In the dark hours of December, I made my way to the Houses of Parliament for an unusual evening shoot. Typically when shooting for Regeneration I meet my subjects any time between 9 and 3, but due to scheduling conflicts, Lord Mawson was only available in the evening.
When I asked for directions to the Peer entrance, the security guard sucked his teeth with a, “It looks like they’re closed, sir. All the lights are out.” He directed me to the entrance nonetheless and there was Regen’s editor, Adam Branson waiting in the cold. Within moments, up the path came a smiling man ushering us into the lobby. “It’s horribly cold out here, come in, come in,” said Lord Mawson.
We made our way through the security and then into the great rooms within. I’ve been in the Houses of Parliament before, but this was the first time in the House of Lords. It was spectacular. Really such an amazing place. The walls were shiny and gold with intricate glasswork and paintings making the fabric of the walls. The floor was an elegant red carpeting. OK…now here is my commentary about the Brits. What is it with carpeting EVERYWHERE? Yes, the room, for as majestic as it is, does have a very cozy feeling about it. I suppose that is intrinsically British. I really believe that carpeting in public places is a unique British thing. I’m not talking rugs here, you know wood floor with a large oriental on it, I’m talking wall-to-wall. For years now I’ve been convinced that Britain is the land of carpeting and coving, and seeing wall-to-wall in the House of Lords has only underscored my belief. I digress…
We made our way through the labyrinth into a small reception room off, just off where the Lords hang their coats (apparently). There was an automatic coffee machine (20 pence a cup). I spotted Adam for his and offered to buy Lord Mawson his, but he refunded me 15p. No expense scandal here! Typically I shoot the profile first and then duck out leaving the reporter to do his work. As we were seemingly alone in the House of Lords with no one to see me out, I stayed through the interview and listened and shot. It was really fantastic.
Andrew Mawson is Founder and President of the renowned Bromley by Bow Centre in east London and Co-founder and President of Community Action Network (CAN), a national charity supporting 850 social entrepreneurs across the UK. The topic they focused on during the interview was Mawson’s project of regenerating ONE street in east London. His principle behind it was quite simple: how can you regenerate a neighborhood if you cannot regenerate a street. Regeneration begins by working with the people of the street, bringing them together as a community to share the responsibility to regenerate the street. Government can impose infrastructure in hope of regenerating (build it they will come), but as people are already there, it’s critical they are part of the regeneration process.
What I enjoyed so much about the interview was how engaging Lord Mawson was. He has a vision and a strong idea of how change needs to happen. I’ve since found a quote from him, “Change is not about top down, and neither is it about bottom up. Actually it’s about inside out, about getting inside and finding out what’s going on under the trees.” Really a great shoot to finish off 2009.
