I was delighted with my first sign of plaque – no, not even dental is spelt “placque”! It was a delight to open a newly refurbished track in Parliament Hill. Great coverage too – “Parliament Hill athletics track on Hampstead Heath gets £2m revamp“.

Just before kicking off a race amongst some enthusiastic junior Harriers, my remarks went:

Parliament Hill Athletics Track official opening, Parliament Hill Athletics Track, Hampstead Heath, Wednesday, 17 April 2024, by The Rt Hon The Lord Mayor of London, Alderman Professor Michael Mainelli

Chair, Councillors, ladies and gentlemen…

I am delighted to be here to officially open the Parliament Hill athletics track after this renovation. Huge thanks to the Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood and Queen’s Park Committee, the staff of the Environment Department and all those involved in the works.

I was going to start with a joke, but I didn’t want to do a running gag.

The City of London Corporation has managed Hampstead Heath since 1989. This is part of the more than 11,000 acres of open space in London and southeast England – which also include Burnham Beeches, Epping Forest and many more – in which we invest over £38million a year.

These open spaces, most of which are charitable trusts, are run at little or no cost to the communities that they serve. They include important wildlife habitats, Special Areas of Conservation, Sites of Special Scientific Interest, and National Nature Reserves – and they are protected by legislation. They are also part of the lungs of London, removing around 16,000 tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere every year. Hampstead Heath is one of our most iconic.

Parliament Hill = After a £2million investment in this site, these improvements to one of the country’s top athletics venues are now complete – ensuring this remains a key venue for national and international athletics events, and retains the prestigious UK Athletics Trackmark accreditation.

As well as being open to the public, this track is used throughout the year by several running clubs and schools from across north and central London, and is open to the public. In fact, 50 local schools use it for PE and sports days. And the running clubs here also have strong youth sections and encourage participation from local young people.

One such club is the Highgate Harriers, who hold their annual Night of the 10,000m PBs (Personal Bests) here. This popular sporting event – which has been running for more than a decade now – is free to attend and brings together elite runners from across the world to compete alongside some of Britain’s best athletes.

As well as the Olympic 10,000m trials, this year’s event in May will also host the British Championships and will be a designated World Athletics Silver Label event, attracting some of the best International elite athletes. Alongside all those PBs, this site is home to a record, when Mizan Adane of Ethiopia ran 10,000m in 29 minutes 59 seconds last year, the fastest time by any woman on a UK track.

I am delighted that we are joined today by a London Marathon winner and a 10,000m world record holder. I recently had the pleasure of meeting the City of London Corporation’s own ‘Mile 23’ Club who will be running the London Marathon this weekend – hopefully they will be among the people enjoying this renovated track in future.

I ran the London Marathon 21 years ago – but once was enough for me. You won’t see my running the course in my mayoral regalia – although I may suggest this for one of my successors. But everyone who does run it has my respect, and I wish them all the best of luck.

After the City worked so closely with the clubs who use this facility throughout the improvement works, we can be confident that the improved track will meet and exceed the needs of users for many years to come. In fact, I can say with certainty, it will be a runaway success.

My thanks and congratulations again to all those involved in the renovation and improvement of this great facility,
I look forward to unveiling the official plaque. Thank you.

Pinchbeck Waterloo Watch draw for the Lord Mayor’s Big Curry Lunch, £20.

A unique watch – there will only ever be one Waterloo Watch – to raise funds to support veterans into employment. This beautiful, distinctive timepiece has been created in the workshops of the renowned watchmaker Harold Pinchbeck in Lincoln. The company was originally founded in the City of London in the eighteenth century. Every year from now on, thanks to the generosity of Paul Pinchbeck, his company will create a different watch to raise funds for the LMBCL. Each will take the name of a significant military event.

Very kind piece by Jane Playdon, George Littlejohn, and the entire team at CISI – “Connecting The Dots“.

Remarks to: Dinner to Archbishops and Bishops, Egyptian Hall, Mansion House, Thursday, 22 February 2024, by the Rt Hon The Lord Mayor of London, Alderman Professor Michael Mainelli

“Your Graces, Archbishop, My Lords, Bishops, Fellow Aldermen, Mr Dean, Sheriffs, Chief Commoner, Ladies and Gentlemen. Good evening and a very warm welcome to Mansion House for this dinner to the Archbishops and Bishops.

Each of tonight’s three speakers will speak on the theme of “disagreeing agreeably” – to be able to express opposing views and beliefs to each other, with civility and respect. To be able to share ideas and this planet with others, recognising that we are not always in agreement, but also recognising our common humanity.

We are honoured to be joined tonight by a real expert in disagreeing agreeably and in helping others to do so: Rebecca Clark, Chair of the Civil Mediation Council. We very much look forward to hearing your insights. I look forward to hearing from the Archbishop of Canterbury, and appreciated your words of support at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet.

