Author Archives: Buzz Tour

Why care about politics?

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IMG_20150326_134506943_HDR (2)We don’t inherit the Earth from our parents, we borrow it from our children. Last week I met Max. Along with other BHASVIC students, she had arranged a lunchtime speaker event, where Green MP Caroline Lucas came to speak. The large hall was packed with well over a hundred students sitting and standing wherever they could.

With the general election just over a month away many people are still considering their vote, but Max will be unable to vote. The decisions of this government which faithlessly promised to be ‘the greenest government ever,’ and not to increase tuition fees, have radically effected Max’s future. Max volunteers for the Green Party and organises political events, hoping to make a difference.

When we cast our votes next month as adults and citizens, we will also be making a decision on behalf of all those too young to do so.

 

The finish but not the end

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berwick thumbnailThank you, for everything! 

After four months of walking, it was a massive relief and joy to complete the walk! 🙂 You can see a video here and article that the local paper made.

THANK YOU so much to all the people who walked on the Buzz Tour, to all those who shared their stories with us, to all those who donated and all those who fed and sheltered us. Without all those pieces of kindness and support it would have literally been impossible. There is no way we could have done a journey like this without the daily grace, charity and kindness of others. You have all created something which exceeded my expectations in every way. I am so grateful and lucky to have met you all.

This weekend’s climate march in London drew people from lots of different parts of the Buzz Tour, it was so wonderful to be reunited. We’d love to see everyone again! So we’re going to throw a Pollination Party in Oxford on the 25th of October! We’ll be emailing everyone invites over the next couple of days so if you don’t hear from us please drop us an email – we haven’t forgotten you, it’s just hard to gather all the emails together.

We’ve started work on a book about all the amazing things from the Buzz Tour. If you walked along and would like to write about your experience please drop us an email – we didn’t get everyone’s email at the time. As we finish a draft chapter it’ll be posted online so that everyone can comment and help us make it fantastic. We hope to have the book finished by spring!

During the walk we took ten hours of great interviews and footage that we’d love to make in to a documentary. If you’d like to be involved get in touch!

 

 

 

A ghost in the machine

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I’ve saved this interview until last in order to annonimise it, and for the same reason there is no video or context to how I met this woman. Last but certainly not least I’d like to tell you the story of, we’ll call her, Anna, and her work as a ghost in the machine.

Some years ago Anna found herself working for an unethical corporation, due to her skill set and the lack of available work. She became increasingly appalled at the activities of this corporation but rather than quit, or accept her own complicity in their crimes against the environment, she resolved to find ways to undermine them. Over the course of a couple of years she was able to cost the corporation a significant amount of money and slow down one of their major projects.

She found the work at times more stressful than other forms of environmental work because of it’s covert solitary nature and she has since moved on to other work, yet remains pleased with the large impact she was able to have and sees it as a very effective tactic. The work required her to be her own moral compass and motivator without receiving encouragement from other environmentalists. I remain very grateful to her for sharing this story.

A well met architect

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Walking along to a remote country road  junction I arrive at the same time as a man pushing a bike. We start to chat and it turns out that he teaches architecture at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) in Wales and is building his own eco-home. Having got a puncture a few miles back after a day cycling around environmental buildings he’s walking to his home village of Belford, where I’m also headed. Well met indeed.

Duncan Roberts and his partner Mary Kelly are both architects and have been slowly building their own wooden home without credit by saving as they go. It’s been a long process of learning and development, and they share their learning with others.

Changes in Ashington

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Ashington used to be a coal mining town and the large sudden scale loss of work left a deep scar in the population, just as the coal mines left scars in the land. Where a mine used to be there is now a nature area, pond and several wind turbines. Rebuilding the community is taking longer, with many people feeling a lack of hope. I met the new cafe owners at The Bistro who’ve been making a success of their new venture for the last 6 months.

Morpeth and Deeds not words

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When you go through Morpeth you must visit Emily Wilding Davisons grave.

I was amazed when I was told that I would be walking right past where a suffragette was buried. The only suffragette in fact to die because of the struggle for the vote. Emily was a militant activist who disrupted meetings, burned buildings and threw stones at politicians who were against women having the vote. During her nine jail terms she was force fed. She died trying to pin a suffrage banner to the kings horse at the Epsom Derby in 1913. Emily was a member of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) that employed a range of militant tactics to get women the vote.

Morpeth itself is a beautiful town with a park containing a castle, mound, river and the most bizarrely homey public toilet you’ll ever see.

Winding from Morpeth to Ashington is a quiet tree-lined stream valley.

 

The overlooked voice

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A few days ago a friend reminded me of a deeply entrenched phenomenon which occurs fairly frequently in our patriarchal society. A woman makes a statement and the group ignores it, a few minutes later a man repeats the idea and the group applauds and accepts it. If you are a woman that has ever been in large business meetings I’m certain that this is not news to you. However if it is news to you, I invite you to observe. To observe your friends, colleagues and family, and to listen for the overlooked voice.

Do you have a voice inside that you overlook? Do you wait for someone in ‘authority’ to validate a truth you already know inside?

So often when a voice is overlooked there seems no way to challenge it. You could say “I just said that five minutes ago!” but it sounds petty, or you might let it go, glad at least that the idea is out there, or sit back and roll your eyes. Perhaps we could start by challenging the behaviour in ourselves too?

What would happen if we listened to ourselves? If we trusted ourselves and spoke our truth? What would happen if we listened to the overlooked voice in the room?

There are truths which need to be said, truths which our ecosystem and our future children are relying on. We’re being called to listen, and to speak up.

And by the way, the friend who reminded me? It was a man. Would I have taken the step to write this otherwise? I don’t know, but I want to from now on.

