#NewspaperUKBrdshtTheTelegraphCharlesMoore "A prominent outsider candidate has come forward at the last minute. Rory Stewart, the writer, traveller, and former government minister, is a dark horse and a lone wolf - if one can be two animals at once - so I cannot place him in any faction. But his commitment to our country's built heritage and land stewardship (the Trust owns 600,000 acres) is real. I have direct experience of his conservation skills because I visited him in Afghanistan. There, against every possible disadvantage of war, filth and poverty, he had cleared the rubbish which had buried the old city of Kabul, restoring eight acres of old buildings, streets and courtyards and filling them, via his Turquoise Mountain charity, with revived Afghan crafts and workshops. It was about the only Western initiative in that country which succeeded. Rory seemed to love conservation and to know how it can enhance modern life.
I fear it is the lack of love for the NT's historic collections, buildings and gardens which is most disheartening about the current leadership. The members feel that love, though, and will respond warmly to leaders who share it. Restoration and reconciliation can be accomplished, but only with urgent change."
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/10/15/wanted-national-trust-leader-can-trusted-love-heritage/