Fashion And Activism

Aitchoo
I will be grateful when the weather warms up a bit, although we haven't had a bad winter, it is feeling a bit prolonged with these cold spats we keep having. Mia (my 7 Year old) has been ill on and off since Christmas, and had just completed a course of anti -biotics to get rid of it, and now I'm feeling it. Aitchoo.
So what has Foxy Lady been up to this week during half term?

Not one of my banners, but I love the sentiment

I am up't north currently, visiting my parents, its grim up north, in February, and it makes it feel even more grim when they (I-Gas and Ineos) are planning to Frack the land. The British Government are totally ignoring the people of this country, and continuing with their quest to extract gas from the ground in order to solve our so called looming 'energy crisis'. There doesn't have to be an 'energy crisis', if we focused on renewable energy. This is a completely viable option, whether its solar, wind or tidal, its clean, and its not going to have a detrimental impact on people and the environment. I have visited 'potential' fracking sites all over the country, and they are ore often in beautiful areas, close to small villages where the locals would suffer from light and noise pollution, once a drill is in action. The hundreds of lorry loads, passing through their quiet villages, transporting water and toxic chemicals to and from the site, will disturb and ruin their daily lives, making it unrecognisable. Theses places are often surrounded by wildlife, and endangered species, so this will impact upon them too. Once the fracking takes place then there is the potential that it could leak into the water course and as they have experienced in America, the local water supply will be poisoned. The drill goes down over 1000 metres in to the ground, and then disperses thousands of toxic chemicals into it to create a reaction to create the Shale Gas. Seismic testing also has to take place, as with places in America where fracking is in process, has caused mini earthquakes. In 2011, the first hydraulic fracturing (Fracking) took place near Blackpool and an earth tremor reading was so high, they had to stop.
I have been campaigning against fracking for over 4 years now, it started when a friend of mine joined the Balcombe campaign, and I would actively follow him and share the news. I felt a magnetic draw to Balcombe, and although I live in Southern England, Brighton is still a far distance to travel, and I had 2 year old Mia to consider at the time.

3 Year old Mia at Danes Hill Fracking site April 2014

I have often felt guilty, that I don't do enough to help, especially when I watch the level of commitment by some activists, people that actually give up their jobs, homes, family time to fight on the front line (as we call it). However, it isn't all about being there at the gates, although, thats where my heart tells me to go. There are many different people from all walks of life in this movement. There isn't a class, gender, race or political agenda, ts is purely residents that don't want it near there homes, and environmentalists that have come together to fight this destructive business.
I spend so many hours a week online, reading and sharing useful information and updates on fracking, those of us that do this are referred to as 'Keyboard Warriors'. Other things I do for the campaign are sending donations, for things like costs towards fines; I make banners on request; I occasionally organise demos locally (mostly Barclays); attend solidarity days; visit camps and I have done some gate work (this involves watching the movements in and out of the site and stopping lorries from entering or leaving a site). One day I will do a lock on, but it needs to be planned, for example, I need to be arrested when its a convenient time and place. Mainly because you need to attend court a few months later, so location to me is important.

Barclays Demo Newbury - 12 Protestors attended (a proud moment)

So this week,  I managed to do some front line work, hurray, wish I could have done more, but it made me feel better what I did get to do (I was pretty close to getting arrested, and my adrenaline was pumping high). It reminds me how serious the fight is and what we are up against. I haven't got an issue being arrested, you just get a fine, and a great deal of inconvenience, so its only worth it if you do something worth while. Like closing the site down for a day. For anyone that doesn't understand why people stand at the gates, slow walk lorries, lorry surf, or do lock-ons, its not just about making a statement, its to cost them money, and prolong their work (them being the fracking companies).
Currently their are various sites near my parents locality, Misson and Tinkers Lane which is near Blyth I paid a couple of visits to Misson, on some drizzly February days, but it was quiet, so I just took supplies (including hot chips) to the camp, and got to meet a few people and offer moral support. A local has allowed them to use his field to set up a camp, for protectors to live, and so they can have a visitors hut, where they can talk to people and hand out leaflets.

Foxy Lady Banner on the soon to be dining area at Misson camp

 I also went to Tinkers Lane for a couple of hours, where some protectors were monitoring the gates and the comings and goings. They check that the Fracking company are adhering to regulations, so any inch wrong they make is recorded, and it was found they were breaching agreements. It was also agreed that we could make the lorries wait 20 minutes before they were allowed to leave the site, all of this makes it annoying to the frackers, and cost them money. Contractors have been known to pull out fro working for the Frackers because it has inconvenienced them too much, or they have seen sense and realised its not a good idea to be associated with fracking, contractors can include regional haulage companies, or aggregate suppliers for example. Sometimes these companies will get targetted for lock ons, if they wont listen to peoples emails.
Today (Thursday 15 Feb) my Fashion and activist inspiration Vivienne Westwood, also did a protest, she took her new range of ant-fracking clothing, on some models, and did a demo outside Ineos HQ (one of the main fracking companies). As I have mentioned in previous blogs, when I was 16 and started studying fashion, Vivienne Westwood was my biggest inspiration, and 30 years later, we lead parallel lives (albeit I didn't make it to her regal heights of Fashion credibility), Designing clothes and working toward saving the planet, in particular the fight against fracking.

Vivienne Westwood and Joe Corre protesting at Ineos HQ

Anyone that is involved with the Anti-fracking movement will tell you what an amazing bunch of people it is. I have met so many interesting, genuine, caring, crazy, inspiring people along the way, and have even made real friends from it. It has brought a lot of people together that have one main bond, and that is the fight for democracy, and if we lived in a true democracy, fracking would not be going ahead as the vast majority of people are against it.
The fight continues..to find out more and find out where they are planning to frack in the UK please check out Frack off..

http://frack-off.org.uk/

And Finally, thanks to my family for supporting me, in particular my mum, when she has looked after Mia so I can do demos or visit camps, and Richard and his family for their never ending trust and belief in me