Changing the course of a stream

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Scotswood Natural Community Garden sits within one of the most deprived areas in Newcastle. They frequently suffer vandalism and theft yet for twenty years they have relentlessly worked to alter the course of peoples lives in Scotswood for the better. The vegetables get dug up, they replant them, the solar panel gets stolen, they lock things away out of hours, but all the time the garden grows, groups come, and lives are changed.

Walking around the two and a half acre site with permaculture gardens, a pond, bee hives, shelters and woodland it’s incredible to learn that originally it was a bare grass playing field. Over the decades the series of people involved with the land have created, enhanced and maintained a beautiful heart of energy for the community, despite all the flow of sadness around. Children, unemployed and refugees have all found another choice here, a flow going in a different direction that they have a chance to join.

It takes a lot of energy and strength to maintain a course against a bigger flow. The path that all those involved with at  Scotswood have carved over the years is truly beautiful. Long may it flow.

The Nuttery

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The Nuttery at The National Trust’s Washington Old Hall south of Gateshead was a fantastic discovery that brightened my day. Amongst the nut orchard are wildflowers, bee hives, a pond, education projects and wonderful people. Amazingly the garden and Nuttery are free to visit, so if you are anywhere nearby it’s a great place to restore your energy with peace and beauty. I spoke with the gardener Ellaine and some of the volunteers about the Nuttery and how they came to be involved.

Entering the ‘desolate’ north

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Like many people I find the description of the ‘desolate’ north deeply insulting and incorrect. Heading north from Durham to Newcastle the accents change (“Where’ you sittin’ Mam?”), there are old and new industrial areas, dramatic rivers and beautiful architecture. Heavy industry and exploiting the environment has been a part of the area’s long history, with people working hard in the jobs that fed the economy of the rest of the country. I’ve walked through some areas of Newcastle that are undeniable economically deprived but everywhere I go in the country there are people who care about the future; people who care about other human beings and about the ecosystem we share. People who devote their lives and energies to protecting the future of our communities. I could not be happier that this final week of the journey will finish in the North East and am really looking forward to walking the stunning North East coastline for the first time. Last but certainly not least.

 

 

Durham catherdral

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There are several great projects in Durham including Fruitful Durham and  Abundant Earth, however upon hearing of Rupert’s accident, it was to the cathedral that I headed. Although many of the visitors are there as tourists, people still come to pray and contemplate in this amazing place. Despite not being Christian, during this journey I’ve found churches to be places of community, safety and care. Lighting a candle and sending my thoughts to Rupert at the cathedral, where he used to sing in the choir, felt right. A verger, I discovered, is someone employed by the cathedral to order the services and maintain the space. I also discovered them to be kindly, helpful and willing to sit with someone in distress. Where do people in your community go, when they don’t know where to go?

Clervaux Trust Darlington

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The weather changed a few days before I got to Darlington, there’s a chill in the air that won’t go, so I know there’s not long on the walk left now. Clervaux Bakery and Cafe was a fantastic refuge from the feelings of autumn, with it’s sunny atrium. The social enterprise cafe has homemade food and a social conscience to warm your heart, providing work experience for vulnerable young adults.

The cafe is partnered with the wider work of The Clervaux Trust, with some of the profits going to support the trust. Clervaux Trust has a 100 acre farm which it uses to give young people land and craft experience, selling veges through a delivery box scheme and crafts at the Darlingtron cafe. When bees fly they have to rest and snack at flowers, which is why it’s so important to have a wide variety of flowers all over the countryside that flower at different times. My sincere thanks to this beautiful flower for its shelter and food 🙂

Protecting community spaces in York

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The heritage campaign for West Bank Park has included funding bids, business mentors, public meetings, research and even celebrity endorsements. The Friends of West Bank Park and have worked to restore and preserve many parts of the park, and now the West Bank Heritage Project hopes to revive the heritage of the park and its legacy as a central part of the community.

With government cuts, the council presented residents in York with the lose-lose scenario that either parks, libraries or swimming pools would take cuts first. West Bank Park in Acum lost much of it’s funding and began to be left unlocked at night. Nearby residents conserned about the future of the park began to launch a campaign to build support for it.

One model that inspired the West Bank group is the successful Rowntree Park in York. The park has a library and cafe at its centre that attracts a lot of visitors to use the park as somewhere to meet and socialise.

When I came across Clements Hall they were running a Food and Fun event where older or isolated residents can enjoy a meal and a chat. The hall was renovated several years ago by the council following a campaign by residents and now offers many different community events and a lot of local people volunteer to keep it going. The hall was originally owned by the nearby St Clements Church where Edible York have created a public vegetable garden.

 

Please say a prayer for Rupert’s recovery

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Rupert Griffin, who walked on the Buzz Tour from Bradford to York last month, was hit by a car a couple of days ago whilst on his bike in Oxford and very seriously injured. His condition is now stable but please send your prayers and good wishes to him to speed up his recovery. Rupert is an expert in all sorts of areas, engineering, clocks, dancing, singing, apple juice, farmers markets, honey, as well as enduring some of the worst weather during the Buzz Tour. He used to sing in the choir at Durham Cathedral and they have added him to their prayers. Rupert our thoughts are with you.

Think globally, cycle locally

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York has a beautiful feel that’s great to meander around. The intact city wall, old stone bridges across the river, narrow streets and ‘shambles’ (narrow alleys) make it great to see on foot. If you want to get from one side to the other though it’s great to go by bike and there are a two great organisations to encourage that.   The fantastic Bike Rescue Project rescues and repairs bikes and gives disadvantaged people training and experience.

Cycle Heaven has two stores offering repairs, sales and hire.

Think globally, cycle locally.