It was a Friday evening, so it was stronger meat than we would normally choose for the end of the working week. Still, we were really taken by these plays and this production of them. The reviews we can still find tend to agree with us:
My role on the British Computer Society (BCS) Ethics Panel resulted in me leading the debate at one of the tables at this Thought Leadership event at the Royal Society.
I was lucky enough to have Onora O’Neill on my table; not only an absolutely brilliant mind for such a discussion but also delightful company.
The idea was that I simply take hand-written notes and then Penny Duquenoy, who ran the secretariat of our group, would produce a write up.
But a few days after the event Penny e-mailed me to say that she couldn’t read my hand-writing at all, so could I provide her with some typed notes. My handwriting illegible – who knew?
Several days of too-ing and fro-ing ensued in an attempt to get my hand-written notes back to me. Eventually they came and I then submitted the following notes, which paid careful heed to the Chatham House rule so I feel perfectly at liberty to reproduce them here. The topic of this debate is all too relevant as I write 11 years later and for sure will remain relevant for some time to come.
BCS THOUGHT LEADERSHIP DISCUSSION ON SHARING HUMAN DATA – TABLE ONE NOTES
• Concern that we do not have privacy legislation in the UK, we have data protection legislation which is not the same thing. We have incoherent case law on privacy and a resulting inconsistency between case law and statute law. • Principles such as “proportionality” and “need to know” are extremely hard to interpret and we don’t even have formal mechanisms on how to interpret these concepts. • Discussed the example of patient identifiers at some length – the pros and the cons (as outlined in the introductory talks). • Discussed “lazy data sharing” – i.e. many of the problems we experience are connected with human error, laziness etc., not information systems themselves. • Discussed the principle of autonomy, how that differs from privacy etc. • Discussed the relative merits of “opt out” and “opt in” schemes. Concerns about complexity in both cases – i.e. concerns that both practitioners and subjects struggle to understand such schemes. Opt out often simpler in many ways, but concerns about direct and/or indirect discrimination against those who opt out. US examples cited. • DNA database discussed at length as an example with many facets. Should everybody be on the DNA database (avoids the discrimination risk). But then how much DNA information could/should reasonably be held to ensure benefits while minimising the risk of misuse. Worried about lack of safeguards, wrongful use of information, over-abstraction (e.g. to the extent that such DNA evidence would be inadmissible in court). • Discussed Prüm Treaty and its implications for sharing DNA information. Also discussed Passenger Name Record proposal (EU). • Should each citizen have a unique chip implant at birth? This led on to discussion of ID cards. • Concern about too much stricture. People like multiple identities without necessarily using same for serious crime, fraud or mischief. Several “close to home” examples were discussed; these are mercifully protected by the Chatham House Rule and the fact that I did not write them down at the time.
Re that last point, it’s not exactly a breach of the Chatham House rule for me to state that I explained my use of Ged Ladd as a benign second identity for the purposes of fun stuff and for communicating with nephews and nieces who, at that time, might have found corresponding with uncles and aunts on (e.g.) Facebook a little embarrassing.
I don’t think it breaches the Chatham House rule for me to reveal that, once I self-outed such use, that more than half the other people at the table admitted that they too, for various benign reasons, use second identities on line for some purposes. Fascinating.
We had a relatively quiet start to 2008, with everything that went on towards the end of 2007, we’d booked little at the start of 2008.
5 January
A gathering at Kitt & Julia’s place in Sandall Close. A good chance to socialise a little with neighbours etc.
9 January
I went to Aidrienne Da Donka’s funeral that day. The Da Donka’s lived next door in Woodfield Avenue. If I recall correctly mum couldn’t face it, being so close to dad’s passing and at the same location, so I moved my (copious) work around and represented the family at that funeral. This was the first of what seemed (to me) an unlikely number of such funerals within 12-18 months or so of dad’s passing.
