Saturday 5 September 2020

Protesting.

Is it good to protest and does it make a difference?   I ask this because today Extinction Rebellion have staged a protest and have blocked the roads to various print works so that today's daily papers have been greatly disrupt ed.  My newspaper, which usuallycomes at eight in the morning has just popped through my letter box at 2.57pm.   I am so pleased that it has arrived.   It is my source of relaxation and my source of news.   I rely on it to tell me whether there is anything worth watching on TV or whether I should get out a book.

 

I was not pleased by this.   I dobelieve that it is important to protest about anything one feels strongly about.   Protests at Greenham Common about the Nuclear Threat were important and were close to my heart.   Had I not had a small child and a husband who needed looking after (only just over ten years earlier he had been onthe Death Railway) I may well have joined the protestors - but we all have to get our priorities right.   But I am old, not mobile and just ask for a quiet life and I  do weigh this up against a protest against climate change and ask myself which is more important.   I have to come down on the side  of Climate Change of course but I have been a bit irritable all morning (you could argue that this in itself makes me think along the right lines).

 

My Zoom on the computer has gone haywire and my son, after chatting to me for an hour about it and trying to rectify the fault, has decided to completely remove it and reinstall it in the hopes it will  perform better next time.   What with lack of a paper and then no Zoom coffee morning I was becoming a bit miffed.   Then my patio man arrived andin a short space of time filled the drainage trench with pebbles and dug holes for the plants I am putting in.   We have decided I need one more so it will be off to buy it tomorrow.

 

Wish I wasn't past going round exhibitions - I see there is one opening at The Royal Academy until the middle of October - Gaugin and the Impressionists - right up my street but the effort is all too much - I can only dream.   Anyone in or near London - lucky you - get booking.

22 comments:

Sue in Suffolk said...

I thought our regional local paper was printed locally but there were none in the shop this morning for the same reason as your late arrival so maybe it's printed miles away. I'm not too bothered - it saved me £1.90! Then the local Co-op was shut while they unloaded a lorry so no spend there either - cheap outing!
I'm glad your paper arrived eventually - was it worth the wait - that is the question?

cumbrian said...

Yes, people should have the right to peaceful protest, but sadly all too often these turn into confrontation, riots, looting and bloodshed.

Heather said...

Pleased you got your paper, albeit late. I feel that those protesters are trying to protect us all, as are the HS2 protesters. I can't understand the government not doing more to address climate change. The HS2 project alone is carving up vast swathes of woodland and endangering hundreds of acres of natural habitat. Planting saplings wont make up for cutting down 300 year old trees, but the government is determined to ignore public feeling.
I hope the weather stays fine so that you get all the new planting done, and I hope your son can get your laptop sorted out so that we might see some photos of it all.

Debbie said...

More and more exhibitions are being shown on YouTube and if you have access to a cinema (and want to go under the current climate) some exhibitions are now being shown on the big screen.

With YouTube - older exhibitions will still be on there - worth a search sometime?

They also have operas and plays if you enjoy those forms of the Arts.

The Feminine Energy said...

Sometimes a day is simply miff-worthy and that's that. Nothing goes right... or seems that way. Better day tomorrow... hopefully! Love, Andrea xoxo

Sarah Dee said...

Yes, there must be a right to peaceful protest but not to interrupt others lives, although most newspapers today are either mouthpieces for Murdoch or utter red top trash. You can read the Guardian online and RT also for tv programmes. I think there is an element who take advantage of peaceful protest just for their idea of ‘fun’, anything to disrupt and of course we have such a depleted police force so they cannot steward these protests. I don’t trust any newspaper these days, none of them are neutral, all have an agenda. It is hard to find good writing that is intellectually stimulating without thrusting a political point down your throat. Sarah.

Anonymous said...

My father when he was alive would quip that he read the paper each day to check if he was still alive (death notices). C-D

Jennyff said...

You may recall when our travel plans were totally messed up by the yellow jacket protests in France a few years ago. The general public are an easy target but how the protestors think inconveniencing us will achieve their goal is beyond me and to be honest we felt quite threatened by the blockades and burning tyres in France. Protests must cost a lot of money to organise, to attend and to police, maybe there is a better way to state your case, particularly during the pandemic I don’t think they should be taking place.

Brenda said...

I just don't take a paper-glad you enjoy yours...I also avoid the news...it upsets me to no end. I enjoy my tutoring on Facetime...etc...family...and a little girl...love my hobbies and books...I love your blog so so so much...things here-numbers rising and so sad...I have five grands-all in different stages in education so quite a worry...my health also...that is enough for me...take care...enjoy your books...keep writing your blog-it is a source of sweetness to us.

Bonnie said...

I believe there is a place for peaceful protest when handled properly. Here in the U.S. we have had a big problem with the many peaceful protests being overtaken by groups such as Antifa and others. When this happens it becomes violent and dangerous. The purpose of the protest is lost.

Derek Faulkner said...

I was not amused to not get my Daily Telegraph this morning, can't those idiot protesters get a proper life, like going to work!

The Weaver of Grass said...

=Alas, what I heard coming through my letter box was not The Times but today's post and there has been no Times at all. I love my daily dose of the Yimes. I used to take The Guardian and took it for years (used to so look forward to Araucaria's Crosswords) but these days it is so flimsy a paper and does tend to sit on the fence. All Dean - onhave a politial bias but I find the Times suits me fine most of the time

Dean, one of the two men doing my new patio, came and filled in the drainage trench, carried my plants up on to the patio and placed them - I am going to buy one more tomorrow as there is a noticeable gap. He placed them and dug holes ready for the compost to go in. We are getting there. Thanks for calling by.

John Going Gently said...

Oh to be free to see a good exhibition

Joanne Noragon said...

I don't agree with protesting against a free press. What are they thinking?

angryparsnip said...

I read about the problems and then you said the paito men came and I thought you would say... He came in wiggled the wire and like magic it was fixed.

Cro Magnon said...

There is legal protest and illegal protest, the ER folk seem to concentrate on the latter; losing them supporters every time they leave their homes. They obviously have poor leadership, and I see that they are close to being classified as an illegal 'terror' group (probably not the right terminology).

Cro Magnon said...

p.s. I now see that they are to be classified as a 'Organised Crime Group'.

thelma said...

It will all blow over, just the general need for people to make their voices heard, and isn't that what it is all about.

Derek Faulkner said...

I wonder if Emma Thompson flew several thousand miles to support them again.

Rachel Phillips said...

Joanne's comment says it all.

Tom Stephenson said...

I am pretty fed up with the climate protesters. Like all people who believe they have right on their side, they also think that they are beyond reproach for anything that they decide to do. It should be possible to protest without being a zealot, but it seems it isn't.

The Weaver of Grass said...

I have a vision of all of you who have commented above meeting 'in the flesh' and having a really good discussion - we do all seem to be on the same side )well almost) for once.
Thanks for joining in.