A day at the rebellion. I took too few photos, busy protesting. The silent red procession, always at the heart of XR this week. For an hour I was shading activists as police cut the bolt-ons and arrested protestors (pic 2). We sang, we cheered. Chris Packham turned up and gave a heartfelt speech of thanks to XR, which was my first live post on here. Met up with @sarahudston And her lovely friends, sung lots more. After they left for Waterloo Bridge we processed to Marble Arch along streets, beside the palace and through Hyde Park. Much of the way I wore the swan head, and held the arm of Esther, who I had just met. I couldn’t see much, and walked the while way with ‘T’ai Chi walking’ which is a great way to feel the ground when you can’t see your feet or much of anything. Good practice. It was so hot in the head, eventually I took it off. I took no pics, but I expect some will turn up online today. Let me know if they do. .
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At Marble Arch I printed up another vest top and then watched @gretathunberg speak. She was superb ans inspiring. She also looks very tired and I do hope ahe can get some good rest after so much travelling. .
Now I am home and must also rest and eat. I met so many wonderful strangers today, again. Truly the spirit of co-operation, care and openness was amazing. High point, Chris Packham thanking and praising the police and us all shouting ‘Whose police? Our police!’ And ‘we love you’ as they stood there, trying not to smile or cry. .
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I have never seen anything like this in all my nearly 50 years. .
#extinctionrebellion #swanhead #nonviolent #nvda #parliamentsquare #marblearch #funeralmarch #peacefulprotest #rebelliswan
To eat together. .
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Whether, as here, roasting fresh fish with friends in a cosy hut and fire that you built yourselves (pic from Winter Skills Challenge 2016 @joescraft ), or perched on a wall at Marble Arch amongst 5,000 other rebels, it is a great pleasure of life. Food prepared and eaten outdoors always tastes better, I feel. Why is that? . .
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One of the reasons I designed a new boat is so that I can more easily share food with friends, family and visitors. Two days ago they finished welding the steel. I will leave celebrating for when the boat arrives. In the meantime I am looking forward to sharing food with friends and fellow rebels, as well as ‘inconvenienced Londoners’ and visitors tomorrow at #extinctionrebellion Marble Arch. If we still hold it, I’ll also go to Parliament Square. I am so glad to have spent time at the four main sites of this momentous movement, and hope to see @gretathunberg there soon too. .
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Just had simple food with the river man on the sofa. To eat in peace with loved ones is something I never take for granted. .
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#roasttrout #cookfire #bushcraft #earthskills #hutcookery #naturalcookery #fish #wildfood #traditionalskills
Beatrice, the Extinction Rebelliswan, was born in a Soho costume shop on 19th April 2019. Immediately she began to bust some T’ai Chi moves with her rather skinny wings. She is going to defend the earth as though it were her cygnet. If she meets hifalutin high polluting folks, she may hiss and puff up a fair bit. Watch out, as they say she might even break your arm. .
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So, look out for this strange planetarily-raging, non-violent, embarassingly direct-speaking swan / human hybrid at a demo near you soon. She is going to get some white threads at a charity shop too as her human doesn’t have any at all. .
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#extinctionrebellion #extinctionrebelliswan
#beatricehinkleponkle #swanhead #protest #extinctionrebellionlondon #waterloobridge #ireallydontcarewhatanyonethinksanymore #giantswan #menopausalactivities #taichi #taiji #soho #rebelliswan
Almost 3am at the Marble Arch camp and the first blackbird is singing. I decided to walk this city back into my bones, while it is transformed by the Easter Bank Holiday and by Extinction Rebellion. It’s 25 years since it was a habit to walk from Soho to the Southbank and back up to Oxford St, and so much has changed, mostly the huge luxury brands have moved in where there were quirky one-offs in the past. .
