Thank you Sir Jonathon Porritt for a most interesting, thought provoking talk at Cumberland Lodge on a warm September evening, with the harvest moon in full glow.
I’d booked 4 tickets for the latest Cumberland Conversation but The King’s Trust and the tube strike, had other plans for my son Charlie who is walking his own less travelled path to a sustainable future with Enviroverse.
Jonathon, in his own frustrated, positively framed words, a whispered scream, “I’ve tried everything!” Tried everything to get the real global powers to listen to reason but inevitably a wheel falls off his wagon and he has to pick himself up, dust himself off, find another wheel and keep on keeping on.
“Love, Anger & Betrayal” is his latest book, written with 26 Just Stop Oil’s young climate campaigners, which he thanked for giving him a fresh perspective, a new wheel on which to peddle.
I got to ask the first question, to follow Fegus’ fist full… well we were in his shed!
Channelling Dave Hampton, Dr Emoto and Einstein who said “Vibration is everything” I asked a question around the power of positive thinking helping to solve the problem as those of us with mortgages can’t just go out and get arrested for daring to walk down the high street with a banner when the Police are about!
His eyes said it all, best summarised, this being a family channel, as “Cat video” as we can’t publish the P word 😉 He explained that positive thinking was good but you need to take action.
One young delegate shared, “Without the positive thinking, you don’t get action you’re hoping for”… or words to that effect, if you are reading this, do send me what you actually said, thank you.
While the young and old can take action as their financial stability is not based on being at work in the morning, many of us middling, OK middling to older folk are struggling to establish how we might play a part. Having to pay a few bills, we need to be employed, so what action can we take to help with the bigger picture.
That’s where my question came from… we want to help… is upping the vibration of the planet the best way for us to join in? Obviously, as long as that doesn’t mean hitting the yoga mat doggie style… I put up a blind in my shed the other day and put my back out 😉
I asked my 3 VIP guests to scribble a few words on their experience.
Published in the order they landed:
It was a joy to catch up Jonathan Porritt OBE at the Cumberland Lodge last night to hear about his most recent fight for Intergenerational justice.
His decades long struggle in the world of sustainable development is well known, starting off with what was meant to be a short stint at the helm of Friends of the Earth before returning to teaching. He never did.
His latest (last!) book, Love, Anger and Betrayal was written with 26 young Just Stop Oil protestors who were jailed for stepping into the road. His despair for the state of our planet, global leaders inability to collaborate and his disbelief of the selfishness of those of us who have no regard for those who come after us was palpable.
The line that will stay with me was from one scientist to Jonathan who asked for a likely outcome “We’ve never cooked a planet before”
Some of his solutions? Citizens assemblies and “just stop mould” What a guy!
Donna Stimson
www.greenskillslibrary.com
On Monday evening (08/09/2023) a group of concerned citizens made their way to the impressive setting of Cumberland Lodge in Windsor Great Park to listen to a talk on the climate crisis by legendary campaigner, Sir Jonathon Porritt CBE. Now in his mid-70s, Porritt reflected on his long, at times fraught, journey from West London school teacher to campaigner in raising awareness for the very real and imminent climate catastrophe brought on by global warming. From the Green Party to Stop Oil, he has devoted 50 years to campaigning for the environment and social justice, and advising governments, NGOs and businesses – including senior oil industry executives. Much of this was in vain, as we have recently seen President Trump urge oil companies to ‘drill, drill, drill’. Sadly, profit still trumps environmental issues (pun intended). Questions were asked and a lively discussion of the issues played out, after which Porritt signed copies of his new book ‘Love, Anger & Betrayal’ for those willing to part with £10 (profits from the sale go to a fund that supports the imprisoned Stop Oil protestors – most are in their 20s and were interviewed about their experiences in the book). A thoughtful, sobering evening that left some with a feeling of helplessness about our unravelling future.
Tim Walker
Author and Man that Matters
In the regal setting of Cumberland lodge Windsor, I found Sir Jonathan Porrite’s insights on how we prevent the ongoing environmental catastrophe that we, as a planet, are right now, currently facing; to be both optimistic yet bleak, perhaps just pragmatic.
Undoubtedly shaped by his 50 plus years of hard fought campaigns as both a political candidate and campaigner, and also though his professional and personal life; His integral understanding of the environmental and social collapse we are finding ourselves in pre/currently or post,(depending who you speak too) was very astute and thorough; Underpinned by his knowledge and understanding of the history of social and political movements and the environmental crisis that we face in the none to distant future (On our current trajectory.)
Whilst at times his analysis seems somewhat bleak, his hope and his “call to arms” really does put the emphasis on the importance of meaningful social and climate action, not just now, but right now.
During the event Jonathan shared with the audience an anecdote about a “joke” about global warming (that either he or a colleague had made) that I found to be very powerful; in a way that comedy so frequently is.
When asked about the climate crisis and what or when was the “point of no return”, the person in question retorted, that he was unsure what the environmental tipping point is as “we’ve never cooked a planet before.”
Humorous, stark, powerful. All of the things we must all strive to be, should we avert the oncoming climate catastrophe.
#VoteGreen
Mr Michael Edward Boyle
Green Party Parliamentary Candidate for Windsor
Well that was an interesting evening. You’d best buy your copy 😉
Thank you.
Jon Davey
Community Champion
P.S. Do ask Dave about Emercombe Jonathon. It helped him to keep on powering on…
