Finding Phil Brewer

Phil Groom writes:

A number of suppliers and other creditors have been in touch to say that Phil Brewer is not responding to emails or other business correspondence. That’s his prerogative, of course, and hardly surprising given his shameful record of business practice here in the UK. I remain completely astonished that despite knowing the facts about his abusive treatment of his employees and the utter contempt he has shown towards his business partners, the powers-that-be at Durham Cathedral continue to provide him with a foothold and safe haven from which to operate: he should be summarily evicted.

Be that as it may, however, here’s a summary of the contact information that I have for him. All of this is drawn from publicly available sources, largely from a simple Google search for Philip W Brewer. A search for his brother, J Mark Brewer, is similarly rewarding, but for today, let’s focus on finding Phil:

• Address: Philip W Brewer, 2610 W Bountiful Lane, Tucson, AZ 85742 (Source: Pima County Court Records: Dispute with neighbours - pdf or html). Should anyone wish to visit in person, accommodation can be provided.
• Facebook: Philip W Brewer – Tucson, AZ
• Linked In: Philip Brewer | pdf
• Website with phone number and email address: Brewer Enterprises (screenshot)

You’ll find more info, as well as a round up of creditors already paid, here:

• Pursuing the Brewers: Contact Info, Facts and Resources

So no more excuses: send the man a Christmas card today; and why not drop the powers-that-be at Durham Cathedral a line as well to tell them what you think of the ongoing situation there? A Christmas card for the beleaguered staff at the Cathedral bookshop might go down well too, come to think of it…

A message to all our supporters

David Keen writes

the following was sent to the 475-odd members of the We Support Dave Walker Facebook group earlier this week:

Subject: 1 year on

Dear all,

This Wednesday, 22nd July, was 1 year to the day since Dave Walker and Phil Groom both recieved their ‘Cease and Desist’ legal threats from Mark Brewer. An awful lot has happened during that time, not least of which has been the support of hundreds of you for Dave, former SPCK bookshop staff, and others who have suffered at the hands of the Brewers.

The good news is that plenty has been achieved.
– Firstly, Mark Brewer failed to get his St. Stephen the Great charity declared bankrupt in the US, a court case in which Dave’s posts were cited as evidence.
– In April this year the UK Charity Commissioners took over the running of the St. Stephen the Great charity, after a formal investigation.
– Even though the Brewers had moved all the bookshops into a new organisation (ENC Shop Management) the CC’s are now taking possession of these shops as St. Stephen assets.
– 30 former staff, whose tribunal against SSG was being heard earlier this year, will now have their cases settled by the Charity Commissioners.
– In the meantime Durham Cathedral has (at last) served notice on the Brewers tenancy of the Cathedral shop.

As you may know, though the SPCK posts remain absent from the Cartoon Blog (see them in full at http://opendebatenotlibelthreats.blogspot.com/), Dave has mentioned the saga a couple of times on his Church Times blog. At no point have any of Mark Brewers threats been acted upon. Instead it’s Mr Brewer himself who has gone very quiet.

Thankyou again for your support of Dave, and for those of you who have blogged, commented and emailed in support. We may be at the beginning of the end – both the end of SSG’s dismal foray into UK bookselling, and the end of the bookshop chain themselves. Any further developments will be reported at http://spckssg.wordpress.com/

Your fellow supporter

Durham: watching, waiting…

Phil Groom writes:

I confess that I’ve been rather slow about this, but simply to let all visitors know that the Durham Petition is now formally closed. I have updated the petition text with the following introduction:

Following an announcement made by Durham Cathedral on Friday, May 1st, 2009, that “the current operators and occupiers of Durham Cathedral Shop” — ie, the Brewers — have been given one year’s notice to quit, this petition is now closed.

THANK YOU to everyone who has signed it. The story is far from over, however, and the future of the current bookshop employees remains unclear. Please keep them as well as the Dean and Chapter in your prayers as they seek a way forward that will provide justice for all concerned.