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It is peaceful here, and after a long day I needed a bit of time to myself so I found this wonderful huge plane tree beside the deserted road, where I could do half and hour’s T’ai Chi form. It is usually a racetrack here, terrible pollution beside the otherwise beautiful Hyde Park. Walking back to the main area a young woman said, ‘You have a very peaceful smile.’ Then, ‘It’s great here isn’t it? I love it.’ I haven’t been able to commit to volunteering this time, although my place is there to put up people for respite. But I have been able to bring my voice, feet, hands, energy, bread and swan head, which is a start. Tomorrow I have a meeting, but I will be back, hopefully Sunday. .
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If you read the Daily Mail, ugh, or see Sky news (or Fox in USA), then you will likely get lies about what’s going on here. I am awake, there are thousands of people sleeping peacefully, food being donated, tea made, and there’s only maybe one slightly lairy bloke, and another young chap ‘mansplaining’ lab-grown meat to an older woman who is trying to pick up litter. I said to him, ‘Hey, that’s pretty loud, don’t forget folks are trying to sleep.’ And he replied ‘I am a bit loud but it’s just because I’m really passionate.’ .
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#extinctionrebellion #planetree #camp #encampment #3am
A day with the rebellion in the excellent company of @mollfrith . We started at Marble Arch, a hive of activity, food, families and meetings. I am currently sitting under a full moon, in Parliament Square, next to the new Gillian Wearing statue of Suffragette Millicent Garrett Fawcett. There is a peaceful candlelit vigil and talking circle in the centre of the square. An hour ago Waterloo Bridge was calm and joyful, lots of music. After the pink boat was taken from Oxford Circus the sign soon arrived ‘we are the boat’. This is anarchism in action. There’s a woman sitting high up locked on in a tree beside me. Police vans pass through. I can hear lots of west country accents. I met a woman, Rose, from Bridport who knows Dark Mountain friend @sarahudston who I hope to see on Sunday. Small world. .
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A biker gang is revving along the Embankment at full throttle making a massive racket. There’s a man behind me complaining about the XR roadblock to the police. .
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No sexism. None. It is like a holiday from gender. We are people of all races mingling and chatting. Images from the day: Young bike trick riders and a wonderful dancer in white briefs partying down the street with us and the samba band. .
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Pics: me in my new swan mask , pointing to the rebel bridge from the shore of the Thames. Also, more empty adverts, which I love. Goodnight rebels, I am out all night, I think. I’ll go where I am needed. .
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#extinctionrebellion #waterloobridge #emptyadvertising #swanhead #disobey #extinctionrebelliswan #rebelliswan
Home is where you make it, for me that’s often, as here, in the woods, by the sea in a hut, on a boat on the river, or today in a crowd of good people on a bridge. . .
The picture shows the hut me and some of the other Winter Bushcraft Challenge folk made a few years ago @joescraft , before storms sent us home. Yes that’s a letter box in the door, well done Jenny! .
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Today I’d rather not be going into town, I’d like to hang out with my neighbours, finish my bark tanning and make Easter chocs for the river man. But today is a day to give back for the shelter and source nature has always been for me, from the youngest age. .
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My bushcraft pals are some of the most nature-loving people I know. Also, like me, the idea of a day ‘in town’ is as appealing as a day at the dentist. However, if you can make it along to an Extinction Rebellion event near you, (there’s a map online), that would be amazing. We bushcrafters know about natural resources, notice the minutae of the seasons, and have our ‘special places’ that keep us sane when the world is mad. If you can come camp out, or hang out, one day for every 10 or 20 in the wild, that would help so much. We need the strength, adaptability and skills of the bushcraft and traditional skills community. You have so much to give. You might also enjoy finding out some urbanites love nature as much as we do. This is beyond politics, it is so we can all have woods, water, clean air and soil for the future. .
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#bushcraft #primitiveskills #ancestralskills #shelter #hutbuilding #wattle #outdoorskills #rewilding #wildcraft #thatch #woods #woodlands #skillshare #solidarity #extinctionrebellion #idratherbeinthewoods #protectthewild #earthskills #bivouac
