Wednesday 16 October 2019

St. Anthony, More Dorset, and How I Encountered Rebellion.



I said I would continue my post on Dorset. I often don't continue posts, but here it is! You'll remember that we went west to Dorset for a family celebration but decided to stay on because the weather was so perfect....  But I'll write about it all in a minute because I'm wondering what happened to a large folder of research material which I took with me to read on the trip.  It's gone. I've looked everywhere, checked with everyone. 

I've just sent up a prayer to St. Anthony, who finds lost things. If he directs me to my folder, I'll give some money to charity.  I don't consider myself to be a religious person, but I have to say that things usually do turn up, sometimes in the weirdest places, after consulting this saint.   So I'll let you know next post.  

So, this big house above is Monkton Wyld Court, in west Dorset.  I found it quite by chance when researching bed and breakfasts in the area.   As you'll see if you click the link, it's a sustainable community which runs a smallholding of several acres, and welcomes volunteers to work on the farm, and it also offers hostel and bed-and-breakfast accommodation to overnight visitors who just want somewhere to stay.  It was built as a parsonage in the late 1830s, and has a matching church across the road, now mostly obscured by trees.    I was astonished to learn that the vicar who lived here for years did so all by himself.  His wife supposedly "did not like the country" and if there were any children, perhaps they didn't like it either. What the poor man did with a ten bedroomed house, I'm not too sure.  I would like to think he housed the poor in it, but I bet he didn't. 

This is is my idea of a living room ...I might have a little more furniture in it if it was mine, but actually you can't see the beautiful and colourful pictures on the walls, and can only just catch a glimpse of the big fireplace on the right.  


And this is a nice music room, a good size for parties if you move the sofas around. 


As you can see, there is a lot of natural stone and in fact the main corridor of the house has stone pillars and archways, a little like an abbey. 


There's a vast garden outside, in which they've opened a licensed pub.  Yes, that's it, seen through the window - it looks like a summer house, and in fact it is one.   It's hung with fairy lights and is a great place for the residents to hang out and drink draught beer from a barrel - there's also local pressed apple juice.  I believe the Monkton Wyld villagers also come there too.   It was like heaven on a hot summer's evening, but I'm not sure what happens in the winter when sitting outside drinking beer doesn't sound quite so idyllic. Since the whole place is run on sustainable low emission lines, (translation: not much heating),  I suspect the answer would lots of sweaters and gloves.  We plan to go back, probably before Spring, and may then find out. 


The house has a large kitchen garden of several acres.  I can't help thinking of that vicar. Did he let his servants cultivate the garden and send the produce home to their families? Did he sell it to supplement his income?  Did he let it get overgrown?  Anyway the garden is now maintained by the community, who grow the fruit and veg that they eat.   T and I really enjoyed wandering around it in the late afternoon sunshine, eating a (windfall) apple or two and peeping into the greenhouses. Here are beans and grapes, the latter not quite ready when we visited. 


Lots of apple trees, mostly of old and unfamiliar varieties. 


The area is networked with really tiny, narrow lanes which are also extremely steep and with hedges at least fifteen feet high.  This makes driving quite challenging, and we didn't go much above second gear. This means, of course, that there is not much traffic, and there really is a most rural atmosphere.  Here's a photo T took when we went for a walk in the woods and reached a tiny stream.  


One day I got up before the sun rose and went out to look over the countryside. It was completely quiet except for birds.  


Milk was from their Jersey cows and delivered up to the house each morning by bike both for use in cooking and to make cheese.


We met several interesting people staying there, ranging from someone who made TV commercials for a living, and wanted peace and quiet to write a book about the music scene on Ibiza; a couple of women who had written a book on the uses and folklore of wild plants and were preparing a course on making herb gardens, and an elderly and very genteel pair who looked as if they belonged in their local Rotary Club or but were actually planning to travel to London for two weeks to take part in the Extinction Rebellion climate protest. 

"I've been worried about the environment for decades, and nothing I've ever said or done has had any effect. Now I'm going to make people notice!" said the gentleman, fiercely.   

 "And we are retired, so it doesn't matter if we get criminal records if we glue ourselves to lamp posts or anything like that," added his wife.   