Updates will be posted on the SPCK/SSG Blog as and when new information emerges.

Although officially closed, I am leaving the petition in place as a matter of historical record. In the meantime, we watch, and wait.

To the Durham shop staff: I salute you.

Northern Echo on Durham Cathedral Bookshop: Brothers are ordered to leave cathedral shop

Northern Echo - Brothers are ordered to leave cathedral shop

Phil Groom writes:

Thanks to Mark Tallentire of the Northern Echo for following up on his previous report on this story:

TWO brothers at the centre of an unholy row over the running of a cathedral bookshop have been told to leave within a year.

Critics said Phil and Mark Brewer ravaged the Durham Cathedral bookshop, once described as the best theological bookshop in the world, leaving it a shadow of its former self.

Hundreds signed a petition calling on the Cathedral Chapter to rescue the shop from the US pair, invoking the Biblical story of Jesus going into the temple to throw out the money-lenders to support their case.

Now, in a statement released to The Northern Echo, the chapter has announced it has served notice on the Brewers’ Saint Stephen the Great Trust, requiring it to vacate the premises by April 30, 2010…

• Read the full report

Kudos to Matt Wardman for drawing the story to Mark’s attention.

Durham Cathedral Bookshop: Cause to Celebrate, Cause for Concern

Phil Groom writes:

As most readers of this blog will be aware by now, on Friday, May 1st, 2009, the Chapter of Durham Cathedral issued the following statement:

Statement by the Chapter of Durham Cathedral

Durham Cathedral has today served notice under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 on the current operators and occupiers of Durham Cathedral Shop requiring them to vacate the premises on 30th April 2010. A new Cathedral Shop under the Cathedral’s management will open on 1st May 2010 opposite the Undercroft Restaurant where, with the restaurant, it will provide a focus for visitor facilities.

To enable the necessary work for the relocation of the shop, the exhibition in the Treasures will close at the end of 2009. A new exhibition will reopen in the Claustral buildings at a date to be announced.

1st May 2009
(Posted on Friday 1st May 2009)

The statement has been widely welcomed and hailed as a major step forward in the ongoing battle against the Brewer brothers and their depredations of the former SPCK bookshops.

Unfortunately I was offline when the news broke, hence the silence on this blog. I’d therefore like to place on record my personal thanks to David Keen and Matt Wardman for running with the story, as well as to those who twittered the news:

David Keen:

• Breaking News: Brewers to be evicted from Durham Cathedral bookshop
• Press statement in response to Durham Cathedral eviction of the Brewers

Matt Wardman: 

• J Mark and Phil Brewer evicted from Durham Cathedral Bookshop
• Response to Durham Cathedral expulsion of Shop Lessee from Durham Cathedral Shop

Twitter Search:

• Twitter Search: Tweets about Durham Cathedral Bookshop

The fact that the boot has at last been firmly applied to the Brewers’ backside is definitely cause for celebration, but — as per the response issued by Matt — many concerns remain.

In particular, a massive question mark now hangs over the current Durham Cathedral shop staff. Whilst it appears that the Chapter may have no legal obligation to offer the shop staff continued employment, one would hope that they, as a Christian organisation, recognise a duty of care and pastoral responsibility for all who work in the Cathedral precincts, irrespective of whether or not they are employed directly by the Chapter.

Whatever happens, we can be sure that the new Chapter Clerk, Mr Philip Davis, won’t miss a trick: as the Dean himself has said,

A good Chapter Clerk is the key to the Cathedral’s efficiency, professionalism and financial stability.  It is conceivable that something might happen in the Cathedral without the Chapter Clerk’s knowledge, but I rather doubt it.

I take this opportunity to wish Mr Davis well in his new role and to encourage him to ensure that proper pastoral care for the Cathedral Shop staff is placed high up on the Cathedral’s list of priorities during the next twelve months — and beyond.

Finally, I would also like to thank all those who signed the Durham petition calling for this action. The petition will now be formally closed and over the next few days all signatories will be notified of this development.

