The Pit Workers of Canary Wharf
The highlight of a Themed Study Week on Faith and Work was the trip to Canary Warf. Overseen by Fiona Stewart-Darling that included a visit around the Sales Centre, which included some fabulous models of the place, and some time at Morgan Stanley finance house. Lunch was hosted by Sir David Walker in the executive dinning area followed by a trip around the trading floors.
For our Christmas gift off Kate’s parents we had tickets to Billy Elliot. It was a great show, so much so that we are taking Anna our daughter for her Birthday. The show, as you might know, focuses of a mining community during the 1980 pit strikes and Billy’s newly found ballet talents. The family face the challenge of supporting Billy’s flight from nothing to the possibility of something, at the expense of physically letting him leave town and a serious amount of pride along the way.
At first sight there is little connection between these two trips except somewhere in David Walkers defence of Morgan Stanley and capitalism a fairly obvious point of connection emerged for me, between the life of a miner and that of a trader. Let me explain…
In the same way that miners, shipbuilders, factory workers and steel-makers where the backbone of not only our local communities but our GDP as a country, so to are, now, the traders and workers of our finance houses and banks. David Walker explained how the GDP of this country is as high as it is almost solely through the work of such places as Morgan Stanley. And his revealing of the typical lifestyle of some of his co-workers I could see that the physical dangers of mining had been exchanged for emtional and relational dangers for traders. How in both cases the work demanded long hours, hard toil and left its marks on the body of the worker.
Of course there are many points of disparity, such as the financial rewards, the comfortable lifestyle and early retirement. There are too differing motivations and expectations of the workers in these very different environments. But, the challenge to me was that as a Christian I think I have a romantic view of the loss of the communties round pits, yards and factories in contrast to my cynical and skeptical view of the life of a banker or trader. And yet they place in the life of the national community is probably not much different!
This observation, or connection in my mind has many points where it could fall down and perhaps far too many assumptions. But for me, whose ministry has largely been in commuter belt of London, God has enabled me to see these high earning, bonus chasing, people with long working hours and eternal communting times with new eyes. Not just because I now realise how much my own lifestyle, although poverty ridden in comparison, depends on them, but how much our national lifestyle and international influence is just as dependant on “a good week at work” for these bankers and traders. When you have £5bn moving across your screen in a given week you, having a good week at work seems a lot more desirable, and worth praying for, than managing to get a good order of service ready for Sunday.
Thanks for these thoughts Graham… these are courageous ideas… like you I can too easily see the financial reward without seeing the hidden cost.
I guess for me I am still asking why we continually allow our economies to run off the slavery, forced or unforced, of others.
I’ve had similar thoughts in the past. Do you know of any books on alternative economies that don’t rely on rampant materialism?
On a side note, I’d be interested to hear what Anna thinks of Billy Elliot. We didn’t let our boys watch the film because of the language, I wonder if it is toned down for the theatre.
Paul [2]: don’t know off hand any books on alternative economies, but interesting excersise to think through ‘rampant materialism’ in the same way as we think about disease or the natural state [distribution of fertile land etc]. These things exist and so does the Kingdom of God. The former gives the later the chance to shine.
I guess I am heading towards how do we live as communities of disciples in a world that has such huge disparities, including the disparity between those who have and can easily have more and those who have not and do not have the opportunity to change that.
Paul [2b]: when we spoke to Anna about it she said “Mummy I am not going to hear anything I don’t already know.” I will also be explaining to her that words mean different things to different people. She already has a clear idea about past and present use of the word ‘gay’. What matters is that words only exist in the context of relationship. If it is not offense to the hearers then it is not offense. One of our parenting drives for Anna and her sibblings is to “be kind and gentle with your words”. Lots of words can be offensive without necessarily being on the culturally driven list of ’strong language’.
But to actually answer your question: the stageplay is set in the working north in the 80’s and the language rightly reflects that.