John Foley
Common Councillor for Farringdon Within
Hello, and welcome to my no bells and no whistles page. Thank you if you voted for me, but even if you didn't I am since 24 March 2022 one of your eight Common Councillors for the historic Ward of Farringdon Within in the City of London.
In February 2020, shortly before lockdown, my wife and I moved from the Barbican (Aldersgate Ward) to Barts Square – it’s our home now. We love it, and we love the City of London: a great place to live, work and visit.
Great as it is, however, it's not without its faults and problems, and in the 10 years we've lived in the area we've seen the results of several unfortunate and costly decisions by the Corporation. Hence, one of the reasons I stood for election as I hope to help prevent similar decisions in the future.
Challenging Times : bees, climate crisis, and life in the City
During my time I hope, too, to bring a fresh pair of eyes and ears for the challenges facing anyone living and/or working in the Ward and the Square Mile. Inevitably, these challenges will increase with the opening of the Farringdon Elizabeth Line station (perhaps later this year) and the eventual relocation of Smithfield and the Museum of London. While the relocation will undoubtedly bring advantages, it will also bring disadvantages. One of my priorities is to try to minimise disruption (especially at the weekend) from these and other local building projects – notably from the damaging effects of extra traffic, deliveries and noise.
Culture & Heritage
As an actor, writer and audiobook producer I am concerned about the City’s culture and heritage issues. These include literacy and the preservation of public libraries, and for that reason I am now on the Culture, Heritage and Libraries Committee, and also on the Board of Governors of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
City of London Police
As an Independent Custody Visitor (a Home Office initiative for checking on the welfare and treatment of detainees) I want to alleviate the pressures facing the City of London Police, support their efforts to deal with the rise in crime – both cyber and traditional illegal behaviour – and to help them create and maintain a safer environment.
Bees & the climate crisis
As a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) and a Liveryman of the Wax Chandlers Company my other concerns are the protection of bees and the provision of forage, plus the increasingly urgent issues relating to the climate crisis. According to a recent study by the United Nations, some of the impacts are now irreversible. However, there are still steps we can take to help lessen the consequences. These include considering sustainability, improving recycling, and minimising pollution. And another of my committees is the Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood and Queen's Park.
As a former resident of the Barbican, I am also on the Barbican Residential Committee.
For more general information, please email info.foley@mac.com, or for official CoL business email john.foley@cityoflondon.gov.uk
About me:
I'm an actor, writer, puzzle setter and Audie-nominated audiobook producer.
After more than 30 years of stage work in the UK, US and elsewhere, however, my main professional work now is in writing and audio.
I've scripted and voiced over 600 programmes for BBC English/World Service. Other audio work includes adapting numerous plays by writers such as Alan Bennett, Brecht, Ibsen, John Osborne, J. B. Priestley and Victoria Wood for World Service Drama and Radio 4; and producing for Macmillan, Naxos, Random House and other publishers more than 150 fiction and nonfiction audiobooks including unabridged works by Boccaccio, Byron, Chekhov, Wilkie Collins, Dostoevsky, Gogol, Hardy, Henry James, Kipling, Salman Rushdie, Sir Walter Scott, Bram Stoker, Trollope, H. G. Wells, Virginia Woolf, Zola and many others.
Published work includes three volumes of stories (see www.quizzicalworks.com) with profits to Macmillan Cancer, Mencap, and The Silver Line; two reference books for Guinness; a volume of musical anecdotes for Classic FM; stories for Disney comics, and graded readers for children.
My latest book, In and Out of the Schnoodle Bag, is a collection of 16 stories for ages 10 to 110. It will be published in September, with all proceeds going to Hospice UK (www.hospiceuk.org)
As a puzzle setter, I'm currently creating crosswords and other puzzles for magazines in France (The Connexion: www.connexionfrance.com) and in England (The Covent Gardener: www.thecoventgardener.com and The Mayfarer: themayfarer.com)
And for fun I'm a Chevalier of the Sabre d'Or and a placomusophile. The latter sounds painful, but not at all. Open a bottle of champagne and not only do I get to enjoy the contents but part of the packaging, too. The term derives from plaque de muselet – the metal cap or plaque secured to the cork by the wire muzzle or muselet – plus ‘phile’, denoting someone with a fondness for something. I've been a collector of the plaques for nearly 30 years and now have about 4000. My wife thinks I'm crazy, but surely it's better than collecting vintage cars or teapot lids. Isn't it?