If we hadn't met them, T and I might not have decided to visit Extinction Rebellion when they arrived in London shortly afterwards.  But when we learned it was encamped in central London we went down  to see if we could spot our acquaintances from Monkton Wyld, and perhaps bring them some sandwiches.   

We didn't see them. It was far, far too crowded.  This pair below are NOT them, but you can see from the lady's posters that that she and her partner are there on behalf of the older generation, who have presided over the crisis. I loved them (and the many other elderly folk there) for not being part of that group of oldies that sits at home complaining about protestors they've seen on TV that they don't like the look of.


The movement is not centrally coordinated, but it was well organised, with open air kitchens and free food, and all kinds of activities, as well as a tented First Aid post for those who find the whole experience a bit hard.


There were people of all ages, all types and all backgrounds. Looks like this lad and his baby sibling might have been here with grandparents, but I didn't ask. 


Here's someone who described herself as an ordinary mum who cares about children's futures. 



The reason that they all came is to make everyone aware of climate change, and urge action to contain it.  As I've been researching my book,  I've talked to many professionals, and can now understand why action does need taking, and fast. It's not exactly that the world is getting hotter. It is actually ecosystem breakdown, which happens when the globe's average temperature is too different from what it should be. 

  The early symptoms have been showing for only a few years, so it's still possible to deal with it.  The mistiming of plant flowering, so that their usual insects can't eat them or pollinate them, loss of familiar birds and animals who can't find the wild food they normally eat, melting icecaps, and unusually hot, cold, wet or stormy weather which is baking, freezing or drowning more animals (and humans) than ever before.  It's not much at the moment, but it's the equivalent of ignoring a few cracks forcing their way through crumbling bricks in a dam.  When something big starts going wrong, there's a domino effect as one failure triggers off another,  until it gets very hard or impossible to fix the whole thing.  

 Some of the protestors mentioned science and wildlife, though not as many as I expected. 


and this, at a stand aimed at medical professionals, is about climate change and human health.


But this gloom and doom does repel people, and makes them turn away, so I was actually quite pleased to see so many people spreading the word positively in the way that appeals to them.  You need carrot as well as stick.   Maybe by talking, persuading...or possibly planning future protest....

.
By making music.... this was the leader of a large circle of drummers outside Downing Street. I don't suppose our PM was sitting back and enjoying it in his lair, but I'd have paid to hear them - they were world class. (I was glad they were using earplugs, and wished I'd had some)


Some people staged elaborate set pieces. This, in the tent encampment in Trafalgar Square.



I found these figures disturbing as they wound their way silently around Trafalgar Square. They had something of the feeling of a Greek chorus.


Here's a picture of the sort of protestors who seem have particularly annoyed the elderly telly watchers.   This lot built a construction, sat on top of it in their colourful hippy clothes, and sang soppy sounding protest songs. The police had to dismantle their framework around them, and stand by in case their supporters objected.  I just wonder what it cost.  The bobble-hatted ones might not have done anyone any harm, but must have cost a fortune in public money, because they attract so much attention and so many police are needed to keep order and take them away.  So actually they do make the point very effectively that climate change will strain public resources and public order, and I was glad they did such a good job in such a peaceful way.   



These old fellas have a tambourine on their walker, thankfully they did not beat it when I was in earshot.  Not quite sure what the EU flag has to do with it, except that conservation charities are now uniting in alarm at the deliberate alteration and weakening of much of our environmental legislation under cover of Brexit. Yes, maybe that's it. 


Some countries, like Trump's America and Bolsonaro's Brazil, are not interested in the future, they  want the money now. Boris Johnson's government is promising real action, but when I saw they'd refused to give BBC's "Panorama" an interview about just what they were doing,  I reckoned that we're better off looking at this to get the real story on the government plans.  Some of the other parties are taking it seriously, though, so I am pinning my hopes on them if and when Britain is free of the black hole fiasco of Brexit.

Going down this route can be sombre, so maybe on reflection I'm glad there wasn't too much of it at Extinction Rebellion. It was better to be there and see people celebrating life and love, creating art, music, happiness and wise ideas,  all the good things, to see them having fun and relaxing in the sun, while making their point all the same. 







53 comments:

  1. Thoughtful post, thank you.
    The protests are interesting to read,about. Why it has taken so long to happen is the mystery.

