So, five of us have just returned from the Green Gathering Festival in Chepstow on a beautiful oak woodland pasture site next to the River Wye with forest, caves and ruined buildings on the periphery.
John and Rob helped Avalon Rising with their power, sound, projections and all round technical backup. They were very much in demand, they always enjoy helping with Rob at one point constructing leads for the laptop from an axe and a pair of scissors! All five of us sat in on the odd talk, but I don't think they appreciated us sniggering at the back during some of the more far out moments. We aim to live the change every minute of every day in a non-judgemental way, but that generally means growing our own food, chopping our own wood and managing our own housing as well as helping others suffering from oppression or violence and nothing more mystical than that.
Joe, with Rob and John helped put up the Triban solar stage structures and provided some support with power and sound. The Triban folk had the best acts as usual and the best atmosphere (www.triban.org). Our favourite act was probably Calico Jack, a canal-barge living band including two female accordian playing singers who played sea shanties that the crowd loved.
Joe's megadome (a giant geodesic dome constructed from ash poles, plastic water pipe and canvas) was put up by the three guys as the campaigns tent hosting Radical Wales (www.radicalwales.org), No Borders (www.noborderwales.org), Don't Deport My Mum Campaign, Radical Routes (www.radicalroutes.org.uk), UKUncut (www.ukuncut.org.uk), Campaign for Accountability of American Bases (www.caab.org.uk) and South Wales Anarchists (www.southwalesanarchists.wordpress.com).
Ali and Jane manned the Radical Routes stall for the weekend and had lots of interesting chats with people about living co-operatively. Some maturer individuals expressed an interest in investing in Rootstock (www.roostock.org.uk) to help provide funding for people wanting to live and work co-operatively, whilst much younger folk explored the idea of co-ops and communities.
Our favourite campaign was Yasamin's (not her real name). Yasamin's stall was handmade with a handsewn banner, handmade Egyptian dolls and patches with a petition and information about her story and her campaign to raise money for the judicial review to save her mother from deportation. Yasamin has been in the UK for three years having come from Egypt with her mother. Her mother suffered domestic violence in Egypt and applied for asylum in the UK. Yasamin's father has friends in the old regime. Yasamin discovered sexual freedom in the UK and became openly gay here. Being openly homosexual in Egypt is not accepted, with in 2004 for example one 17-year old gay man being sentenced to 2 years hard labour for posting an openly gay personal profile on a social networking website. Yasamin works with Women Seeking Sanctuary Advocacy Group Wales, a group run by women to help women seeking refuge in the UK from violence and persecution in their country of origin (See http://wssagwales.wordpress.com/). See Yasamin's campaign for her mum and sign the petition at http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/give-her-sanctuary.html. All of us here at Fox hope that Yasamin and her mother win their battle to remain in the UK.
Joe, John and Rob made a lovely camp with Ali's geodome already put up under an oak tree next to Joe's yurt and Rob's Landrover when Ali and Jane arrived. Jane had an uncomfortable weekend of hips spreading to encompass the growing baby, but she made herself a comfortable bed in the dome and enjoyed laughing at her friends after they consumed one too many of the nice ciders/perrys and the home brew brought with them.
It was lovely to meet new friends, see old friends, other co-op folk and some old Fox people too. We saw some hilarious acts: 'Judd' the comedian - poking fun at anarchists; and Bert Miller and the Animal Folk - extolling vegan principles through song with funny voices and sounds.
We were posted next to the Schnews stall (www.schnews.org.uk) who we enjoyed chatting to. Martin of Schnews gave the best workshop on the situation in Northern Mexico with the 'War on Drugs', drug cartels, the Mexican police and military involvement and the strength and bravery of the locals in living through the killings. The most shocking piece of news was that at one point the death toll from the killings of poor people caught up in the drug wars in Mexico was greater than the death toll of the three wars in which the UK was involved.
Mav, on the other hand, was the rock and stayed home - holding the fort in case someone comes and changes the locks on us. He also did lots more legal research, carried on with the pointing work on the central house, weeded the beetroot and spoke to applicant volunteers/members.
It was great to go out and have some fun, representing co-op life, but its great to be back to co-op life again! Our courgettes are huge, the potatoes are ready, the solicitor calls, one corner of the garden needs serious weeding, the compost loo needs finishing, the pointing and guttering needs doing...... the list goes on.....!!