Just three months ago, you said: “If we rediscover some of that original coffee house culture and have conversations that build community, common understanding, curiosity and civility, we might rise to this new era and its challenges together.”

Before I go further, I wish all the Church of England Bishops here a very successful Synod in the coming days – I am sure at the Synod you always practise the art of disagreeing agreeably.

On that topic … A Catholic priest and an Anglican vicar were sitting in a train compartment together. They had a long and pleasant discussion, and both remarked how well they were getting on with each other. The priest said, “We have so much in common, after all. You worship God in your way, and I worship God in His way.”

I would like to share a few of my own thoughts on “disagreeing agreeably”. In the first week of my mayoralty in November, we convened a multi-faith event at St Ethelburga’s Centre for Reconciliation and Peace. Senior Rabbi Joseph Dweck, Chief Imām Dr Sayed Razawi and Revd Dr Alan McCormack led us in an exploration of themes of heritage, culture, and integration – at a time when reconciliation is sorely needed.

And this month, I welcomed 18 leaders of different faiths to Mansion House for a private dinner and asked them to share their thoughts on the one factor that was essential in order to have peace. We had a huge range of responses:

The one factor … was – harmony, divinity, restraint. … reconciliation, remorse, humour … empathy, entrusting, justice, ambition … love, faith, friendship, and we leant a hyphen to a few folk: inner-peace and constructive-ambiguity, and – interestingly – conflict and doubt.

Personally, my wife beat me to my chosen word, Tolerance.

In his 1910 “Man in the Arena” speech, Theodore Roosevelt said that, “to be successful we must learn to combine intensity of conviction with a broad tolerance of difference of conviction.” In other words, great minds become greater by meeting minds different to their own – great minds don’t all think alike.

French Enlightenment thinker Voltaire popularised the famous phrase, “I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”.  

The City of London is the world’s oldest democratic workers’ and residents’ cooperative, nearly 14 centuries of commerce, community, and charity.

From its earliest beginnings, the Square Mile has welcomed new people…myself included. The City of London has its challenges – that goes without saying – but I also consider it to be one of the most tolerant places on the planet… And I think that can be traced back, in part, to the emergence of a new arena for public discourse in the seventeenth century: The Coffee House.

Early coffee houses were places of temperance and also of tolerance. Caffeine, a stimulant, lubricated conversation in a way alcohol, a depressant, never could. Coffee houses allowed Londoners of diverse backgrounds share to share their ideas and beliefs and refine the art of disagreeing agreeably.

As one historian wrote, “whether a man was dressed in a ragged coat and found himself seated between a belted earl and a gaitered bishop it made no difference…he was able to engage them in conversation and know that he would be answered civilly”.

Today, people often aren’t so much talking to each other, as over each other. Quarrelling rather than arguing. Just as in the seventeenth-century coffee house, our modern-day City is a place where all comers, speaking some 300 languages, are welcome, new ideas are embraced, and people disagree agreeably.

That difference of perspectives enriches the City in so many ways. Sir Malcolm Rifkind tells a story about Margaret Thatcher, that she was once asked, “Mrs Thatcher, do you believe in consensus?” She replied: “Yes, I do believe in consensus; there should be a consensus behind my convictions.”

Or to quote Charles de Gaulle: “I have heard your points of view. They do not match mine. The decision is therefore unanimous.”

My mayoral theme, “Connect To Prosper”, celebrates the Knowledge Miles of our Square Mile, and seeks to revive our coffee house tradition, stimulating conversation between different groups, encouraging ideas and, ultimately, ensuring that London can fulfil its potential as a global solutions hub that addresses the big issues of the day.

Hand in hand with tolerance, though, I believe another essential ingredient for disagreeing agreeably is doubt. The Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard wrote that to have faith, one must also have doubt.

To have tolerance of other ideas and viewpoints, one must also have doubt – to accept the possibility that you are wrong, and the other person is right.

Doubt is also essential for scientific progress: it opens the mind to new theories, new discoveries and new solutions. The spirit of “I am not too sure, but I’m listening” runs through all our Connect To Prosper initiatives… By embracing tolerance and doubt, we progress through disagreeing agreeably.

You know that London was founded as a Roman city and that there is a Roman amphitheatre under what is now Guildhall. Once, at the Colosseum in ancient Rome, a Christian was thrown into the ring to be devoured by a lion.

He tried to run away but quickly realised the lion would soon catch him. Clutching at straws, the Christian turned to face the beast. As it reared up to strike him, the Christian cried out,

“Oh God, I beseech you, turn this lion into a Christian!” Instantly, the lion fell to its knees. The Christian also fell to his knees, crying: “Thank you, oh God, for this miracle!”

But then he noticed that the lion was muttering a quiet prayer: “Oh Lord, for what I am about to receive…”

Agreeing agreeably

I know that all of you can help all of us in our great city, to restore the art of disagreeing agreeably, and if there are subjects where we can agree agreeably, that will also be a bonus.

Thank you.”