Esther Rantzen writes for yano on the launch of ChildLine and the way it has been at the forefront of pioneering the plight of children, who are in danger in their own homes.
Times have changed so much. Back in 1986, soon after ChildLine was launched, one broadsheet newspaper called ChildLine “the phone line that encourages children to sneak on their parents”! As if ChildLine was a threat to good parents and happy family life. As if children were being encouraged to inform on their parents, like those in Mao’s China. When in fact over the last 25 years we have learned that even given the safety of a confidential phone-line, children will go to great lengths to protect their families. As one child who contacted ChildLine because she was terrified that she was pregnant by her father said, “It was my job to suffer.”
But 25 years ago was a very different time. Then most people had no idea that some children could be suffering terrible abuse or neglect behind the net curtains in perfectly respectable homes. When, in October 1986 we revealed that fact in a special programme called Childwatch which launched ChildLine, it was such a painful message that the temptation was to blame the messenger – a tabloid newspaper labelled our programme “the most dangerous show on television”.
I believed then, and believe now, that the only way to tackle a problem is to admit it exists, and try to resolve it. On that first night, when we opened our phone lines ChildLine received 50,000 attempted phone calls. Buoyed up by the children’s faith in us, and by the fact we knew from the start we were saving lives and preventing abuse, we continued to publicise ChildLine’s work and the Freephone number 0800 1111, and to expand and develop as fast as we could. Now 25 years later we have 12 bases around the country, have created on-line counselling services, and, wonderful news, at last we are meeting the huge demand from children. At last we can now answer every single child who needs us.
Over the last 25 years we have helped almost 2.7 million children, and have tracked huge changes in young people’s lives. Back then, for many children the only way to contact ChildLine safely was to run to a phone box. Some put their lives at risk, escaping from their homes in the middle of the night to ring us. And because so many thousands tried to get through, and we simply hadn’t enough money, or volunteer counsellors, or phone lines to answer them all, many of them failed to get through. When they did, I remember speaking to children who described abuse that had been going on for ten or fifteen years – as long as they could remember. Now, the good news is that half the sexually abused children who contact ChildLine do so within a month of it starting. And it seems from our statistics that sexual and physical abuses are happening less often. I believe ChildLine has played its part as a deterrent. Abusers know now that abused children can ask for help.
Mobile phones have been a crucial liberation for children. Now they can ring us from anywhere, at any time. So has the internet. There are some problems, like self-harm, or depression, which so destroy a child’s self confidence that they dare not attempt to talk about them. So they contact us on-line instead – and our counsellors have developed the skills to counsel them effectively via the internet. Now sexual abuse has been replaced as the most common problem, it is still in the top five, but at the very top of the list now are serious family problems. This makes us at ChildLine wonder what has happened to our family life that causes so many children so much unhappiness? At the moment we are analysing those calls, to try and find some answers.
ChildLine has never been a threat to good parents. But it may reveal ways we can support our children and protect them from pain more effectively. It did 25 years ago. It does so still today.
This week was quite a shocker for celebrity news. Katie Holmes is divorcing Tom Cruise after five years together citing ‘irreconcilable differences’. Cruise has hit back by filing for divorce in California, a move which will hinder Holmes’ chance of full custody of their daughter, Suri.
Katie’s lawyer, Jonathan Wolfe, confirmed the news and told People magazine: “This is a personal and private matter for Katie and her family.
“Katie’s primary concern remains, as it always has been, her daughter’s best interest.”
The couple married 2006 in an Italian castle after dating for only two months.
Cruise jumper up and down on Oprah’s couch stating ‘I’m in love’ in 2005. Watch the video.
Adele has announced she is pregnant via her website.
“I’m delighted to announce that Simon and I are expecting our first child together, I wanted you to hear the news direct from me, obviously we’re over the moon and very excited but please respect our privacy at this precious time. Yours always, Adele xx”
Adele’s 36-year-old boyfriend Simon Konecki runs the charity Drop4Drop. They have been together since January.
