The Steeple Times

Tag: Miller Philanthropy

  • The death of the typewriter, the death of an era

    The death of the typewriter, the death of an era

    Gina Miller reports on the death of the typewriter

     

    I noted that Britain’s last ever typewriter rolled off the assembly line at Brother’s factory in Wales last week, the Brother CM1000 electronic typewriter. This was one of 5.8 million typewriters made at the factory since 1985 and it has been donated to the Science Museum in London.

     

    The power of words

    Over the weekend, whilst perusing the Sunday newspapers, I shuddered at the disgraceful dumbing down of language. Then, last night, whilst watching the evening news, I was appalled by the grammar being used by newsreaders as my radar is now fully focused on honing in on grammatical sabotage.

     

    It has struck me that with the death of the typewriter we are also experiencing the death of an era. An era in which the art and craft of writing, grammar, attention to detail, concentration and a love of words was celebrated has passed. Gone is a time where cutting and pasting required dexterity and glue. A time when mistakes, typos and bad grammar all had consequences; and when people enjoyed a romance with words has indeed moved on. Words that could be simple yet sophisticated have been sadly forgotten. I love the power of words. They are an amazing form of self-expression that can convey such beauty and such emotion. They have the power to make or break a person. They can lift or depress the spirit, they can make us rejoice or cry.

     

    As a young girl I would sneak into the back of a courtroom and marvel as my father, a noted criminal barrister, defended a client.  Years later reading the John Mortimer play, A Voyage Round My Father, I found the exact words to express my childhood wonderment. ‘He sent words into the darkness as if they were soldiers into battle,’ Mortimer wrote.

     

    In the work environment we now use computers, which often means people are less productive and lack concentration as they are distracted by the Internet and auto spell checks which dull the intellect. Typewriters used to be chained to desks so they were not stolen or thrown out of windows. But now staff can steal time by using office hours to communicate with friends on Facebook or Twitter, shop online and book leisure activities and holidays.

     

    Outside of work, letter writing is dying; people text to say thank you, to make up – even to break up. Communication lacks emotion, style, considered phrases and politeness. Written communications have been reduced to rough, short, sharp, harsh expressions of functionality.

     

    I love how words taste just before you say them, how some of them have to roll around your mouth for a while before they can be uttered and how others explode off the pad of your tongue, excited to be leaving your thoughts and heading out into the world. Words like ‘strident’, ‘garrulous’, ‘mosquito’, ‘svelte’, ‘sanguine’, ‘parlour’. The word ‘rat’ that you can’t say and be tearful at the same time – it’s a great word to repeat several times when you can’t control your emotions. I love coming across words that I’ve never heard before – sometimes just hearing them is enough to satisfy my appetite but more often than not I need to get the full effect of them by thinking of how to use them. This I explore with my children where we have rhyming games, opposite games; if a word was a colour, what colour might it be?

     

    There are some words that you can’t help but ‘feel’ as you say them – say the word ‘whisper’ and the very air around you changes as you say it. Words are beautiful to say and hear but they really come into their own when they are written down.

     

    I’m certainly not as clever with the use of words and language as I would like to be and I probably use each and every forbidden type of style and grammar error known to man. But I firmly believe that in these fast-paced, hectic times we should all encourage a wider expansion and usage of vocabulary so that generations to come can enjoy the pleasure of words and language.

     

    Like the health message of ‘eat 5 a day’ in terms of fruit and vegetables, I would encourage parents to ensure their children to ‘use 5 a day’ – at least 5 adjectives a day to ensure the beauty of language is kept alive.

     

    Gina Miller is an entrepreneur, philanthropist and lover of words.

     

    For more information about Miller Philanthropy, go to: http://www.millerphilanthropy.com

     

     

  • Derek Paravicini

    Derek Paravicini

    This echolaliac prodigy has absolute pitch and has been described as “the human iPod.” His abilities as a musician are amazing given that he’s both blind and autistic. The cousin of The Duchess of Cornwall’s children, Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes, Paravicini unexpectedly played Big Spender to the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, in 2009 and made legal history when The Court of Protection was opened for the first time in 2010 to discuss his future care. He captivates audiences throughout the land.

  • Antony Costa

    Antony Costa

    Edgware born Costa is best known as a member of the boy band Blue but he actually started out as an actor in the BBC’s Grange Hill. He’s sung with Stevie Wonder and Elton John and thinks that groups created via shows such as The X-Factor achieve fame “the wrong way.” We’d say he has a point.