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    1. I believe people haven't really believed it - or else it's too difficult to do. My feeling is that central government is what has the resources and power and should be doing it. Maybe in the US local states will take an initiative?

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  2. Monkton Wyld, what a place to live! Very Gothic and well worth a visit.
    The pics of the rooms are great. The light coming in is marvellous.
    I suspect the fireplace did little heat the rooms.

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    1. The residents were putting in stained glass in some of the windows, which gave great lighting effects. The fireplaces are, I'm told, filled with wood which is burned for heat, in the main rooms. I reckon you have to pretend you're back in 1838 though really :)

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  3. I heard an expert on the insurance industry on the radio yesterday discussing how climate change has already impacted that industry. Of course insurance companies are the biggest investors of money right behind pension funds. So the effects of climate change are already affecting our economy and things are only going to get more and more affected in ways that most of us can't begin to predict.

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    1. Thats the way change may come, I think. But not enough. Our local council is encouraging people to have solar energy. They haven't the money to do it properly - that has to come from central government. Right now I don't feel I can think anything about government in Britain at the moment.

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  4. A bunch of exhibitionist virtue signallers...they remind me of the 14th century Flagellants....replacing the whips with ruddy drums.
    If they imagine for one moment that blocking London will have any effect on politicians they must be living in dreamland...
    Of course things have to change...but the way to do it is to use the vote or put up candidates dedicated to climat change.

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    1. Yes, of course politics is the way to effect change, although surely nobody living in Britain today, wahtever their views on Br*x*t, believes that the politicians in charge are interested in doing what is best for their country. All this kicking down of our institutions, abusing the law, propaganda, bribery and wasting of money to push through something which makes no sense if you actually think what Britain must do to become more prosperous, safe, stable and well respected in the world. So I think lobbying has to wait until we have politicians who don't look and act like a bunch of terrified drug addicts or the Vichy government. The purpose of Extinction Rebellion, or so I was told, was to get people like you and me talking about it and becoming aware of the issues. In that they have been very successful. Indeed, the more irritating they are the better, probably, although I'm glad to say that some of the artistic stuff was very striking too!

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    2. We've seen the effects even here at altitude in the tropics...Costa Rica is all too well aware of whatis happening and trying already to ameliorate the effects.
      The answer is to stop voting for political parties and find the confidence to put up people with a reputation for honesty and direct speech, from parish councils to Parliament...which means taking responsibility for our national politics rather than sitting back and watching the car crash.
      Let alone farting about with drums....

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    3. I've known about Costa Rica as a beacon of environmentalism for years, and wanted to go there when I was doing professional travel writing. I would have needed to get access to the right people to tell me all about it, and some way of recouping the cost of spending a few weeks there, and unfortunately it never came together. I am still interested in how they manage it, though. From what you write it doesn't sound as if the politicians are particularly good, and in fact it must be quite hard for them not to succumb to, for instance, selling off their carbon sinks as offsets for foreign emissions, given that they are not a wealthy country. As for electing the right politicians, of course that is the way. You have to go where the power is. But I just don't believe that banging drums to let the PM know don't approve of him, precludes supporting the good people and doing all the normal democratic things. In fact, raising public awareness of the issues was, as I said, the actual purpose of the ER occupation. What struck me about the pair we met in Monkton Wyld was that they said nobody had ever bothered to notice them before. And now people WERE noticing.

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  5. Jenny, the Monkton Wyld Court is big and unusual house dedicated to a big family. Sure you liked staying there, the rooms are beautiful and large. It's a pleasure to eat your own grown food and drink milk of your own cows. I think a large circle of drummers made much noise, so people needed earplugs! The climate change happens because of human beings and their industry. Here in North we don't feel much this change, summer is not too hot at all.

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    1. How lucky, and you have plenty of wilderness! Actually I understand that the problem is not necessarily too much heat. Sometimes it can be too much cold. In other words, different weather from usual, or extreme weather, which confuses or kills animals and plants so they can't reproduce properly. I hope you don't get this in Russia.

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  6. Hello Jenny, Regarding Fly in the Web's comment, people cannot vote for appropriate politicians if they are not aware of the problems and issues. I have always enjoyed the outdoors, and have increasingly noticed many adverse changes that seem to climate and or pollution related.