12 January
Dinner at Amaya with Kim & Micky. Top notch Indian grub. Looks as though we stayed at my flat afterwards. I’ll be honest and say that I don’t much remember this evening…
…but strangely Daisy remembers lots about it. She even remembers eating “zip-up lamb”. Crumbs – that’s some memory in January 2019 from someone who claims to have almost no memory.
We do both remember the evening being a success though as everyone enjoyed their grub as well as the company.
We’d made a bit of a tradition of going to the new years eve concert at the Wigmore Hall and see in the new year quietly at the flat if we liked the look of the concert. We certainly liked the look of this one when we booked it, many months before.
Between us booking it and the concert date, Robert King of the eponymous King’s Consort was jailed for indecent assault. Unaccustomed as we were to such occurrences in our favourite baroque ensembles, we wondered what might happen to our concert. It turned out that Matthew Halls, the harpsichordist, took over as the director temporarily and would lead our concert.
It all felt a bit odd and of course the programme was silent on the matter of Robert King’s absence, but still it was a good concert if I recall correctly. I can’t find any reviews and the Wigmore Hall archive stubs don’t go back that far. But they are a very accomplished group of musicians and they attract some top notch soloists, so the quality of the performances wasn’t really a surprise.
We were keen to see this exhibition over the holiday period, so decided to take advantage of a bright, albeit cold day.
There weren’t many people around, which suited us down to the ground, but probably did little for the fortunes of Kew.
Janie and I have always really liked the Henry Moore stuff.
I remember going to see an exhibition in Battersea Park when I was little and crawling through some of the holes in the sculptures.
Indeed I have subsequently (March 2021) discovered some photos from my hole-crawling day and written up that 1966 exhibition (more thoroughly than this 2007 one) – click here or below:
This made me wonder about my own “rebrand” 12 years ago.
I had often before let my facial hair grow for a while, during holiday time, but always previously had relented once work beckoned again or sooner if the itches came before the return to work.
This time I decided to play through the itches and go for the bearded look from the start of 2008 onwards.
I’m not sure I actually made the decision on 28 December, but it was a Friday and I probably at least made a decision not to shave that day before heading off for Sandall Close.
I do recall that Daisy liked the look once it got beyond 48 hour shadow to become a proper, albeit short, beard and tash.
Freudians might point out that the festive holiday in question was the first significant break from work I’d had since my father’s death and I do recall consciously thinking that I wouldn’t have attempted “the beard thing” while dad was alive. I cannot explain that, I merely note it. The same inexplicable/nonsensical rule applied to hats as well.
I especially recall my business partner, Michael Mainelli recoiling at the sight of my new look at the start of 2008. When I asked him why he didn;t like it, he was uncharacteristically lost for words until he finally said:
I don’t really know. I guess I don’t like change.
While on the business angle of this, just for the record, I would suggest that my five most successful years commercially were 2008-2012. Coincidence? Who knows.
Our tradition of going to see interesting movies between Christmas and New Year goes back quite a long way, but many of those visits will be lost in the mists of time as we often would plan and do those visits “on a whim”, with neither of us recording the details in our diary.
But both Janie and I recorded this one in our diaries, as we were fitting this evening visit between quite busy Twixtmas work schedules that year.
Christmas had been a slightly sombre but not sober affair that year. The first gathering without dad and (as it turned out) Len’s last gathering. Janie soldiered on with many of the traditions that had formed over the past few years, not least (I think) a goose. I’ll write more about such gatherings for an earlier, happier year.
Anyway, My Name Is Albert Ayler was a highly acclaimed movie about the jazz musician of that name. We had not got round to seeing it when it was released earlier that year in the UK so were thrilled to see that we had the chance to catch it one evening at the ICA.
Albert Ayler’s free jazz is a little easier on the ear than the above concert was…but not much. You can judge for yourselves with the YouTube of Ayler’s 1963 album, My Name Is Albert Ayler, below:
No trailer for the movie on line, sadly.