  • The “i” wise monkeys

    The “i” wise monkeys

    Gina Miller asks if today’s “i” generation can still embody the proverbial maxim “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”

     

    The hysteria and media attention around the iPhone 5 and the iPad mini has made me take note and observe “i” gadget usage over the last few weeks. The idea of people queuing outside Apple stores in these times of austerity when so many are struggling seems totally absurd to me. Even more absurd is that these individuals behave like addicts and do not question what mobile phones are doing to their lives.  They just can’t wait for the next high.

     

    Do the “i” generation truly understand this principle?

     

    My observations of “mobile junkies” started on the 21st September. During the day there was media coverage of the launch of the iPhone 5 and interviews with joyous consumers as they got their hands on these new toys. In the evening, I attended a truly inspiring concert to celebrate and publicise Peace for One Day. The concert marked the United Nations’ World Peace Day, which calls for a day of global ceasefire and non-violence. Prior to the music there were links from leaders around the world in support of the day including a speech about global action against domestic violence, an Afghan Leader in support of the day and the extraordinary director of Interpeace, Scott Webber. And what were the people at either side of me, above me, in front and behind me doing? They were texting, emailing, playing games and obsessively tinkering with their mobiles.

     

    From the woman talking on her mobile as she steps into the road to cross without ever looking up, to the parents waiting in the playground for their children texting and emailing, the mobile has taken precedence over what we should really be paying attention to. In restaurants, couples and families do not talk to each other but instead have their mobiles in their hands as they eat and prop up mobiles or iPads playing cartoons for the children instead of talking to them. Have we lost all sense of propriety? When do we talk to each other? When do we get to know our children?

     

    People text to ask someone out, they text to break up and they text to ask what is for supper. Trust in relationships is tested as women track their husband’s iPhones and if a partner doesn’t call or text at least five times a day then the other questions the depth of commitment or love. Children as young as seven demand iPads or mobiles from doting parents who don’t know how to say ‘no’ or instil the idea that you strive to attain the rewards of hard work. There are even reported increases in teenagers and a young adult complaining of aches and pains in their thumbs due to over-texting. 24/7 email access engenders expectations and stress that means people are never really shutting down from work mode. People on trains incessantly chatter and children get brutally attacked on their way home from school for their mobiles. All sense of privacy has been eroded as any celebrity or person in the public eye can be spied upon now that mobiles have cameras. All these negative trends are due to these gadgets but sales keep rocketing most especially amongst those who can least afford them.

     

    I read with interest an account from a guide at the Sistine Chapel who said visitors come in, take photos on their phones and iPads and then move to the next room.  No one, the guide suggested, really looks with their eyes, wonders or lingers at the beauty before, around and above them anymore. For these visitors, instead, it is all about taking the picture and instant gratification.

     

    Whilst mobile phones keep us in touch and mean we can assure our loved ones we are safe, running late, find out about the children or ask whether grandmother is warm; this convenience appears to come at a very high price. Apple recently sold its 100 millionth iPad and reported profits of £5.08 billion in the three months to 29 September 2012. Apparently there were 2 million iPhone 5s ordered in the first 24 hours and similar figures are expected for the aggressively priced iPad mini. If you the average spend one of these new gadgets were to be conservatively calculated at £200, that gives a total spend of £400 million. Just think what a difference that amount of money would make if each person gave it instead to the extraordinary small community charities who battle at the coalface of the negative trends in our society?

     

    The ancient three monkeys proverb associated with being of good mind, speech and action has been corrupted by gadgets and now in the modern world we turn a blind eye. We have grown an extra appendage that we appear unable to live without.

     

    What if we all engaged in a national day of no phones or portable tablet? What if, as a social experiment, all networks were also to shut down for one day? Would we not have a different sort of ‘peace day’ that would start to rebuild our interaction, families, relationships and empathy? We would have to look into each other’s faces when we spoke and we might remember when we laughed more, talked more and maybe even tolerated more. If we took up this challenge, perhaps we might even rediscover some of our lost humanity and ‘we’ culture rather than the egotistical ‘i’ culture that sadly dominates society today.

     

    Gina Miller, founder of Miller Philanthropy, is the host of Champions in the Community at The Hurlingham Club on 8th November 2012. For more information and to donate, go to: https://mydonate.bt.com/events/championsdinner

  • Celebrating Champions in the Community

    Celebrating Champions in the Community

    An event to support the unsung heroes in our community

     

    On the 8th November, The Steeple Times will be the media partner for a fundraising event jointly hosted by Gina and Alan Miller and The Rt. Hon Iain Duncan Smith MP at The Hurlingham Club in London, SW6. 100% of the funds raised by the “Celebrating Champions in the Community” evening will aid charities supported by Miller Philanthropy and The Centre for Social Justice.