    It must have been interesting to get such an introduction to Monkton Wyld Court; seeing its life and rhythms, not just peering from behind the velvet rope. I wonder if the pub is closed in winter, or has a more warming type of fare. In Taiwan, many snack foods such tang-yuan (sweet-filled dough balls in a sweet soup) or green (mung) bean soup, which can be served hot or cold, and are mostly enjoyed hot in the cooler months in the snack bars which are literally everywhere.
    --Jim

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    1. What sort of climate related issues do you see in Taiwan, I wonder? As for Monkton Wyld, we do plan to return before long, and will take several hot water bottles, woolly jumpers socks, and so on. With my Swiss padded jacket and good gloves, I daresay I could cope with sitting outside with a drink! I hadn't thought of hot snacks but hot cider is supposed to be good, and this sounds up their street. If they don't do it I might suggest it.

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  7. My husband and I went to the very first Earth Summit 27 years ago in Brazil. My husband was the UN's Maritime Expert and he talk to the governments about all of the maritime environmental issues. He raise the vexed questions of greenhouse gas emissions, rubbish in the seas, plastic, oil, garbage from shipping and every government signed up to what was known as Agenda 21 to do something about it. But what was done? Nothing, people are only now beginning to wake up.

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    1. How interesting it must have been to attend that conference And how sad that we could have avoided so many problems if countries had done what they said. We need to keep up the pressure now. I wonder, does your husband have any views on the green agendas of the main political parties? Not just what they say, but how feasible and well researched they are?

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  8. This is so cool, Jenny. I love seeing this protest -- enormous, peaceful, with very interesting displays and signage. It looks quite well organized, too. I was reading another site which I passed onto you which had maps and such and thought, "this has legs, something to sustain it." I fear our protests here (if we have them) are one day and out (although if you saw the people on my last blog post, there are some die hards there and thank goodness for them. They DO get people talking and that makes a difference -- maybe small at first -- but that realization will help, must help at the ballot box. I hope so.

    As for Monkton Wyld, I love it. So beautiful inside and out and it sounded like you met some of the most interesting people. What with your writing topic, I know you had a ton to add to the conversation too. Apart from the lack of heating, I could live there!

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    1. Yes, thank for the info, it was quite a fluid situation as they moved from place to place. Are the people you mentioned the ones at Southern Exposure? It is obvious that they are very much into nature and gardens. (Loved the little movie, by the way) I have always fantasised about living in a place like Monkton Wyld, I am a sucker for gothic too... mind you having lived in our 1880s place for a while I do now appreciate the benefits of a more modern place that you can, like, insulate. My current house fantasy is now a full on newly built eco home, I'd really love one. (Like we'd ever find a suitable site in our area...)

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    2. These were the people in the post before Southern Exposure who were out on the capitol lawn and are every Friday -- and have been for three years. There are four, and I guess sometimes more, with peace signs. I love your 1880s home but I know what you mean about the benefits of insulation!

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  9. Climate change is probably the biggest threat we're facing. But I'd argue that it isn't "Trump's America" that doesn't give a damn about the earth, it's Trump and his party. He did NOT win the popular vote but we have an outdated electoral college system that, with the help of Russian interference, put him in office.

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    1. Yes, I think I will go back and change my wording about that so thank you. "Trump's America" is a bit of lazy verbal shorthand that is used here. It is believed that RUssian interference has been part of the right wing surge here (and possibly elsewhere) but it seems to be a very complex and tortuous situation. There's a journalist called Carole Cadwallader who is very knowledgeable on this, and she's worth following.

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    2. The fact remains that Trump was elected by the people of the United States, and there was not a shred of doubt about what he stood for. And the rabid mobs who attend his rallies seem to relish it all.

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  10. I just loved all the arches in the windows and inside that building. Wondering how that single vicar got along there, too. I would bet church ladies organized things for him and the property. ;)

    Glad to see the peaceful protests and to see the older generation there, too!! It's an entire world problem for every living thing. Looks like a great turnout! Glad you met that couple going there to tip you off. :)

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    1. Sounds like you are a "gothic" lover like I am! I wished i knew a bit more about the vicar. I have an idea he devoted himself to researching music in some way, maybe his wife couldn't stand him playing that grand piano or something :) Mind you in those days rectors wives were supposed to be dutiful so maybe she had issues herself.