Tell us about your day job. You are head of business management at Aviva
“Basically, it is a business management role. It’s just insuring that the business operates and that the department runs effectively. So there is a risk audit, finance, a bit of HR. I provide support to the COO and the leadership team. So I make things happen and I get things done. I very much enjoy it, it’s a supportive role. I am mentoring other people in Aviva as well and growing a talent pool. I have some good relationships here and let it be said that Aviva have been massively supportive to the website. They know I run the website, they know that I go off and do charity things and they are one of the most supportive employers I have ever worked for. It’s a fantastic place to work.”
If you could have had any other career what would it have been?
“When I left school, I thought I wanted to be a policewoman, and then I thought I wanted to be a lawyer, then a judge, then I wanted to go into the army. So when I look back, they are all quite authoritarian, so I definitely wanted to rule the world in some kind of guise. If I could have had another career I think I would have been a midwife, because it was something that always interested me. I don’t know if I would have had the guts to do it, but I liked the thought of bringing children into the world.
“The funny thing was is that I was not naturally maternal before I had kids, if I heard a child crying in the supermarket I would be like, ‘Shut that child up’. When I had my own baby, it kicked in. I always found it hard to play with children because I was an only child and I played on my own. When I play with my own children, I tend to go off on my own and I have to bring myself back again. I was just used to playing that way. I would still like to be a midwife actually. It is still something that interests me to this day.”
You have won a lot of awards, which ones are you particularly proud of?
“The women in banking and finance award I was very proud of. My mum and dad were there and my dad hadn’t been very well. They divorced 38 years ago but they get along really well. To have them both there was special to me because they have seen me get to where I have gotten to. It was great to be recognised by such a wonderful body. That means so much to me. For the second one, I went to Washington to pick it up. That was a global award and the same one as the three women I have nominated have won. So I have said to my girls, “No more awards please’. I have won quite a lot. My job now is to judge awards and put other women forward, raise their profile and help them along in their career. I have had five award winners in the past year.”
That’s a good rate!
“That is a good rate. But all of them have achieved amazing things, setting up networks, giving effort and giving back to the next generation of women. So if I am in a position to help them, then of course I am going to.”
Your parents must be very proud of you.
“Yeah. My mum is my biggest fan. I mean, she helps me a lot. There is a lot of support behind me. There is my childminder, I don’t think I could do anything without her. There is an ironing man who comes and collects my ironing. It’s the best £30 a week I have ever spent. He would be the last to go. My husband is a huge support. There are a lot of people who enable me to do what I do. I help them all back in different ways. It’s a two-way street. My mum still works, she’s only young, she’s not even 60 yet. So obviously she helps me as much as she can. She is also my best friend. That helps. I confide in her a lot. When I am getting too tired she is the one that says to me, ‘Enough’.”
Mums know
“Exactly, mums know. I am like a train, I just keep going.”
How important is the support of Wearethecity for women?
“There has been a shortage of women in financial services, engineering and IT. The gender issue it not as prevalent as it once was, but at a high level, there is a lack of women in senior roles. And then there is a shortage of women making it onto boards. The City gets a lot of bad press, but we do contribute to the world economy, the UK’s economy. It’s not all million pound bonuses. You are talking about a very small percentage of people. It’s not all financial workers either, there are a lot of people who work in the periphery, you have the bars and the restaurants, and the shops and the retail outfits. It is not just financial services.
“I would encourage women to come up here and try to work. Try and see if they can have a career in the City. It is an exciting time and we are waiting here to support them.”
What do you think of the current government? Do you think they are doing a good job?
“I try to stay clear of politics. One of the things I don’t get involved in is politics. I don’t stay on top of the policies or anything like that. I have no particular alliance to any party. What I would comment on is when they do things that affect young families, because it is a struggle having kids and bringing them up. Childcare is a major thing for young couples, and women returning to work and stuff like that. I have no particular pick of the politicians, I don’t think any of them can be trusted. That would be the only thing I would say.”
Do you think you have a good work/life balance?
“Sometimes not. It was an unique week last week. I dropped my phone down the toilet, I lost my cash card, and I had tonsillitis, one of the kids caught nits, it was just a calamity of errors. I got lost on the same stretch of motorway that I have driven on a hundred times for an hour and a half, going backwards and forwards. I think I was just having one of those weeks. On Sunday night I didn’t get to bed until 11. I didn’t get to wash my hair so it’s dry shampoo on the Monday as I’m going out the door.
