As I write, Extinction Rebellion are hosting their final meeting in Berkley Square, to celebrate the return of the nightingale. Down the road, parliament are still at sixes and sevens about Brexit – yes, funny old world we live in.
But together, we can do something about it. Amid the turmoil, we have a real chance to offer voters, fed up with indecision on the things that really matter, a new alternative.
GreenLeftWeekly
Just as you thought it was safe to venture outside in the lovely spring sunshine, watch out for men in hazmat (short for hazardous materials) suits, often on small tractors, with spray guns.
No they’re not from a new science fiction thriller being filmed in your lovely locality, they are most likely spraying glyphosate again.
Despite ever louder warnings about the unacceptably high toxicity of this chemical, the main ingredient in popular herbicides like Roundup, many local authorities are still plastering our borders and green spaces with glyphosate.
On 27 March, another California victim, terminally ill with Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma was awarded a multi-million dollar compensation payment from the manufacturer of Roundup, Monsanto, for their failure to warn him of the product’s carcinogenic potential.
Yet another US court finds the weedkiller glyphosate a ‘substantial’ cancer factor https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47633086 but Camden Council refuses to take action, ignoring my presentation of a 1000 signature petition to stop its use in the borough.
How many deaths will it take before Camden Council wakes up to the potential danger their staff and the public are exposed to?
“Kirsten would be an amazing MEP!
She’s totally committed to Europe and fights hard for what she believes in.”
Magid Magid, Lord Mayor of Sheffield
Parliament has been Brexit-browbeating the people for a thousand days. And so, fed-up we got up, and marched. Bloodied, but unbowed. I kept reminding myself that I am campaigning to become an MEP candidate for London, while at the same time taking to the streets of that very city, alongside over one million other Europeans, passionately trying to rescue the UK from crashing out of the EU.
All pretty unreal, to be sure.
Frankly, I am also ashamed that it had to get to the point where we now find ourselves staring wide-eyed and ashen-faced into the abyss, before I got off my **se and threw my hat into the ring as an MEP candidate.
Article from Bright Green 14 March 2019
Somewhere last week, someone said
“The UK could leave the EU without ever knowing what it was all about”.
And in the immortal words of Terry Pratchett:
“If you do not know where you come from, then you don’t know where you are, and if you don’t know where you are, then you don’t know where you’re going.”
So to be a solid winner, our message for the 2019 Campaign for Europe must be delivered in three parts; The Past, The Present, The Future. Continue reading
Good evening Green Londoners!
There are 9 hours and 30 minutes left for you to stay up and select your shortlist of candidates for the GLA2020 elections. Tick-tock-tick-tock…
If you haven’t voted yet, and if you need a little help with making up your mind, here is my short opening statement at the London hustings – it starts at 1:10″
…and in case you’re gagging for more, here is my brief closing statement at the same hustings – it starts at 34:20″
Ok, calling all you Green Londoners out there!
Time to do your duty and VOTE
We need a bunch of keen Green candidates for City Hall
I obviously hope you’ll vote for me, but the most important thing is that you VOTE!
Thank you💚
Until February 14, Green Party members in London are exercised by a whole bunch of question marks.
Who? What? Where? When? Why?
They’re picking their candidates for the Greater London Assembly, this massive city’s government. And they’re taking their task extremely seriously.
Together with 21 excellent candidates I am up for selection, but only 11 of us will get through the door.
So Green London members are putting their peers through their paces. And they want answers. If you have any thorny questions, send them my way!
Here’s a selection we have received in the last few days, together with my replies.
It was a proper Christmas, no culinary catastrophes, the family gathered round the table for a feast, no-one’s voice raised above 70 decibels. Bliss. The real tree looked and smelled of Norwegian wood, there were rows of candles, a box full of economy crackers with truly groan-tastic jokes. All just like a real homey Christmas should be.
Then, a few days before New Year’s Eve 2017 and still amid the warm festive glow, a hand-written window envelope fluttered on to the doormat. A late Christmas card? Nah, they don’t come in window envelopes. Probably some neighbourhood thing. I left the letter on the hall table and went shopping. An hour later, warming up with a coffee, I opened the handwritten envelope:
Dear Ms De Keyser,
RE: Notice Seeking Possession – Tenanted Property…
I read on, fully expecting this to be one of those standard communications landlords need to send once a year to comply with the contract. Only when I got to the end of the letter did I realise that this was nothing of the sort:
“Our client has instructed us to commence court proceedings should you fail to vacate the property [within two months of this letter].”
Yours sincerely
Landlord Action
Well, I nearly choked on my croissant. What?! Was I actually being evicted? I had, in a flash, become the star in one of those shocking stories you see on those ‘rogue tenant’ shows on telly. Continue reading
So how’s your January coming along? It’s nearly over. Did you opt for Veganuary, or were you more inclined towards Dry January? My own local pub ingeniously featured an entire month of rolling (literally) events, which they called Ginuary.
Personally, I don’t go for any of them, they’re all far too intrusive for my busily lethargic lifestyle. I just carry on living by numbers. Happy days.
But I have had to endure the endless bleatings of everyone around me, beating themselves up over the small glass of red wine, consumed in the broom cupboard, one desperate evening. Or the hapless customer, who ordered an ordinary Greggs sausage roll, accidentally on purpose, forgoing the culinary delight of Greggs runaway bestseller Vegan Sausage Roll. Continue reading