We were hardy (foolhardy?) folk in those days – we saw a late movie and must have eaten afterwards, as we both saw clients late afternoon/early evening. Then we got up at silly o’clock, because Janie had a very early patient to see the next morning.
Still, at least we can be pretty sure that free jazz wouldn’t have given either of us an ear worm tune through the night.
We really loved Elmina’s Kitchen and also enjoyed Fix Up, both by Kwame Kwei-Armah when we saw them at the Cottesloe, so we thought this one would be a “must see”.
In truth, Statement of Regret was nowhere near as strong as the other plays, although it was worth the trip. This one was about a black think-tank on the brink of folding. Interesting subject matter but the play was a bit all over the place.
Janie and I had Hilary & Chris for dinner at Sandall Close. No doubt they had come up to drop & collect Christmas presents etc. No doubt they stayed and no doubt they disappeared early the next morning when Janie and I went off to play tennis.
19 December
Mansion House. Michael Mainelli had persuaded the City of London Corporation & the Lord Mayor to host a London Accord launch at the Mansion House. This felt like a big deal for Z/Yen at the time. So much so that I bought a stack of copies of The Diary Of A Nobody as the staff’s Secret Santa stocking filler that year, pointing them to the Mansion House chapter/thread in the book.
Any resemblance between Ogblog and The Diary Of A Nobody is purely coincidental.
Back down to earth at Cafe Rouge in Maida Vale for the Ivan Shakespeare Memorial Dinner, including the seasonal Ivan Shakespeare Memorial Trophy quiz.
John Random helpfully reported back after the event:
Many thanks to all those who came out to the… I dunno.. the 28th? Ivan Shakespeare Memorial Dinner. (We seem to have settled into a pattern of four a year and we’ve been doing this for 7 years now, so 28 sounds about right.) The occasion was graced by Jasmine Birtles, Caroline Bainbridge, Gerry Goddin, Barry Grossman, Mark Keegan, Colin Stutt, Nick R. Thomas, Ian Harris, Mike Hodd and myself. There were three quizzes. Barry retained the trophy.
For those struggling to imagine what this magnificent trophy might look like – here is a subsequent picture of it (with legends for some subsequent winners):
The above picture, from Cambio de Tercio, is possibly the last photo taken of me before I grew my beard over that Christmas break. I suspect I should be “crediting” Monique for it, or possibly Jez given the proximity of the photographer to Sarah.
Cambio de Tercio is a fine restaurant and we indeed had a very fine meal there.
The song that year was, ♬Santa’s Using PropheZy At Z/Yen♬ to the tune of Santa Claus is Coming To town:
SANTA’S USING PROPHEZY AT Z/YEN
(Sung to the tune of “Santa Claus is Coming To Town”)
He’s made an edict!
He needs to know why!
He’s out to predict,
He will classify;Santa Claus Is Coming To Z/Yen,
PropheZy has done it again,
Santa’s using PropheZy at Z/Yen!Santa’s making a list,
He’s checking it twice,
His model works out
Who’s naughty and nice.
Santa Claus Is Coming To Z/Yen,
PropheZy has done it again,
Santa’s using PropheZy at Z/Yen!
He predicts when you’re not sleeping,
He predicts when you’re serene,
He computes if you’ve been bad or good,
In Support Vector Machine!
A Santa index,
A Santa Claus game,
A Santa benchmark,
The answer’s the same;
IndeZy is coming to Z/Yen,
ExtZy is coming to Z/Yen,
PropheZy is coming to Z/Yen.
The boys and girls in Z/Yen-land,
Want to know the reason why,
Each name has got to start or end,
With a Z and then a Y.
They’re eaZy to use,
They’re peaZy to play,
No sleaZy abuse,
When done the Z/Yen way;
IndeZy is coming to Z/Yen,
ExtZy is coming to Z/Yen,
Here’s Bruce Springsteen’s version of Santa Claus Is Coming To Town:
I seem to recall that a very good time was had by all that evening.