“There are weeks when I get it and I learn to appreciate when I’ve got that balance. When it’s Sunday night and the kids are clean, my personal emails are clear and I am on top of work – everything is in it’s box and I have learned to appreciate those moments for what they are because they don’t come around that often. Sometimes, 80% is good enough. If 80% of my washing is done, if there is a little bit in the basket, then I don’t need to tick the box. Sometimes you have to accept that some things are out of your control. You just have to do what you can. Don’t beat yourself up about it.
I work for a good employer, so I only work four days a week. My one day a week off I spend on wearethecity, on my charities, on the awards, I pick my kids up and I drop them off. I have been offered lots of different jobs, even when I have been working here and I haven’t taken them because the employers were not open to me working flexibly. That doesn’t work for me as I have lots of commitments. I am a non exec to charities, I’m a school governor, I’ve got two kids and I can’t do it all without a certain level of flexibility from the people that I work for.”
How do you relax? Do you relax?
“Lots of people would say no, but I know when I need a break. In a couple of weeks, I am going off to Spain on my own for two days and I have booked my bed by the pool. I will just lay there. I relax by thinking, believe it or not. I am not like any girl. I don’t like shopping, believe it or not. I can’t think of anything worse than trying on clothes. I also have a big beef with high street sizes. You can go in one shop and feel great because you’re a size 12 and you go in another shop and you are in a 16. The labelling is all wrong. It can ruin your shopping experience.
“Because I am an only child I am quite comfortable in my own company. Much as I always say I need my sisters – I think the network that I hang out with are my family – I still like taking time out to be on my own. I try and not do anything.
“I am never without my phone. I’ve got two and I can text on both of them at the same time. I will give any child a text competition run for their money. I get up at half five to get my own personal email down and get my own stuff done, so when the kids get up it’s their time. My life is like a military operation. So when I do get some down time, I do take it.”
Anything else?
“Wearethecity are opening a job board in September. Women can have a portfolio career. I want to teach women that they can come and work here. I would like to think in my lifetime that I make a difference. I would love for a woman to achieve something and we don’t all celebrate because it is not a rare thing. I hope that happens in my tenure, the next 40 years or however long I live. That would put a smile on my face.”
Whilst The Amazing Spider-man Video Game may lack the all out ‘spit and polish’ of some premium titles it does bring something new to movie-game tie-ins of late; it is genuinely fun and exciting to play, is full of features and successfully regenerates the Spider-man franchise under software developer Beenox.
Excuse the pun but Spider-Man’s web franchise has been a bit of a sticky web in terms of quality and variety over the past number of years. When it has been good it has been great, but let’s face it when it has been bad, it has been crap. Beenox have been in-charge of the franchise since the highly acclaimed Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, a game that really showed what could be achieved when game’s developers who love the material actually put their minds into bringing the concept to life and who are willing to put in blood, sweat and tears so that new ideas become reality and that these ideas work well. It was for these reasons amongst others that Shattered Dimensions was so well received. Tragically though, the follow up – Edge of Time saw Beenox dropping the ball somewhat almost spectacularly by condemning our beloved wall crawler to confined spaces, changing the control system so that it was tricky to play and having a ho-hum storyline that did little to engage players.
Listening to the critics of Edge of Time and looking at the efforts put into what some would say the ‘all too soon’ reboot of the Spider-man franchise Beenox knew they had to up their game. Mentality wise, they had to approach this just like Marvel Studios were going to approach the movie – it was going to be a one shot gun; they knew they were either going to re-energise the title or kill it. Restore the hope to millions of spidey fans, or destroy it.
Games that successfully manage to re-create the magic of comic books and movies is no mean feat; superhero games especially have a hard time translating the mass of abilities with ease of control. With the exception of Rocksteady and their Batman franchise there are few others that actually do it well. Thankfully though, Beenox fulfilled what some would say is a tall order The Amazing Spiderman plays very well indeed, in places it is incredibly cinematic and having it linked so closely to a movie which is heavily anticipated does it no harm at all.