     

    Gina Miller of Miller Philanthropy comments:

     

    “We increasingly hear and read in the media examples of how our society is breaking down. Yet there are unsung heroes battling every day, on all our behalves, trying to reverse these trends. We invite you to celebrate and support these individuals so please join us for an evening of entertainment, celebration and inspiration. 100% of your attendance donation will be going to these community heroes.”

     

    Gina Miller

    The Rt. Hon Iain Duncan Smith MP

     

    This black tie event, whose principal sponsor is the luxury couture house Ralph & Russo, will include a drinks reception, dinner and auction as well as entertainment from the BRIT-Award winning singer Beverley Craven; Antony Costa, a former member of the pop boy band sensation Blue; the Magpie Dance company and Derek Paravicini, one of the great musical entertainers of his generation.

     

    Beverley Craven
    Antony Costa
    Magpie Dance

    Derek Paravicini

     

    A donation of £150 per person comes as the condition of attending, 100% of which goes to charities being supported.

     

    Miller Philanthropy

    Miller Philanthropy is a family foundation founded on passion and integrity with 100% transparency and 100% of funds raised going to charities and causes.

     

    The foundation focuses on small community charities – the unsung heroes who undertake vital work at the coal face of the negative trends in our society; primarily, but not exclusively in the UK. Miller Philanthropy’s premise is based upon a strong belief that charity begins at home.

     

    The foundation acts as a philanthropic incubator for chosen charities and projects who undertake transformational work but face a growing number of challenges and lack of resources. We mentor and partner these extraordinary individuals and organisations until they become sustainable.

     

    Beneficiary Charities

    • The AMBER Trust
    • Best Beginnings
    • Chernobyl Children’s Project
    • Crossway Pregnancy Crisis Centre
    • Hebridean Whale & Dolphin Trust
    • HELP Counselling Centre
    • Magpie Dance
    • Pond Conservation
    • Street Kids International
    • Target Ovarian Cancer

     

    The Centre for Social Justice

    The Centre for Social Justice is an independent think-tank, established to put social justice at the heart of British politics. Moved by shocking levels of disadvantage across the nation, it studies the root causes of Britain’s acute social problems in partnership with its Alliance of over 350 grassroots charities and people whose lives have been affected by poverty.

     

    This enables the CSJ to find and promote evidence-based, experience-led solutions to change lives and transform communities.

     

    The CSJ believes that the surest way to reverse social breakdown – and the poverty it creates – is to build resilience within individuals, families and the innovative organisations able to help them.

     

    Breakthrough Britain

    In 2007, the CSJ published its landmark report Breakthrough Britain. This publication has had a significant impact on the previous and present government and has led to the current welfare reforms being implemented across the UK. In Autumn 2012, the CSJ is set to produce Breakthrough Britain II which will update its policy recommendations, with the aim of creating a cross-party consensus on some of the most important policy issues facing Britain today.

     

    For more details about The Centre for Social Justice, go to: http://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk
     
    For more details about Miller Philanthropy, go to: http://www.millerphilanthropy.com

     

    To book tickets to the Celebrating Champions in the Community event, contact Rachael Dove of Miller Philanthropy on +44 (0) 20 7838 8650 or email [email protected]

     

  • Diamonds Aren't Forever

    Diamonds Aren't Forever

    The resignation of Bob Diamond

     

    Today, Bob Diamond finally bit the dust and resigned as chief executive of Barclays in a dramatic move designed to save the bank from further embarrassment in the wake of their having being fined a record £290 million last week for attempting to manipulate the interbank lending rate, Libor, between 2005 and 2009.

     

    Bob Diamond, centre, with John Varley and Marcus Agius

    Of his decision, Diamond commented:

     

    “No decision over that period was as hard as the one that I make now to stand down as chief executive. The external pressure placed on Barclays has reached a level that risks damaging the franchise – I cannot let that happen.”

     

    Meanwhile, George Osborne MP added:

     

    “We now have an opportunity to fix what went wrong and move on.”

     

    The Chancellor’s attempts to sweep this scandal under the carpet illustrate how out of touch he is with public opinion on this subject and Gina Miller, founder of the True and Fair campaign, raises a far more valid point in her statement on the affair:

     

    “Bob Diamond’s departure and the Libor scandal shows lack of oversight, accountability and regulation in the City. Current industry self-regulation, overseen by the FSA, has been widely abused by the financial services industry and has failed to protect consumers or provide a level-playing field for the more responsible financial services companies.”

