John Foley

Hello, and welcome to this March 2025 update on my no bells and very few whistles website. It’s now three years since I started it while preparing to stand as an Independent and Resident candidate to be one of your councillors for the historic ward of Farringdon Within. I was duly elected (for which, if you voted for me, many thanks).

During my time as a Common Councillor (CC) I’ve been on a steep learning curve about the workings of the City, the Corporation and its committees. Coming from the arts world as an actor (now only very occasionally), writer, audiobook producer and puzzle setter, my time as a CC has been an eye opener. It’s also been a huge privilege and pleasure to serve residents, workers and visitors not only in the ward (arguably the best in the Square Mile) but also in the City and beyond.

As you might know, the Corporation is a leviathan, with interests far above and beyond the scope of other local authorities: for example, managing some 11,000 acres of green spaces (Epping Forest, Hampstead Heath, etc.); 94 miles of the Thames + five of the river’s ports (including Sheerness and Tilbury); is the Animal Health Authority for Greater London, and manages the Heathrow Animal Reception Centre (whether it be a goldfish or a giraffe, a rabbit or a racehorse); plus (for the moment) Billingsgate and Smithfield markets, and New Spitalfields Market. It also manages numerous charities ranging from the major City Bridge Foundation to the smaller Keats House in Hampstead. And many, many others.

Although the Corporation is mostly benign, it’s not perfect by any means. There’s still plenty of work to do to make it better – which is where the Court of Common Council (‘the oldest democratic workers and residents co-operative in the world’) comes in.

Independence

I mentioned above that I am (like my fellow ward councillors, and indeed like the majority of the Court) an Independent member. This, I believe, is one of the Corporation’s great strengths. We don’t have to toe a party line – an essential freedom.

Past concerns

When I first stood for election in 2022 my interest was particularly related to the protection of bees and the provision of forage; to reducing pollution (air, noise, etc.) and improving recycling and sustainability, and the increasing problems due to the climate crisis.

Future concerns

Certainly my interest with those issues remains as ever. However, as I’ve become more aware of how the Square Mile functions and its problems, I’m hoping, if re-elected (and with other CCs, of course), to find ways to help small- to medium-sized businesses (SMEs); to control rogue bicycles and scooters, and to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping. Two other concerns are the lack of public toilets and the use and misuse of AI.

Committees

Among the committees on which I’m currently serving are (alphabetically) Barbican Residential; Culture, Heritage & Libraries; Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood & Queen’s Park; Port Health and Environmental Services, and Streets and Walkways – all of them vital contributors to the City’s success, health and wellbeing.

Education

Through my role as a CC and my interest in education I’m a Governor of Christ’s Hospital; the City of London Freemen’s School and Guildhall School of Music & Drama (www.gsmd.ac.uk). Ranked first in Arts, Drama & Music by the Complete University Guide, GSMD is also the number one higher education institution in the Guardian University Guide, and one of the world’s top five for music and performing arts in the QS World University Rankings 2024.

Outside Bodies

As a CC I’m an elected representative of The Honourable The Irish Society (www.honourableirishsociety.org.uk), a grant-giving body in Northern Ireland; and on the Board of the London Museum (www.londonmuseum.org.uk). Due to open in 2026 the latter is destined to be not only one of the world’s great museums, but also an attraction which I believe will bring numerous benefits to the Smithfield area, not least in increased police presence for security & controlling anti-social behaviour, improved maintenance of streets & pavements – and valuable opportunities for SMEs.

Externally

I’m a Trustee of the City of London branch of Age UK (the City has proportionally more older people than any other Central London district); and since 2016 an Independent Custody Visitor, part of a scheme initiated in the early 1980s for volunteers to visit police stations unannounced to check on the treatment and welfare of people held in custody, and to ensure that the police behave as they should (which with the excellent City of London Police is rarely a problem).

My ‘day job’

Apropos my personal side (writing, producing, etc.), being freelance enables me to schedule CC commitments with my professional work. In the past three years my attendance record on committees has been consistently high (average 93%) with only a few absences, usually due to a clash with other committees (for details, see https://democracy.cityoflondon.gov.uk/).

Me, and more me

As mentioned above, 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 more than 600 programmes for BBC English/World Service. Other audio work includes adapting 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 around 250 fiction and nonfiction audiobooks, including unabridged works by Boccaccio, Byron, Chekhov, Rev Richard Coles; Joan Collins, Wilkie Collins, Conrad, Dostoevsky, Gogol, Hardy, Henry James, Kipling, Kate Mosse, 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 reader for children.

My new book, to be published in September, More from the Schnoodle Bag, is another collection of fables suitable for ages 10 to 110. It continues the storytelling journey that began in 2022 with In & Out of the Schnoodle Bag (with all proceeds to Hospice UK). Later this year I’m launching a new website with a compilation of many of my stories, initially in text form for free download and with audio versions to follow.

As a puzzle setter, I'm currently creating crosswords and other puzzles for magazines in France (The Connexion) and in England, including The Covent Gardener; The Mayfarer, and The City Courant. The latter, of which I’m a co-founder and executive editor is an occasional publication designed to celebrate and promote the City’s culture and heritage. With the Corporation responsible for more than 850 cultural and historic assets (ranging from Roman to modern times, and from the Monument and Tower Bridge to the Banksy Police Box), the City is not only the leading international finance centre (for the fifth year in a row) but is also said to be – culturally – the world’s richest Square Mile.

Incidentally, the Courant is named after The Daily Courant. The UK’s first daily newspaper, it was founded and first published by Elizabeth Mallet on 11 March 1702, not far from the ward in Fleet Street (Farringdon Without). A special edition of the Courant was published in August 2023 to celebrate the revival of Bartholomew Fair (1133-1855). Depending on funding the next edition will appear later this year.

As well as being Independent I’m also resident in the ward: it’s my home, and having lived in various other places over the decades I can think of nowhere better. With this ‘skin in the game’ I hope to continue to help make life in Farringdon Within and in the City the best it can be – not only for myself and my wife, but for all residents, workers and visitors.

I’m a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA); a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Wax Chandlers, also of the Fishmongers; and a Trustee of The Shaw Society (to promote the works of GBS).

And for fun...

Finally, for a bit of fun I'm a Chevalier of the Confrérie du Sabre d'Or and a placomusophile. Sounds painful? Not at all. Open a bottle of champagne and besides drinking the contents I get to enjoy 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?

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