No Signs of Change in Durham Cathedral

Phil Groom writes:

Durham. I visited last Tuesday, April 21st: a beautiful spring day, a walk down by the river, lunch in the Cathedral Café. Magnificent. If you’ve never been to Durham, you really should take some time out to pay a visit. Click the thumbnails for bigger pictures.

I wandered on to the bookshop: the bookshop about which the Dean of Durham, the Most Very Revd Michael Sadgrove, has himself personally emphasised: 

this “business within the Cathedral” is NOT managed, is NOT controlled and is NOT run by the Cathedral itself.

So who is running it? The sign at the entrance seems perfectly clear: “The Cathedral Shop”. There was scaffolding up when I arrived: were they about to change the sign to something less misleading? Unfortunately not: it was something higher up.

I walked in to be met by another couple of signs: “Cathedral Shop gifts and books” and “Durham Cathedral: This SPCK book and gift shop was opened on Monday 22 December 1997 by — ” I forget who: some historic personage; and perhaps that’s the point: the sign is part of the shop’s history, and Durham Cathedral is big on history.

But it looked for all the world to me like a sign declaring the shop’s ownership. I wondered if, as had once been planned, Jarrolds had taken over the shop, would it have been left in situ, boldly proclaiming for the avoidance of doubt that this is an SPCK bookshop? Somehow, I doubt it.

I wandered further in. You’ll notice a lot of wandering — and wondering — in this post. A friendly young lady greeted me with a smile at the till. I smiled back and nodded. I met several members of staff: they were unfailingly friendly and polite, which, given their plight — working for a minimum wage, employed via an agency a third party organisation by two obnoxious rogues (yes, Messrs Brewer: that’s you I’m referring to) who treat their staff with complete contempt and their customers like cattle to be milked in some sort of cowboy’s power games — was quite astonishing.

I knew that stock was likely to be fairly thin on the ground in the shop, having seen asingleblog’s photos. I’m not sure that I was really prepared for how thin the stock was. The staff had done an admirable job of spreading it out, most books face out on the shelves and most shelves facing customers entering the shop almost convincingly full. But like the signs at the main entrance and the SPCK labels on the goods and by the till, this was a facade: once inside the Great Kitchen and looking back towards the entrance, the huge gaps were glaringly obvious.

Durham Cathedral Shop: Local Interest Section

Excerpt from the SPCK-Durham Cathedral Lease (see below)

The situation beggars belief. The terms of the original lease with SPCK, excerpted below, were very specific: a wide range of stock to be maintained in all areas. These terms have been comprehensively breached. Yet the Dean and Chapter allow the Brewers to continue trading; worse yet, they allow them to continue trading under the guise of an SPCK bookshop, bringing both SPCK and the Cathedral into disrepute.

Visitors have absolutely no way of knowing that the shop is no longer operated by SPCK: on the contrary, they are misled by out of date signage and SPCK labels still in use around the shop.

Given that in November last year the Dean was adamant in his denial of any responsibility for the shop, why does he allow this? 

I need to state once again that the Cathedral Chaper [sic] does not manage the shop in its Great Kichen [sic]. This is run as a franchise subject to strict business law, as it was in the days of SPCK. Not all petitioners appear to be clear that a franchise is a formal, legal arrangement to which the parties to it are bound.

Strict business law that one side, it seems, is allowed to ignore with impunity; a formal, legal arrangement to which only one party appears to consider itself bound and which the other treats with utter contempt.

I finished my visit by calling in at the Chapter Office in the hope of introducing myself to the Dean and asking him a few questions. Unfortunately he wasn’t there. I left my card with the receptionist and wandered away, saddened, bemused and more than a little angry. There is a grim darkness — a Texan darkness — at the heart of Durham Cathedral, and the sooner it is excised, the better.

An Excerpt from the SPCK-Durham Cathedral Lease

SPCK hereby promise to stock…

(a) A wide range of books of interest to visitors to Durham and the Cathedral

(b) A wide range of cards, stationery, souvenirs and gift items likely to be purchased by visitors to Durham and the Cathedral. … so that both parties are satisfied that standards appropriate to the shop are maintained…

(c) A wide and diverse range of religious books, including children’s books.

