March For Clean Water 03/11/2024

Last Sunday, Sarah and I went to that there London town to take part in the March For Clean Water. This was a protest arranged by River Action to highlight the shocking state of the UK's waterways, and the obscene and illegal practices of water companies, industries and farmers who have been polluting our rivers, chalk streams, lakes and beaches. The sad fact is that not a single one of this country's rivers is unpolluted, while only about 14% of them are still technically fit for habitation by wildlife. Meanwhile, the equivalent of 3 million hours worth of raw sewage dumping ( literally! ) was carried out by the water companies in the last year, flooding our water systems with actual shit. And, of course, these same companies have been paying huge dividends to shareholders and massive bonuses to bosses, while not reinvesting in infrastructure and simultaneously racking up colossal debts. And who's expected to pay for all this? Why, Joe Public of course. Clearly, this is a national scandal and an ecological disaster, so over 130 organisations got together to raise our voices - conservation groups ( including the RSPB and WWT ), wild swimmers, boaters, anglers, surfers, and lovers of the countryside like us  -  with the aim to get Britain's waterways off life support.

After some Tube-closure shenanigans, we got to the muster point at Albert Embankment and joined the crowds. We then walked along the Thames, past Vauxhall Bridge and then over Westminster Bridge, from there along the other bank to loop round via Horse Guards and Whitehall, past Downing Street and down to Parliament Square. Here are some of the sights and the like-minded people we met on the way...

The plan was for us all, where possible to wear blue to represent a tide of change, a wave of protest, to #FloodTheStreets ( a slogan which became sadly ironic with the recent news reports of devastating floods in Spain )

I had a brief  chat with the guy above, who was very taken by our fish banner. The reverse of his banner mentioned that much-dismissed ( fingers-in-ears, la la la la la la ) but disastrous event, Brexit, which we both agreed couldn't possibly have had any bearing on the current lack of environmental safeguards. You know, the ones that were guaranteed after leaving the EU. ( Sarcasm mode disengaged. )

I really like the photo below: people united together in a deadly serious cause, but still managing to enjoy the experience and stay positive.

Sarah in full-on Fish Person regalia, heading to Westminster to fight the Underwater Menace ( little Doctor Who joke there, for those who know ) 

 

And, of course, the Red Rebel Brigade were there to mourn the loss of the world's habitats and wildlife, through the medium of mime. ( Not pictured: the police officer outside Downing Street who was trying desperately not to laugh as they posed in front of him, lol. )

Sarah marching along to the beat of the Brigade's funeral drum. As I said above, most of the march had a feeling of positivity and togetherness, but being near the Red Rebels always reminds us of how grim things really are, here on the brink of environmental collapse.

The tide of blue washing against the symbols of power, church and state.

We assembled in Parliament Square to listen to wonderful speakers such as Chris Packham, Liz Bonnin, Olympic rower Imogen Grant, plus many young activists who were passionate and eloquent in their defence of our environment and what needs to be done to protect it. It's their future, after all. 

The final count was around 15,000 people. Maybe not as many as the Restore Nature Now protest, but that was a far more general event, whilst this was solely focussed on the water crisis. Either way, it showed the depth of feeling that exists in this country among people who can see what's really going on, and we felt very proud to be a small part of the movement.

As did King and Queen Poseidon.

I think the banner above says it all.

Sarah and a really big cat, reminding us to keep fighting for our future and theirs...

Oh yeah, we found out afterwards that we'd even appeared on ITV News. Here's a glamorous rear view of me and Sarah heading towards a big clock.

Restore Nature Now 2024

 

Sarah and I are so proud to have been part of Restore Nature Now, in London yesterday. 300 organisations and 60 - 80,000 people marched in celebration of our beautiful natural world, and with a mission to take leaders to task over their failures to protect our environment. It was just a small step ( well, about 20,000 steps in our case ), but it was a beginning. And *what* a beginning!

We'd previously taken part in the Walk For Wildlife back in 2018, but this was a much larger gathering. Six years on and things have only got worse ( rivers full of shit, habitat being destroyed, animal populations in decline ), so we had to step up and join in with this huge event...

It was a wonderfully inclusive, family-friendly day where groups of people from all walks of life came together for a common cause - even the likes of The National Trust, the RSPB and WWT joined in with the more radical groups like Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion. The only way we can force effective change is for us all to unite in defence of the environment as one voice.

