The Leisure Review: La Flamme Rouge

La Flamme Rouge edition 6; dateline 15 July 2014

Making films, making money
Nicola Horlick, who gained public profile as a leading fund manager who happened to be female and have children, has gone into the film business. She is currently in the process of raising $250m for Glentham Capital, a new vehicle for making money out of film-making, although she is adamant that this nothing to do with artistic ambition. “It’s to do with the investment returns”, she said, also taking a moment to insist that this new company is “completely above board” and in no way emulating companies linked to allegations of sharp practice regarding the tax advantages available to film-makers visa the government’s Enterprise Investment Scheme. We wish them luck, of course, for investment in film equates to salaries for film production staff. However, we cannot help but reflect on this as another great case study of free-market economics. It seems that great beasts of the financial establishment are happy to spend a large proportion of their time making demands for the free market to be released from any constraints of regulation but are always happy to call a pause in order to rush off to make the most of government subsidies. What do we want? Less government interference. When do we want it? When the government is prepared to pay for it.

Looking to go Dutch in Scotland?
Former Iron Chancellor and ex-prime minister Gordon Brown has added his considerable heft to the Scottish independence vote by warning those considering putting their cross in the box marked ‘Aye’ that their ability to enjoy the riches of the BBC will be put at considerable risk. He suggests that local news and programming services for Scotland would disappear but those considering this cultural apocalypse might look to the Netherlands, which enjoys all that the BBC has to offer without the irritation of having to pretend to be interested in the so-called local news.

FA: UDI from FIFA?
So that was England’s World Cup, all over in little more than three hours. There will be, of course, many lessons to be learned, both for the FA, who are responsible for the progress of the England team and its pursuit of success at the highest level, and for Fifa, who claim to have the best interests of the world’s most popular game in their hands. While Fifa tried to keep a lid on political protests over the vast government expenditure on the tournament, not to mention the legal and financial privileges that have allowed Fifa to further plunder the Brazilian economy, daily temperature reports for Qatar illustrated the profound absurdity of selecting a venue in the Gulf as a place to play football. However, at least the smooth passage of the Russian bid to host the 2018 competition now looks to be the epitome of rational good sense, if not crystal-clear probity. For the FA, the only option seems to be to the clean hands approach, which would involve a declaration of independence from Fifa and its murky dealings in favour of an alternative competition free from the skulduggery, intrigue and corruption of modern sports politics. The only problem might be the necessity for those claiming the moral high ground to put their own house in order. And, of course, the fact that England’s performance on the pitch would still leave a nasty whiff wherever the pitch might be.

Liverpool’s dental problem salved and solved
With regard to Fifa’s ability and willingness to get things done, credit where credit is due. We at La Flamme Rouge were among those who expected Luis Suarez’s toothy assault on Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini to be met with prevarication, delayed process and a general lack of interest in removing one of the game’s most effective strikers from the competition. Chapeau, therefore, to Fifa’s disciplinary committee, chaired by Claudio Sulser, who reacted calmly and acted swiftly, banning Suarez for four months from all aspects of football with immediate effect. With the Uruguayan FA protesting loudly about being effectively “thrown out of the World Cup”, the ball was hoofed into Liverpool FC’s court (perhaps pitch) and they pondered what to do with a serial offender who undermines all the professed values of the club but also happened to be a vital element of their own quest for success. Eventually a £75 million transfer fee persuaded all concerned that Suarez’s best interests lay elsewhere.

Stating the canoeing obvious
For those of us who had inferred from the actions and behaviours of our elected representatives in the Palace of Westminster that public life was an exercise in personal enrichment, self-aggrandisement and score-settling, the existence of an official set of seven essential principles of public life came as something of a surprise. Having recently considered the shortcomings of their fellow MPs, the parliamentary committee on standards in public life has published a report suggesting that an induction course focusing on these principles should be introduced to serve as a guide for those who find their moral compass going a bit haywire as soon as they settle their carefully suited behinds on the leather benches. The only slight problem is that these principles (which are selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership) have been in place since 1995, when Mr Major’s government was drifting down a river of effluent in a canoe without recourse to a steering mechanism. It seems that lessons still need to be learned and we can only conclude that we are dealing with some particularly challenging pupils.

Racing towards the top job
Sajid Javid is certainly making his mark at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Having mastered his cultural brief with a quick tour of London’s landmarks while the sign for his new door was being lovingly fashioned from high-impact laminated plastic, he has turned his attention to the media, making sure that the preferred candidate for the job of chair of the BBC Trust goes to the right person. That person, it would seem, is Sebastian Coe, a Conservative peer, former MP and ministerial aide de dojo, who has said he does not really have time to commit the necessary three or four days a week required of the post. This has proved no problem with Javid’s new can-do approach to getting cultural matters moving. He has simply altered the advert to minimise the time commitment and extended the deadline for applications. Once the Little Baron is safely in post, perhaps Mr Javid will be able to tick the box marked ‘sport’ and put his feet up?

The very least we could do
But do not let us give the impression that the DCMS has not been busy. The small but dedicated team found time to take to Twitter to spread word of the secretary of state for culture’s delight that Glencore had appointed a woman to its board, thus casting aside its label as the only FTSE 100 company with an all-male board. Whether the women of the UK are supposed to be thrilled, honoured or impressed by the fact that women now make up 21% of FTSE 100 boards was not recorded within the 140 characters available.

Plink, plink, fizz: the sound of hypocrisy
Fifa may be the gold-plated moon that orbits Planet Football but it seems that the beautiful game’s ultimate governing body is still able to fall victim to feet of clay. Jerome Valcke, Fifa’s general secretary, saw fit to voice his concern about levels of drunkenness he had witnessed during World Cup games. “I have been surprised by the amount of alcohol,” he said. “Perhaps many people were drunk and, when drinking, violence tends to increase.” If only, several members of the local Brazilian press saw fit to observe, Fifa had not insisted that the host government rescind its long-established laws banning the sale of alcohol in stadiums the better for Budweiser, Fifa’s preferred purveyor of fizzy, alcohol-tinged beverages, to sell their wares.

Taking guard in the name of His Holiness
Keen-eyed readers of the back waters of the Leisure Review may remember a story about the Vatican’s very own cricket team and its founders’ hopes that one day they may get to play in England, the historic, if not the current, home of the game. Well brace yourselves: they’re on their way. The St Peter’s Cricket Club will be arriving on 12 September for a “Tour of Light”, which includes a fixture against a royal household XI at Windsor and culminates on 19 September with a match against a Church of England XI at Canterbury. The Vatican team is captained by Father Tony Currer, a British priest who played league cricket with Durham City. The majority of Father Currer’s team-mates are from the Indian subcontinent and initial scouting reports suggest that they are unlikely to need much help from the Almighty to put up a good performance.

French culture on a slippery slope
It seems that everywhere one looks one can find cultural values under pressure. Even in France, where national culture is part of the national culture, some of the fundamental aspects of life need protection. Even cuisine, surely the most fundamental aspects, the very bedrock of French life, is having to be shored up by a government initiative to promote and protect proper cooking in restaurants. A new ‘fait maison’ logo, which comprises a pan with a roof on it, will alert customers that the restaurant displaying the sign is using fresh produce and making its meals on site. This slippery slope could see a government campaign to preserve the Gallic shrug next on the agenda

Mrs Smith