It’s been a few months since I’ve written a blog post, so I thought I’d check-in. I’ve been very busy with work, local elections and activism, and looking after the cat of course. Gideon is doing well, although he’s not happy when it gets too hot. Scroll down to the bottom for a short film I recorded with reflections from recent campaigns in London.
Thankfully he’s got lots of cool places to relax in. He tells me he’s conserving his energy, being a top predator and all that, ready to leap into action. He’s been practicing hunting techniques on empty egg boxes. Pretty sure the local wildlife population is safe.
Since I last wrote something here I’ve been elected as a district councillor in Broadland, with the Green Party. It’s still early days and I’m still learning lots, but I’m hoping to make a positive difference locally. I’ve met some amazing people, so many residents are concerned about our countryside being eaten up by new housing and road developments, lack of decent public transport, doctors surgeries etc. Lots to do. I will probably set up separate social media accounts for my councillor duties, to keep things distinct.
This doesn’t mean I’ll be slowing down on the activism front, I don’t feel I can afford to given where we are with ‘Global Boiling’, as Antonio Guterres called it the other day. So a dual pronged approached; civil resistance and pushing for change as a councillor.
I’ve been trying to get out for a walk at lunchtimes, not always successfully, but it’s nice to swing by the village duck pond. There have been lots of ducklings this year, as well as Moorhen chicks. The water level in the pond was starting to get very low recently but hopefully might have recovered a bit now.
Not to be left out, you’ll notice another picture of Gideon here. This was shortly before the string went everywhere and he ended up in a bit of tangled mess. Very helpful indeed.
I’ve not done as much as I’d have liked to in the garden this year. The tomatoes are very behind and have been battered by strong winds, but my courgettes, carrots, and onions are all doing well, plus some potatoes and brassicas. I’ve been enjoying some home grown raspberries too. My brother got me a brilliant new watering can for my birthday, all galvanised; it’s so often the simple things in life which bring the most enjoyment.
I leave about half my garden to go wild, meaning lots of interesting plants have appeared including wild carrot; not sure how edible wild carrot actually is, but might give it a go. The insects including bees and butterflies love all the wild flowers, and the higher ground coverage, compared with a mown lawn, keeps the soil cooler meaning it dries out less.
I also seem to have a lot of ants nests.
I went to a friends wedding a couple of weeks ago, a very magical affair; it was Harry Potter themed. Brilliant weekend out in the woods. Congratulations Lou and James! It reminded me that I must make time to get out in the woods more often, to practice the bushcraft skills I learnt a couple of years ago. They’re going to be more important than ever given our current trajectory due to climate change.
This really is a very mixed blog post. Politics, cat to garden, to weddings and now activism.
I’ve been down to London 4 times this year, 3 with Just Stop Oil and once with Extinction Rebellion. The Big One, by Extinction Rebellion, had around 100,000 people out on the streets, in a non-disruptive fashion, trying to raise the alarm on the climate and ecological crises. It was a brilliant few days but barely got any press coverage, and was largely ignored by the the Government. In comparison Just Stop Oil have hardly been out of the news, and whilst any public disruption is horrible, civil resistance seems to be the only way to get serious conversations going about the climate crisis, and stopping new oil and gas projects.
The 13 week campaign by Just Stop Oil saw numerous arrests for peaceful disruption, but also numerous interviews with news outlets, and lots of discussion in political circles. Civil resistance has a proven track record of bringing about change, from the civil rights movement to LGBTQ+ rights, to the right to vote and holiday pay. Lots of things we take for granted were only made possible by ordinary people protesting. It’s awful that the Government are bringing in more and more draconian laws, banning protest and harsher punishments for those arrested, however I think it’s a sign of just how desperate the Tories are getting, trying to cling on to power, and now it’s really starting to feel like change is possible.
My fear is that whilst change may be possible, we may have already passed too many tipping points and left it too late to reduce emissions, which are still increasing globally. I don’t think politicians, or many of the public, really realise what we have to do to survive, and how serious the crises are. After the final phase of the current Just Stop Oil campaign finished last week I recorded a short piece reflecting on my experiences.
My dear friends Jenn and Amanda are facing trial next week for peaceful protest against Barclays bank; Europe’s biggest polluting bank. Barclays really are climate criminals, investing millions into the fossil fuel industry for profit whilst the world floods and burns. Please support them if you can; trial in Kings Lynn from 02 to 04 August. Here’s the original report on their courageous action:
I’ll try not to leave it too long before the next blog post. It’s going to be a busy summer, and I’m just hoping the horrendous wildfires we’ve seen in many parts of the world aren’t repeated here.
Self Propelled 