The story in The Amazing Spider-Man the video game takes place some months after where the movie ended. After the Dr. Connors’ incident, Oscorp Industries went on to create an army of robots that maintain peace inNew York, scanning and attacking infected life forms. Unfortunately Oscorp also continued Connors’ research into cross-species and in one of the opening stages these potentially walking infectious diseases attack and infect Parker’s high school sweetheart: Gwen Stacey and escape intoManhattan, infecting innocents on the way. This leaves Spider-Man with no choice but to break Connors out of prison and work together with him to come up with an antidote to cure the infection in the city and save his girlfriend Gwen.
Set in a free-roaming open-world you will protect innocents of the city, battle with the infected, come across and battle super villains, tackle muggers and other perps of criminal activity all with the ability to explore and swing to your heart’s content.
The mechanic feels great and both looks and works tremendously well. Out in the city whilst you are web-slinging the camera moves in nice and close, and there is this immense feeling of motion, propulsion, gravity, speed and not to mention impressive grace. Swinging through the city you can swing really low between traffic like the movie, you can also free fall and swing at the last second. If you have seen any of the previous Spider-Man movies, you’ll experience that same feeling Peter Parker did the first time he mastered his new abilities. Sometimes in the game you even hear the character whoop with excitement as he enjoys the rush of flying through the air. This helps bring the game to life and I thought a nice touch by the developers who obviously had the master of movement as one of their core angles for this title. It is something perhaps I might not get tired of for a while and in my view makes up for any lack of online multi-play which could have further benefitted this game.
Combat wise this title doesn’t disappoint either. Spidey can confront enemies head on or attack from the shadows. Much has been borrowed from the control method of the Arkham series of Batman games; a single button to initiate and carry out a combo which builds your combo meter with every successful hit, and when the spider-sense goes off around Spider-Man’s head, you know someone is about to attack you so you tap the reversal button to stylishly take them out.
I’ve heard some reviewers complain that it is ‘too borrowed’ from Batman (including the degradable suit) but how can you realistically complain when a formula works so well. It makes it easy to look like a superhero when you skillfully drop down above an unsuspecting enemy, web them into a cocoon and propel them to the ceiling. If you don’t fancy going down the stealth route then you can take them on one by one or in a group with webs and signature moves galore which can be upgraded. Very nice indeed.
New to this Spider-man game is the inclusion of Web Rush. By holding a shoulder button, time slows down and you go into Spider-man’s ‘eyes’ where you can look at and select locations you desire to zip-line to, interact with or attack. It’s an elegant way to get Spider-Man around quickly and in a room full of enemies it allows you to quickly see objects you can use to your advantage.
Of course, there are some areas in which this title falls short of the mark and whilst they are not in my opinion deal breakers (because they are common issues found in most open world games) they do detract from what would otherwise be a quality title. Firstly, whilst the model for Spider-Man is exceptional, there are ten times as many average looking character models in the game. So many people just look the same bar a few palette changes here and there and many sound the same or say the same things. This equally goes for many of the adventures you have around the city. The first time you stop a robbery and hear Spidey deliver a cool line like ‘Stay frosty’ you are going to be excited and the second time and the third but by the time you take out your 15th armed robber who looks or sounds the same or has stolen exactly the same car, stopping robberies wont be high on your agenda. There’s a lot to do in the life of Spider-man but be prepared to repeat these missions over and over again; you’ll hear the same one-liners from Spidey and help the same police officer over and over again. That’s one of the things I think LA Noire got right; each of the side missions were individual crimes in their own right. This is an area for improvement for any future titles. Secondly, Spider-man falls foul of another typical issue of open world titles which is of graphical dexterity. Some of the surfaces especially those which are indoor just lack that spit and polish and look gaudy up close. I found this more noticeable on the Xbox version than on the PlayStation 3 but really, should it be there at all? There are also some niggling camera issues especially when you are in combat or adopting a stealth approach to attacking enemies. Sometimes you’ll find yourself backed into a corner that brings almost certain death and inevitably, some frustration.