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  11. This is a wonderful, participatory post. Part of the solution.

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    1. I was really pleased you made that point, I hadn't thought of it like that but I guess it is.

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  12. That looks like a fabulous place to stay, and an amazing event.

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  13. Jenny, I'm so sorry that you lost your folder of research material. What a horrible thing to happen - I have no doubt you put a lot of work into it. Hopefully St. Anthony will be helpful. Let us know.

    Monkton Wyld is absolutely wonderful - I love it, but wouldn't want to live there alone. I value peace and privacy but that would tax my limits. I really like that living room and, of course, the music room. I'm sure you're looking forward to a return visit next spring.

    I'm not really "into" the climate change movement but I do admire their passion and enthusiasm.
    Thanks for another interesting post!

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    1. I think the vicar had servants. I guess there was nothing to stop him from inviting all his friends to stay whenever he felt like it - certainly not lack of room! :)

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  14. What a fabulous home.! I also wonder what the vicar did in that huge house. He had to have help with the cleaning and upkeep and hopefully he paid them.

    Climate change is the biggest problem we face. The creature in charge of US might not want to do anything but most states have not retreated in what we have been doing in areas of air quality. We must all give voice to this challenge before it is too late for those who come after us.

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    1. The rector would have had servants, for sure, they even had their own staircase, a narrow cramped affair compared with the wide stone staircase intended for his non existent family! He might have taken in pupils or had visitors. It is heartening to hear that so many Americans support action on climate change. One of my horrors is that we will also end up stuck with an equally unprincipled ultra right wing government which drives Britain's environmental protection in the ground - the link in my post show that this is a real fear for major conservation organisations here.

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  15. A ten bedroom house? What do vicars make anyway?

    That time glass inside of a circle is an ecological symbol I've never seen before.

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    1. In the 1830s, people had big families, and vicars also gave accommodation to visitors or students whom they educated. If the parish was wealthy (which partly depended on how much the local grand families supported the church) the rectories could be enormous. When I was writing about Lewis Carroll, a rector's son, I found there weren't enough rooms in his father's rectory to give a room to each child - eleven kids altogether, plus parents, servants and the occasional pupil! That symbol is cool, isn't it?

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  16. Hello Jenny, what an important topic you raise. I was very interested to see how Extinction Rebellion is working in the UK. The peaceful demonstrations are very sensible and it is with a sense of relief that we now have people prepared and capable of drawing attention to the disaster of our worldly environment. Here in our Australian city the demonstrators have alienated many of us who would support their cause by dangerous and unimaginative antics. Perhaps they could learn a lot from looking internationally. Monkton Wyld does look a beautiful place, as does the surrounding country. Such places make great B&Bs.

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  17. I hope St Anthony traces your lost folder! That's a pretty elaborate parsonage; most of the ones I've seen are much more modest. A shame you were too early for the grapes (do they make wine from them?)

    I'm glad Extinction Rebellion are making us all much more aware of the urgency of reversing climate collapse. But a lot of people are opposed to their blockades of roads, trains and planes which just prevent people going about their daily lives, getting to work, visiting relatives, going to hospital or whatever. And I don't agree with putting graffiti on public buildings. There are plenty of other ways of stressing the climate emergency that will win support rather than losing it.

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  18. You captured some great photos from the Extinction Rebellion protest. It worries me a little seeing so many of our police force being used to keep the peace in situations like this when knife crime is such an issue in London right now.

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    1. Yes, a field day for the criminals, but I think it's making the point that environmental stress does cause law and order problems by worsening social unrest when there isn't enough food and water to go round. I do not think people realize quite how urgent it is to take action at present, it doesn't have to get really bad as there are things we can do but there do need to be changes.
      Hopefully people are starting to understand though 🙂

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  19. That group marching around in red reminded me of those who marched around beating themselves during the time of the plague in the 14th century (I just finished reading Tuchman's "A Distant Mirror" about that century). And what a nice place you visited, beautiful house and gardens.

    www.thepulpitandthepen.com

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  20. Monkton Wyld felt like going home, Jenny. I went there as a teenager although I don't remember who was living there then. It's the most glorious place and I feel very homesick when I see your photos of Dorset. Do you have anymore of your visit to the area? If so I'd love to see them.
    The Extinction Rebellion looks very good natured compared with some of the reports I've seen on Twitter. How lovely that some many people were involved in such a peaceful way. We were considering the irony the other day of the protest by Dutch farmers who want the government to relax the stricter laws on emission controls as opposed to the British protesters who want the government to impost stricter emission control laws. Some of the Dutch farmers have been getting quite aggressive, I'm afraid.