We assembled at Hyde Park Corner, then marched down Park lane and into the heart of London, passing through Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square and Whitehall to all assemble in Parliament Square. Here we heard speeches from various concerned naturalists, young and old, including host Chris Packham, Megan McCubbin, Dale Vince ( my mate Kev's boss at Ecotricity ), Feargal Sharkey, Dr. Amir Khan and Nemonte Nenquimo, an indigenous activist who has secured environmental safeguards for areas of the Amazon. This last speaker ( and her interpreter ) only highlighted how environmental destruction is indeed a global problem that the whole world needs to address.

We made a lot of noise and turned a lot of heads. Many people laughed, cheered, took photos and honked car horns as we passed. Many more also looked bemused and / or dismissive, but nobody said this would be an easy struggle. So many people have other issues in their lives in these days of a cost-of-living crisis, and the plight of the environment may not be at the forefront of their minds. We're aiming to remind people how crucial nature and the environment are for their lives and for the life of the planet. Extinction Rebellion's Red Rebel Brigade ( above ) dress in Masque Of The Red Death-style robes to symbolise the blood we share in common with other species. After all, we're all in this together and there is no Planet B...

It was a fantastic day and we've pledged to return as often as possible to keep up the fight and to

Restore Nature Now!

The People's Walk For Wildlife 2018

Last weekend Sarah and I, along with around 10,000 others, headed for that there London town to take part in the People's Walk For Wildlife. This was an event organised by the naturalist and TV presenter Chris Packham to highlight the plight of the UK's environment and wildlife.

We all gathered at Reformer's Tree in Hyde Park in the pouring rain  -  typically, it had been a beautiful, sunny week and only rained at the weekend. But did the weather, er, dampen our spirits? No! ( Well, not too much. ) Here's Sarah sheltering under a tree with her mascot Tufty. He didn't mind the rain...
 Whilst waiting for the actual walk to begin there were talks from various naturalists, including Chris Packham and, crucially, many young people like the activist and blogger "Birdgirl" who represent the younger generation who need to be involved in any environmental movement. Even Billy Bragg turned up! Billy sang a few songs ( including one with the notorious non-singer Chris Packham ) and it was great to see him there  -  I've been a fan of his since buying his first mini-album "Life's A Riot With Spy vs Spy" waaay back in 1983, and I haven't seen him play live for probably 30 years, so it was about time! Below are Chris and Billy doing an altered version of Between The Wars, here calling for an end to this country's "war on wildlife"...

There were all sorts of people at the walk: environmental groups, families, couples, hunt saboteurs, young and old, people from all walks of life, many waving banners or wearing costumes. The biggest problem with this gathering was the lack of ethnic minorities. This was something that Chris highlighted, saying that we need to engage everyone to get the message across. It's obviously an uphill struggle and the more people from all backgrounds and cultures involved the better.

At around 1pm we headed off en masse out of Hyde Park and down Park Lane. As we walked through central London we played birdsong which we'd downloaded to our phones and it was a strange but wonderful thing to hear this lovely sound reverberating around the hotels, shops and office blocks. During my lifetime we've lost 44 million birds in this country due to destruction of habitats which is a truly frightening statistic...

As we walked down Pall Mall, through Piccadilly and Trafalgar Square, the rain eased off slightly  -  which was good  -  and we got loads of attention from the public  -  which was great! The walk ended at Richmond Terrace where we stopped to hear some more speeches and to see Chris and his young "ministers" deliver their People's Manifesto For Wildlife to Number 10 Downing Street.

( The photo above isn't mine. I "borrowed" it from the environmental campaigner Mark Avery  -  please see his website here for more. I thought it was a great pic which shows the sheer amount of people involved far better than my photos. )

Apparently the Secretary of State for the Environment, the odious Michael Gove, had been invited to speak to the crowd. He had originally agreed but, at the last minute and to the surprise of no one, said he wasn't available. Chris and his friends delivered the Manifesto to Gove's office... but, a week later, he still hasn't acknowledged receipt of the document. This is obviously disappointing, especially during the week of the Conservative party conference, when a positive mention from Mr Gove for the Manifesto could have been very useful. Anyway, this positive, peaceful and inspiring event was hopefully just the start of something big, as people came together to try and make the world a better place for our wildlife and for ourselves...