Moments at 16...

 Was dropping my 16 year old granddaughter at her friend's house just now and she was telling me about how her day went yesterday. Then she said I wasn't to worry cause it was alright in the end but:

"Grandma - an old man came and sat next to me at the bus stop - but right next to me and started talking to me - he asked if I'd heard of 'virtual worlds' - I said yeah."

At this point I waded in with the usual response of telling her she shoud not have spoken to him or should have got up and moved away... she said she felt it was safer to pretend not to be scared as she was uncomfortable and not sure what he would do. She continued:

"He said I'd be great in a virtual world because I had a nice voice and most of the girls in there were really men. He said the people joined to have virtual sex. I was really scared inside and said I had to go to the shop for cheese for my mum."

That last line upset me so much - poor little thing trying to find a polite way to get away from what amounts to a sexual predator.

She also said she just kept hoping he was only "one of those old men who do this". Wow... at 16 she's already settled into that acceptance we get that about predators being a fact for a young girl's life. I wondered how many other 'oh it was nothing in the end' situations she'd encountered?

She said she got up and so did he... he walked alongside her as she went to the shop but didn't go in. Once inside she called her friends and waited till they got there so they could wait with her for the bus - thankfully they came.

...

The saddest part of this...  was that she just talked about it in a sort of matter-of-fact way and that broke me to think how acclimatised we are and how we have (by nature) made them ready for this INEVITABILITY!

There are 9 females over 3 generations in our family and there's never been a time I can recall when we didn't 'talk them home' when they were out alone in the world - it's so damned natural and it shouldn't be.

Urgency of Focus

 It looks like COP26 climate talks will go ahead in November in Glasgow and there's a great deal going on with environment/nature/climate/divestment groups as we try to make this COP actually count - to force urgent issues onto the table and make its outcomes legally enforceable.

Lockdown has hindered campaigning for this precious planet but hopefully not for much longer - we really don't have the time to spare I'm posting this to let other green climate campaigners know that along with

COP26 Coalition

, anti-fracking movement, divestment and other green, enviro-focused groups across the world, we're looking (via too many Zoom meetings lol!) to strengthen our numbers. If you can get involved or want to keep updated, you can sign-up/follow

COP26 Coalition

,

Greens CAN

or

Nanashire

who are part of this.

Green climate activists are vital in what's to come...

The

Green Party Against Fracking

campaign proved the value of our activists - not doing it for any political motivation - just because it's what we as Greens needed to do. The people-power was amazing (every Monday from Jan 2017 - Dec 2019 in the case of

Preston New Road Rolling Roadside Protest

) and even saw

Jonathan Bartley

camp with us in a muddy field. Speakers came:

Caroline Lucas

,

Amelia Womack

,

Jenny Jones

,

Natalie Bennett, Sian Berry

and so many more and it was about being the 'boots on the ground' and the advocates for the cause that mattered.

Over 10 years of anti-fracking campaigning brought
solidarity from like-minded and supportive others and absolutely made a difference; the unions, political groups, environmentalists, divestment campaigns, NGOs, residents' groups, faith groups etc. and maybe because we never asked if we all agreed on all the other issues we face, as we stood shoulder to shoulder... we proved enduring and effective.

One issue together at a time seemed a useful approach - no need for discussion on political party affiliations or favourite football teams, no discussion on which 'god' was best etc. just a clear laser-focus on the threat we faced and the campaign we launched in return.

There's a great deal wrong right now and so many campaigns trying to tackle the multitude of issues we face. Even if most of the issues emanate from the same system, the urgency for each campaign will be prioritised differently by each of us depending on our knowledge/focus.

There's a lot we can be divided by - but when we come together, narrow our focus at that time and act with such solidarity and determination - our party and its amazing network of climate activists, is a thing to be so proud of.

See you at

COP26 Coalition

?

...

*just popping this here for a starter request - getting COP26 to actually BAN fracking, not just pause it - we get no peace without a ban

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/561401