On Friday I drove o’er the Pennies to deepest darkest Lancashire
to take part in Reclaim The Power’s Rolling Resistance against Fracking in
Flyedale. As expected, the event was a
mixture of demonstration, blockade and mad party. When we arrived Pete The Temp was DJing a
mixture of dub, hip-hop and folk, tasting over the top and getting everyone
boogieing with the power of a loop pedal.
His cheeky moment between pieces, joyous energy and clever construction
meant everyone was having a great time.
The best moment was when one of the dancing Nannas behind me
proclaimed: “Eeee I’ll sleep tonight!”
I did a few poems, and other people joined in with their
poems and speeches. We learnt about the
other activities that week, as well as the wider issues around farming. Food was served to the few hundred people in attendance,
all free. Under the steely gaze of
Police, people of all ages chatted together, some clear crusties from the environmental
movement, others local farmers, others concerned older people. A local woman spoke to the crowd with tears
in her eyes how appreciative she was for people being there. We’d come from Yorkshire, but others had
travelled from Nottingham and Bristol for the actions.
I can’t speak much for the activism side, I’ve never
performed a lock-on or other forms of direct action. But the event was a reminder amongst the
anger and actions, it’s always useful to have some poetry or music to stir
everyone’s spirits. When the trucks
begin rolling into Kirby Misperton in September here in North Yorkshire, I hope
the abundance of poets and musicians in York and the surrounding cities will
come and get involved, it’s a bright, colourful wing to a beautiful movement.
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