London Life, part two
Wednesday I went to the office and caught up with a lot of people, including my successor at Climate Action 100+. In the afternoon, a group of us went to an exhibit on the Bank of England's role in slavery. It was very interesting, and I think a very good sign that British institutions are examining their role in historic atrocities. Of course the genesis of the exhibit was work done by a Bank of England committee made up of black and ethnic minority employees. Their work was put front and centre in the wake of George Floyd's murder and the toppling of statues during BLM protests. One of the projects was to look at the portraits on the walls of the Bank of England and decide whether these worthies (mostly plantation owners) should continue to command their highly visible spots. Some went into the basement and some into the exhibit. One of the bits of info in the exhibit was how the Bank of England made loans to the British government to fund its colonial wars--expanding its empire. The bank also came to own two plantations in Grenada and 300 slaves, all put up as collateral on a loan. On display was a list of all the slaves' names and their assigned monetary value.
In the evening, Rachael, Jasmin and I had dinner then Rachael and I cycled to the West End (along the Thames!) to see Come From Away, a musical about 9/11. Strange as it sounds, it was a very feel good production. More than 7,000 airline passengers descended on Gander Newfoundland when 38 planes were stranded there due to the closure of US airspace. For five days, Newfoundlanders kept everyone fed and clothed and entertained as they came to grips with their situation and the very grim news (after more than 24 hours on a plane not knowing what was going on).
Thursday the PRI staff met with some of the directors on our board, including our chair, former head of the Norwegian pension fund. After lunch I caught up on a project involving sovereign bond funds and data providers then we had a cocktail party from 6 pm to midnight. I made it to 11:30! It has been a long week. Mostly fun but very full on for an introvert. Here I am with OG, my new bestie.
She's the aforementioned intern from Lagos and she's a lovely young woman. She's half way through a six week internship and plans to apply for an opening we have. I hope she gets it.
I got a lot of compliments on my shades, which I bought in an underground mall of vintage shops across the street. I also got a pair of bright yellow shades--very hip. I try to take my game up when I'm in London.
June 22-23