(d) Adequate stockholding for parochial needs in the diocese.

(e) A wide range of theological texts appropriate to the needs of students and more specifically those theological texts required by the syllabus of Durham University and the Theological Colleges.

 

Comparing Notes: What a Bookshop Shouldn’t Look Like, and What It Should

Phil Groom writes:

Thanks to asingleblog for permission to repost these pictures from the Durham Cathedral Shop:

This, then, is how the shelves were looking during Holy Week this year in what was once described as one of the UK’s finest theological bookshops; and these “are just a few photos,” says asingleblog. ”Some shelves are entirely empty.” 

As asingleblog asks, How bad does it have to get? Instructing staff to lie to suppliers about the company’s liability for its debts, trading without a valid Certificate of Employers’ Liability Insurance and failing to keep the shelves adequately stocked — not to mention the question of how much of this remaining stock is in real terms stolen property, belonging to unpaid suppliers! This is now Durham Cathedral’s heritage, this is what Durham Cathedral now offers to its visitors courtesy of J Mark and Philip W Brewer.

At the time of writing our petition calling upon the Dean and Chapter “to take decisive action now to rescue the shop from further decimation” runs to 364 signatures. Alan Parker, the 357th person to sign it, asks:

Is the North East going to be the forgotten region for access to vital Christian literature? This is in fact the cradle of Christianity in England!

For comparison, I offer you these pictures which I took at the beginning of Lent, during a visit to Sarum Books, Salisbury, a fine example of how a Christian bookshop ought to be stocked, making the most of every inch of shelf space:

For the Avoidance of Doubt: Important Message from the Dean of Durham

From the Very Revd Michael Sadgrove, Dean of Durham:

For the avoidance of doubt:

I need to state once again that the Cathedral Chaper does not manage the shop in its Great Kichen.  This is run as a franchise subject to strict business law, as it was in the days of SPCK.  Not all petitioners appear to be clear that a franchise is a formal, legal arrangement to which the parties to it are bound.  

I ask petitioner no. 273 (Daid Baxter) to note that this “business within the Cathedral” is NOT managed, is NOT controlled and is NOT run by the Cathedral itself.  His comment that “letters sent to the Cathedral authorities go unanswered” is incorrect and I ask him to withdraw it.  Whatever he means by this,  I can assure him and everyone else that all correspondence addressed to the Cathdral is responded to efficiently and professionally (and, I need not add, all its debts are paid when due).  

Michael Sadgrove
Dean

November 29, 2008, 3:43pm

Phil Groom, Petition Administrator, writes: (updated November 30, 2008, 2:48pm)

Thanks for this, Michael: much appreciated and very encouraging to see you dissociating yourselves from the shop so clearly. Unfortunately it isn’t possible to remove comments from the petition, but I will contact contacted David to alert him to your request and invite him to comment either here or on the Durham page as he sees fit he has kindly responded with a comment below.

With respect to Cathedral correspondence, I can confirm that in my own experience your own and the Chapter’s communications have been as you say.

Part of the problem, unfortunately, is that the business in the Great Kitchen is trading under the Cathedral’s banner as ‘Durham Cathedral Shop’, the name printed on its till receipts, and is an official outlet for Durham Cathedral branded products. As long as this continues then we have a recipe for confusion: as others have noted, visitors to the Cathedral see the shop as an integral part of their overall visitor experience; and if correspondence addressed to the shop or its owners goes unanswered then this inevitably reflects badly upon the Cathedral itself.

No doubt notice to quit has already been served to the shop’s owners in accordance with the terms of the lease, but perhaps in the meantime withdrawing all official Durham Cathedral merchandise from the shop and posting clear disclaimer notices in appropriate places around the Cathedral and on the Cathedral website would help to make the point?

Thanks again, with best wishes for a positive outcome to the situation,

Phil