On the PlayStation 3 you can play with the PlayStation Move. Now before you get images of two motion controllers in your hands flicking your webs acrossManhattan, think again. You hold a navigation controller or regular controller in your left hand and then the PlayStation Move controller in the right.
Basically, the Move puts a cursor on the screen and gives you a more accurate way to Web Rush or fire webbing. That is, rather than cycling through your options with the right analogue stick you can now just point. Flicking the Move also does an immediate Web Retreat. Whilst it works o.k. and has some novelty value I found it by no means a necessity. I played through the game with normal controls and never actually felt like more precise aiming would greatly help me or make the game any easier; in fact using the move controller just made my arm tired for all the wrong reasons.
The Verdict
With stunning visuals, decent enough storyline and lets not forget incredible web-slinging, Spider-man might not be the best game but is probably one of the best movie tie-ins of late. Fair play some of the missions get repetitive and some of the graphics are rough around the edges but The Amazing Spider-Man is still fun to play and gets me really excited when I think about the movie release next week.
Eugene has also announced a four date London specific tour entitled ‘The Invitation Tour’, with shows in north (Proud Galleries), south (Corsica Studios), east (Birthdays) & west (Notting Hill Arts Club) London this August, as highlighted below. Eugene’s London show at the Lexingon on 3rd July is now sold out. Further dates have also been announced, including shows as special guest to Anna Calvi and The Wombats.
As the late, great Mark Twain once said, “plain question and plain answer make the shortest road out of most perplexities”. On listening to Milk Maid’s 2nd album, ‘Mostly No’, it becomes abundantly obvious that chief protagonist Martin Coren is a subscriber to the school of though that simplicity is often the best path to tread. ‘Mostly No’ is a great record for it’s simplicity, not in spite of it. It doesn’t matter what you do to it, what effects you layer over the top or what wizardry you imagine into things – great music comes from the simple stuff, great melodies and great lyrics.
The record begins with ‘Dolpamine’, which builds slowly and beautifully from a campfire strum (one with electric guitars, natch) into a beautiful fog of distorted guitars. ‘Do Right’ starts with that fog of distorted guitars and emerges into a cleverly crafted slice of Lemonheads-esque pop before descending into a beautiful cave of feedback and distortion. ‘Stir So Slow’ is Coren’s Nirvana Unplugged moment.
As the record continues on the turntable the one thought on it is that this is probably the sort of music that grunge would be playing if it were alive today. There’s a hint of shoegazing in there too. Acoustic numbers ‘New Plans’ ‘No Goodbye’ and ‘Picture of Stone’ bring to mind Swearing at Motorists and even The Stone Roses. A lush, rich sound that is oh so achingly beautiful.
Whilst ‘Mostly No’ isn’t reinventing the wheel, it certainly deserves its place in any decent record collection. It’s Martin Coren stepping away from being ex Nine Black Alps and into being Mr Milk Maid in his own worthy right. Play it lots and play it loud!
I met Vanessa in the City. She is fashionable, warm, friendly and passionate. I came to interview her about her amazing site for women in the City: wearethecity.com. A place where women can find help and advice with their work, life and careers.
Vanessa Vallely: “There are three core values that I had in mind when I set it up that hold true. One, that we provide a platform for female entrepreneurs to get their products to market on the basis that it fits into our members’ demographic. We do that by taking away hefty advertising fees for them and to give female entrepreneurs a bit of a leg up. We are also a conduit to charities to get to high net worth women. We will actively promote any network or any organisation that is free that will develop skills for women. So probably 40% of what we do on the website falls into that value set, that is really important to me.”
Frost: First of all, what are you wearing? You look great.
VV: “I am wearing a Britt Lintner dress with my normal Gucci shoes and scarf. She is a fantastic designer. She set herself up a couple of years ago doing dresses and managed to get her collection into Harrods, although she’s taking some time out because she’s raising some small children.”
When did you know you wanted to go into business?
“I left school at 16 with just a couple of GSCEs and headed out into the city with 15 pence and a bag of ambition because I wanted to change my lifestyle and my mum’s as well. We come from a very socially and economically-challenged background, so I knew that I wanted to be successful, I knew that the financial district was two miles away from where I lived and that was where I was going to start.
