Earth Hour Gathering in Bath - And There's More on the Way

This year's Earth Hour - organised by WWF - saw up to 70 environmentally aware people of all ages and many different backgrounds gather together on the green in front of the Royal Crescent to celebrate the event. Earth Hour, in which people are invited to switch off all electrical devices between 8.30 and 9.30pm, is an international campaign to raise awareness about energy usage. It began in 2007 in Sydney, Austrailia and has since become a worldwide hour of action.

The event saw people from all over the city congregate en masse with candles, acoustic guitars and blankets. The combination of a growing sense of environmental awareness, good weather, and the great job undertaken by the people who organised the event were key factors in its success. Even residents of the Royal Crescent came down to the event. At the end of the evening several people did a litter pick and everyone took home a bag of rubbish, to ensure that Earth Hour stuck to its environmental principles.

Due to the success, there are now plans to make "Earth Saturday" a regular event, on the last Saturday of every month, with the next event scheduled for 26th April. Organisers say that if the weather is looking bad, the event will be moved to the following Saturday.

So come on down, this could be the start of something big!

Earth Saturday - Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/EarthSaturdayBath
Earth Saturday - April Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1486206851599754

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National March Against the Badger Cull in London

Nation March Against the Badger Cull, London, 1st June 2013

With the mounting criticism of the government's policy of culling badgers to combat TB, it was only a matter of time before a huge demonstration took place in London.

A large group of badger activists set off from Bristol on a coach, stopping near Bath to collect members of Bath Against the Badger Cull, and headed up to London for the day. The atmosphere on the coach was vibrant as people got to know each other, and a team set about painting people's faces with black and white facepaint. Almost every was dressed appropriately for the day in black and white, with many "Stop the Cull" t-shirts and badger masks on board.

Arriving at the start of the demonstration outside Tate Britain, we were greeted warmly by a crowd of around 2000 people dressed as badgers. As some one put it - "There's never been so many badgers in London!". A range speakers from various organisations addressed the crowd, including Queen guitarist Brian May. See the video below for some of these speeches and footage of the march.

The march then set off with banners and placards raised, good spirits and lots of chanting, as well as sound system on wheels with a painted wooden badger on top.

The march was diverted at the end, and so we didn't go past parliament, due to a BNP demonstration taking place at the same time. Following the march, many headed to St James's Park for a picnic, while others, including Bath and Bristol activist, went on to picket the DEFRA office. On the way, we passed the pitifully small BNP demonstration, and some dressed as badgers chased a few of the fascists hanging around nearby.

For more on the badger cull, see: The Badger Cull - What You Need to Know

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