31 October (Part 1) - Silly me
As
decisions go it was one of my worst. I accepted
an invitation to go to an
Extinction Rebellion meeting in Erith’s Carnegie Building yesterday evening. I went by bus, my
first bus journey for quite a while and rediscovered the reason. Standing room
only and two seated young ladies who had presumably paid the full fare for
their oversized hand bags. Not that the car is always a pleasant experience.
The previous evening
I parked in my usual quiet spot near the Civic Centre but a
gang of half a dozen hoodie clad youths had beaten me to it. Within a minute or
two I watched two of them get their willies out and pee against the wall. I
think it is called cultural diversity. I moved on.
I should have gone to the Transport Sub-Committee meeting and been sitting here
now telling you how much worse the trains and buses were likely to get in the coming
months but instead I was watching a three part slide presentation in a darkened
room, notepad on knee jotting down all the ֹ‘facts’ and figures.
I can tell you that including the organisers and the people who run the Carnegie
Hall the attendance peaked at 13 ladies and six men but only for a minute or two.
Between sets of slides we were asked to close our eyes for a minute and
contemplate what we had just learned.
At the half way stage there was to be a 15 minute break and I went downstairs
via the preserved almost Victorian urinals where one of the other XR guests made a
choice remark about the evening’s proceedings. I planned to quote him.
In the cafeteria I spoke to several more escapees some of whom I had met before.
I was a little surprised to find they might be XR supporters. The sort of
thing I heard in the Gents was repeated with bells on but as loyal Rebels they persuaded me that I shouldn’t
report what happened last night. Out of respect for them I won’t.
Probably that tells you all you need to know about the meeting.