“I actually realised I wanted to develop the website three years ago due to my frustration with not having a site that covered everything in my life. There needs to be a bit of lifestyle in there because let’s not hide it, I am a woman. I need to eat, I need to have my hair done, I need to find a dentist. But I also wanted to upskill myself outside of my corporate environment, so how was I going to that?
“Women’s networks, courses I could go on – for me it’s frustrating. If I Googled that information, I would spend hours on the internet. I wanted to find it all on one site so my husband said, ‘Why don’t you create a website for women?’ and we built it together.
“So that’s when I knew that I wanted to work for myself. I love my corporate job and run the website outside of work.
“My aspirations in 10 years time are to be the CEO of a charity, because I do a lot for charity still.”
Tell me about being a Pearly Queen?
“It has been in my family for 100 years. The Pearly Kings and Queens were started by an Orphan called Henry Croft and he used to sew buttons on his suit, he was a rat-catcher in the markets.
“If you think about London 100-odd years ago it was still markets, no superstores or anything. So he used to hang around the markets with the costermongers who were the apple sellers. They used to sew buttons on their suits and were called flash boys.
“If the costermongers were down on their luck, their entire family was affected if someone was ill. There was no social security then, so he used to raise money in the markets for his fellow orphans. Eventually he was so much in demand, he couldn’t be at all the markets, so he made head Pearly Kings and Queens of each of the 20 boroughs of the London of the time and they’d raise money for individuals in that borough. My granddad was pearly King of East London and he passed that title to my father and my father passed it to me.
“I have been a Pearly Queen since I was three years old. I was Pearly Queen of Hoxton until this year when I gave that title to my 11-year-old daughter and I have taken the City of London from my dad. So we still go out and put our buttons on for various charities. I don’t quite sing and dance the way I used to, but it is a lovely part of London heritage and we are as famous as the Chelsea Pensioners, so why not do it? The fact that I have a profile in the City helps because it could die out with people getting old.”
I read that you could see the city from….
“I could, from my tower block window. I lived on the 18th floor and could see NatWest tower. I used to say to my mum, ‘I am going to work there one day and I am going to change how we live’. My first job was in that building.
I drive past there now and I look up at that tower block and I think, That’s where it all began’. We were broke half the time. There were lots of people with challenges and me and my mum were one of them, but bit-by-bit we made it out through sheer hard work. Most of my childhood was spent going to school and then cleaning betting shops until 11 pm. I don’t know if my mum still has it, but I think there’s a picture where I am holding a mop that is bigger than I am. I still love to clean – mopping and stuff like that.”
Was it hard getting to where you are now? Any reinforced ceilings?
“Yes, in the City I was different in a time when diversity wasn’t really appreciated. I didn’t speak the right way, I didn’t look right, and had a bit of an attitude. I was quite precocious and quite a forceful individual because I wanted to get ahead. I never had a college network to back me up, I never knew anyone, so I had to fight my corner a little bit harder.
“There were individuals who I worked for along the way who told me I can’t do what I have done. They said I’ll never succeed or I’ll never cut it or I’ll never get that job. I love people like that because they fuel my fire and I love to say to them, ‘Well, actually, you were wrong’.”
It’s all connections isn’t it?
“Absolutely. And I spent the past six years building those connections, not just for me, but for other people. I find people jobs, I mentor, I connect businesses, source providers. I spend probably 30% of my week connecting people to others. That’s why my strapline is ‘Make The Magic Happen’. They can go off and do stuff together. They call me a ‘contentpreneur’. I enjoy doing that and enjoy hearing about what other people have done as a result, because I feel like I was part of it.”
I heard that you were the most connected women in London….
“I do know a lot of people. I do agree that there are only three degrees of separation. I can get to most people if I need to. But I don’t call on favours often. I only call on them when I need them. I am more likely to be found giving favours or doing stuff for other people. That’s my model and I enjoy doing it.”
What do you think made you successful?
