs’ Committee, authored by (Baroness) Emma Nicholson, MEP. This came under a great deal of fire for being seen by Pakistanis and many Kashmiris as too pro-Indian, but has subsequently been heavily revised (thanks partly to imput from Asian LibDems in London, including the Mayor of Waltham Forest, Farooq Qureshi), and it is much better for it. It was passed by the Foreign Affairs Committee a few days ago and is slated to come up for discussion at a plenary session of the European Parliament in May. But that certainly won’t be the end of the affair — nor should it be.

Links: www.fote.org.uk and www.independentjklf.org