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    1. I'm glad you liked the photos of Dorset, I will try to put some more on! These farmers sound ignorant and selfish...but it's good your government isn't giving into them and insisting on stricter emissions. Our government seems to be on the side of the baddies and is trying to reduce environmental protection here under cover of Brexit, bothering major conservation charities as the link shows....

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  21. Monkton Wyld looks wonderful, I enjoyed seeing your photographs.
    I too hope that St. Anthony traces your lost folder.

    All the best Jan

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    1. Oh, I forgot to say, St. Anthony DID trace my folder! and within about half an hour too. INcredible really. Forgot to put that in my last post, I'll have to put it in the next one :)

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  22. Global climate change has been affecting many areas of the earth. Beautiful places with a pleasant climate might be transformed into ruins in the near future.

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    1. It will happen unless ordinary people fight it I think...

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  23. Living here in Florida at 8 feet above the rising sea level, ocean acidification and contamination of our water supply are real threats. The rollback of environmental protections at the behest of corporate interests is appalling. I had not been aware of how Brexit may well have such adverse effects on the environment.

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    1. Conservation charities are making it known on their websites, but not pushing it nearly enough. I
      wonder why, but I think they're scared of losing many of the supporters who support Brexit.

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  24. Bravo for all the people, young and old, who took part in this climate action, in whatever way they thought appropriate. This is an existential crisis that does not respect national borders, and by any reasonable examination of the facts, we have little time for remediation. We can only hope that more grassroots demonstrations and protests will spur governments to action, but I am not optimistic. And the public at large continues to use plastic, merrily drinks coffee from disposable cups, eats beef...and so on. At times I despair of the future, most of the time in fact. Our grandchildren face a stark future indeed.

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    1. I'm sorry, I wasnt at my computer for a while and didn't enable comments. I agree with every word you say and have answered below.

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  25. I'm sure a protest of that size would not have been peaceful here...Enjoyed this post and Mr. Schneider above is correct about the rollback of our environmental protections and the threats to water supply.

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    1. Yes, I do think anyone who cares should join an environmental group, it's the only way to oppose it. People can actually overturn existing systems that are doing things all wrong.

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  26. I thought I had left a comment here, but perhaps not, so let me try again. Kudos to all the people who participated in this event, in whatever way they chose. Climate change is without a doubt the gravest problem we are facing and there is little time for remediation, I fear. I try to be optimistic, but people seem to be unwilling to make even the smallest changes in their lives - stop using single use plastics, don't buy water in plastic bottles, don't drink your coffee from disposable cups with plastic lids, eliminate or severely cut back on eating beef, and so on - and around the world we continue to elect politicians who deny climate issues or do not care about the environment. Here in Canada, in the recent election, the western regions of our country went solidly for a party that wishes to expand tar sands production and in the process destroy more of the boreal forest, and increase CO2 emissions, and a federal government with a reduced majority that will now build pipelines to kowtow to western interests to ensure that it is not quickly defeated. I have no faith that my grandchildren will have a habitable world to live in. Time is really, really running short.

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    1. I'm sorry, I didn't enable comments for a bit. I know how you feel, I find it upsetting too but strangely enough talking with conservationists makes me feel more optimistic. Firstly, nature actually is resilient, and secondly there are ways to fix the problems at the moment, although the long term solution is certainly to hold or reduce the world population at current levels. As for people voting for the evil lunatics, I think we should be concerned, but hope very much that it will be a matter of waiting a few more years till those on the "sensible" and "liberal" side figure out that populists are stirring up primitive emotions about power etc. which there's no reasoning with, and start to change their game. The internet has made it so much easier to manipulate emotions, and liberals need to be doing it too, not hoping that intellectual arguments will win the day. Emotions are our drivers, and emotions do NOT have to be bad, they can be wonderful too. So that is my hope for the future.

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