Well I have not blogged since Friday and that is because I have actually taken some time off over this holiday weekend. I am a great believer in work-life balance and it is necessary occasionally for activists to recharge their batteries. Also with Green Party conference coming up next week, where I will be presenting a motion and an amendment, chairing a fringe meeting and speaking at another, plus contributing to various debates and meetings, I thought it vital that I come up for breath. So on Saturday I went down to Brighton for the day with my partner and just had a nice day on the beach. This was especially occasioned by the warnings from the Met Office and others that this might be the last opportunity to avail of good weather. I am also keen to soak up as much Vitamin D as possible via sunlight before the start of the second wave of the swine flu pandemic, which will hit sometime before Xmas. Although it is off the agenda at present, with several helplines closing down due to lack of patients, it will not be long before it is firmly back on the agenda.
Yesterday I popped down to Climate Camp and attended a session on 'Consumerism' with Neal Lawson of Compass and a speaker who was an expert on campaigning against food waste. I met Derek Wall there and heard that Molly Scott-Cato (Green Party Economics Spokesperson) had given an excellent talk on Friday about the evils of capitalist economics. I met Green Left comrades, including some from Manchester, and various other Greens. There was a very relaxing and positive atmosphere at the camp and a total absence of a police presence, which some told me made them feel somewhat strange as they are not used to it. One of the signs on the side of a marquee which amused me was notification of a speed dating session on the Saturday night. I can imagine the participants shuffling along the grass on the floor of the marquee when their alloted time was up. I was sorry that I could not spend more time at the camp but had to dash home to prepare for a major piece of construction which is happening in my flat this week in connection with soundproofing.
I have been working with others putting the last touches to the Green Left Newsletter which is going to the printers tomorrow in order to be ready for conference on Thursday. Today I popped down to the South Bank Centre in the Vauxhall constituency where half of London seemed to be out taking the sun. I saw an excellent series of Coal Board Film Unit documentaries about the life of miners, the earliest of which dated from 1935 and included a voiceover by W. H. Auden. The films indicated graphically the hard and demanding life of the miners and included a fascinating interview with the striking miners' wives during the miners strike in the 80s. This reminded me of a thoughtful article I read this week on the future of work, of which more anon. Meanwhile I continue to plan for my contributions at conference, where I will be from Thursday evening to Sunday.
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