“Passion and drive. But also I open most conversations with, ‘what can I do for that person?’ and I think what you end up with is thanks. You are good to other people and they want to help you back. Also volunteering for things other people didn’t want to do. People would say, ‘oh, I don’t want to do that’ if there was a project that was really messy. I was the first one with my hands up, because I think you learn so much as a consequence of being in a mess, fixing it, and getting yourself out of that mess.
“I have always volunteered for projects that other people don’t want and for things I don’t necessarily have the expertise for. There are things I have worked on when I’d have to come home and study. I would read books and call on my network, saying, ‘Can you help me understand this stuff?’. I am not a hugely academic person, but I get things done and I have people skills. I get along so well with people. I think if you approach it a certain way, then people will help you.”
What do you think about the global economy?
“I think we’re in a tight space. I think we have been in a tight space since 2008. You look at what happened with the banks out there, Northern Rock and stuff, it has had a knock-on effect. It’s wider now, it’s countrywide, Portugal, Greece, Ireland.
“I think it’s a tough place to be. I think it’s a tough time for businesses, but I also think tough times are the best place to grow sometimes. You are starting from a very low point. I think there are people who will thrive as a consequence, but we have to watch what we are doing. It’s difficult. It’s difficult for public services, schools, I mean I do a lot of work within charities who have had their funding cut. I think the whole world is feeling the pinch. It’s a scary place to be.”
What was the original idea behind Wearethecity.com?
“It was my frustration that there wasn’t really a website for women. There wasn’t something that showed me a one-stop shop where I could make a change. There are now 20-30 charities that we promote and we have over 200 writers.
“These are girls that have never written for publications before and are amazingly talented. Some of them want to share their experiences and they are writing about a myriad of things, those problems that women face in their careers, life, childcare, elderly care, career aspirations, setting up a business. We are giving them the opportunity.
Wearethecity has grown from being a website that was built on an £8 a month web builder tool that anyone can get off the internet to a website that gets a million and a half hits every single month.
“Let it be noted that I have not done it on my own. There wouldn’t be a me without my husband. He built the website, he is the technical person, he has a full-time job, he believes in the power of women, he believes in me and it is a very supportive partnership. That enables me to do what I do. It is shared responsibility. Yes, when the kids are away we have an argument about whose week was more important, but he is a massive support, I couldn’t do it without him.”
How do you juggle kids with a career?
“Again, it’s a tough one. The kids come first. They have to come first. You have to spend quality time with them and it is quality time. I get up at 5:30 in the morning, generally I am pulling letters out of school bags, I write a few cheques, and I get prepared. I have a childminder that comes at 6:30, I literally hand over as I am walking out of the door. I get into work at 8:45 and I do my full day job. I see people, I do work on wearethecity on lunch breaks or after work, so I don’t mix the two.
When I am here in work, I am here in work. I do my emails on the train. I get home at 7. I see the children, the childminder goes. We tend to do a lot of quality stuff. We go to the theatre and we travel a lot because we live in quite a middle class white area and I grew up in the culturally mixing pot that is Hackney. I don’t want my kids growing up thinking the world is flat or white. I want them to have an appreciation of different religions and cultures. We cook a meal from the culture that we are visiting and then we travel there.
“My kids have a huge world map, probably three feet by two feet, that I bought them a few years ago. Every year, we choose two countries and then we go through a process. They do a little project, we talk about it, we cook a meal and we go. My kids can navigate Heathrow airport, Gatwick, Stansted like you would not believe. It has helped them to grow up. I want them to be the kind of individual who would see a person properly, for what they are, not what they look like or what their beliefs are. That is very important to me.”
Do you think the City is a good environment for women?
If you think of where we came from in the last 40 years, from being able to vote and stuff like that, I still think it is sad that we have to celebrate en masse when a women gets a board position. I would rather that was the norm.
“I also think women in my position should be role models and mentor these women because we need to build the next generation – that next pool of talent – or we’ll never get women who are ambitious enough to get onto boards.
It’s a good spot for women. The young girls that I talk to are coming out with different dreams and aspirations, with a ‘why can’t I?’ attitude, which I like because I think women should continue to push boundaries and I fully support that.”