     

    With an inquiry looming next into professional standards in banking, one has to wonder which other heads will roll next. As someone said to me in a Facebook message this morning: “Give a man a gun, and he can rob a bank; Give a man a bank, and he can rob the world.”

     

    For more information on the True and Fair campaign, go to: http://www.trueandfaircampaign.com

  • Gina Miller: What’s on your mantelpiece?

    Gina Miller: What’s on your mantelpiece?

    “The Steeple Times” quizzes leading philanthropist Gina Miller about what’s on her mantelpiece

     

    The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom.” What’s your guiding force?

    Life is short, so don’t live in regret.

     “Never regret, never explain, never apologise” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?

    The three C’s – compassion, common sense and confidence are far more valuable than three A’s.

    Kerry Katona was unacceptable in 2007. Who is unacceptable in 2012?

    Human traffickers.

    Tony Blair misses being Prime Minister. What do you miss most in your life?

    Sleep.
    What might you swap all your wealth for?

    Knowing my children will be happy.

    What phrase or word do you most loathe?

    “Honestly, I really mean it”: Implies they are lying the rest of the time.

    In the UK, some people consider charity to “begin at home.” What’s your view and what causes do you personally support?

    Charity begins at home and should be a fundamental value in all our families and societies.  It is about the small actions, consideration and kindnesses we undertake every day, not the big gestures we make once in a while. If we all did this, the ripple effect would be enormous and would heal many of society’s ills.

    Have you ever been arrested and if so, for what?

    Yes, I was mistakenly identified as a local in Egypt and arrested for being improperly attired.

    If you could fill a carriage on The Orient Express, who would be your fellow passengers?

    My children, my husband, Oscar Wilde and the archaeologist Howard Carter.

    Gina Miller

    If you were unfortunate enough to end up on death row, what would be your last meal and where would you eat it?

    A tin of caviar and a teaspoon; in a garden full of scented roses and wild flowers (maybe I could use the teaspoon to tunnel my way out!).

    What time is it acceptable to consume the first drink of the day?

    Whatever time you fancy, as it’s always the ‘right time’ somewhere on the globe.

    A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?

    A martini.

    Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?

    Those with great drink, great food, great music and lovely people – on a balmy beach. Idyllic.

    Who is the most positive person you know?

    My daughter who has special needs – she is not socialised or limited by academic thinking. She is a true free thinker with genuine EQ.

    What’s your most guilty pleasure?

    Caviar.

    What was the first bone that you broke?

    Knee.
    If a tattoo were to sum you up, what would it be of?

    Women don’t smoke cigars!

    If you were a car, what marquee would you be?

    Morgan.
    Cilla Black presented “Surprise, Surprise.” Tell us the most surprising thing about you.

    I was a free climber before I destroyed my thumbs which are very arthritic – the higher and more testing the better. All started when I was a tomboy and thought I was a superhero. I have climbed on all 6 continents and still think I can fly.

    What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?

    An invite to a gorgeous girl’s wedding and a sculpture of a lady welded together from car nuts and bolts produced by some supposed lost youths who were engaged in car theft but who are now successful engaged in a mechanic apprenticeship scheme we set up in Redditch.

     

    Gina Miller is a founding partner of SCM Private and also runs the True and Fair campaign. More information can be viewed at http://www.scmprivate.com and http://trueandfaircampaign.com

     

  • Alan Miller

    Alan Miller

    The nephew of That’s Life!’s Esther Rantzen is a financial titan and philanthropist. Miller is a founding partner and CIO of SCM Private, a Sloane Street based wealth management firm, but he’s best known for his successes at New Star Asset Management, Jupiter Asset Management and Gartmore Invetment Management. Here is a man of principle who has also run the London Marathon twice and the New York Marathon thrice.

  • Gina Miller

    Gina Miller

    This modern day suffragette is a philanthropist and founding partner of SCM Private, a Belgravia based firm of wealth managers. Gina Miller has three degrees, is originally from Guyana, South America and is leading a fight against the conflicts of interest and lack of transparency in the city and charities. With her husband, Alan, she was a major contributor to the Lady Thatcher Infirmary at the Royal Hospital. Her Miller Philanthropy foundation and Goodwill Exchange volunteer exchange are just two examples of the achievements of this truly powerful and driven giver.