What advice would you give to other women in business?
“Don’t take no for an answer. Try to remove the emotion. With some things that happen, it’s very easy to get a bit deflated. They just have to dust themselves off, get up and keep trying.
“Networking is one of the most important tools. Meet people, even if you can’t see an immediate need for your business. You never know when that person’s name is going to come up, so spend a lot of time networking with the right peer group. Keep those relationships warm, don’t be transactional, keep in touch even if it’s not a close contact. If it’s a peripheral contact, keep in touch every six months. Drop them an email saying. ‘I thought of you’, that sort of thing. That is massively important.
“Don’t give up. If you have a dream in your head, think about, ‘How do I get there?’. You may be back at the start and your dream is two miles ahead, so how do we get to mile one? Who do we need to help us to get there? What do I need to learn?
“Visualise that short-term goal, but keep the long-term one in mind as well. You just have to keep pushing on. It’s not always easy. I’m not perfect. I had times when I put my head in my hands and thought, ‘Why am I doing this?’ Or when I want to give up, that network around me are the ones that give me the push. You need to push on. That is what I give to my network now.”
I know what you mean, I have times when I think, ‘I can’t do this’.
“But then one of your friends will be strong and they will say, ‘Yes you can’. Then they might have a moment. I think it’s a fantastic time for women, and again, if you hang out with the right set of women who support women, it’s a fantastic place to be.”
It was Madeleine Albright who said there is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women [Vanessa finishes the quote with me]
Absolutely. And she’s spot on. She said a lot of profound things. She is one of my women that I aspire to. She’s amazing.”
It is an annoying myth that women don’t help other women.
“I can honestly say 99% of women I associate with are absolutely supportive. If we don’t make a difference, if we don’t support other women, if we don’t tell young girls that they can do it, and influence and navigate….
“I don’t think a woman should ever change her make up. I look back at the pictures of me early in my career and I look like a guy, I have a pinstripe suit on. The only thing that says I am feminine is my hair and a bit of make up, because that’s how I thought I needed to be. In order to succeed, I needed to be one of them. I needed to be a ball breaker, I needed to be, ‘I don’t care. I’ll sack that one and I don’t care’.
But you know what? I am absolutely proud to be a woman. Unfortunately, women get labelled very easily, so if you are outspoken about something, you are having an emotional breakdown. If you react to something in a certain way: you’re sensitive, so it is very easy to slap a label on women, and I am like, ‘Why can’t my outburst be described the same as yours? I have a label and you are just being seen as being passionate. There is no difference.”
It’s like that quote: a women who has an opinion is a bitch, but a man with an opinion is strong.
“Exactly. A man and women can say the same statement and people will go ‘Ooh!!’ to the woman and with a man they just say, ‘Alright’. They see things how they are and won’t bat an eyelid. It is easy for women to be labeled and it’s a shame, it shouldn’t be that way.”
Less than a year ago there was doubt over Bloc Party producing another record again. This week they’ve announced the release of their fourth album, ‘FOUR’, set for release on 20th August via Frenchkiss Records.
Following an extended hiatus after 2008’s critically acclaimed ‘Intimacy’, the four piece of Kele Okereke, Russell Lissack, Gordon Moakes and Matt Tong reunited in New York in the winter of 2011, prompted by a creative impetus inspired by a dramatic year in world events, as well as a shared desire to rekindle their singular musical kinship.
Teaming up with producer Alex Newport (Death Cab For Cutie, The Mars Volta, At The Drive-In), the band, in Kele’s words, “wanted to challenge ourselves by not relying on the invisible grid that seems to be mapping out all of popular music these days” and goes on to say that it “is the sound of four people in a room, loving what they do and doing it to the best of their ability. It is the sound that only the four of us could make, and I am prouder of it than any record we have ever made”.
‘FOUR’ is released August 20th via Frenchkiss Records.
Tracklist:
01. So He Begins To Lie
02. 3×3
03. Octopus
04. Real Talk
05. Kettling
06. Day Four
07. Coliseum
08. V.A.L.I.S.
09. Team A
10. Truth
11. The Healing
12. We’re Not Good People
