Country Homes & Interiors – September 2019

FEATURE

SOPHIE GALE

PHOTOGRAPH

(TEA PARTY) JOHN PLAYFOOT

Our toxin-free tea

party spread awareness

of local air pollution

❝

ItwasmydaughterAsterwhofirst

inspiredmeoutofmyarmchair

andontothestreetstoprotest.

Whenshewasjustfiveyearsold,in

2013,sheoverheardmediscussing

frackingwithmyfamily,andsaid:

‘ButMummy,if it’spoisoningthe

earth,howcanpeopledoit?’The

simplelogicstoppedmeinmy

tracks.I knewI hadtodomoreto

defendourbeautifulcountryside.

Iwasbornandbroughtupin

Stroud,a prettycornerofthe

Cotswolds,whichis knownfor

itsindependent,Bohemianspirit.

In 1994 I lefttostudylanguagesat

theUniversityofOxford.I lovedit

andgaineda congratulatoryfirst.

ButI wasnevertemptedbybig

corporations,andchosetowork

asa tourguideinstead.Someyears

later,I movedbacktotheCotswolds

withmyhusband,Matt,andour

children,AsterandDexter.

Itwasjoyfultoreturn,butI learnt

therewereplanstobuildan

incineratorthatwouldemit

dangeroustoxins,harmfulto

humanhealthandwildlife,in

thearea.It wouldbepartofa new

wastefacilitynearStonehouse,

proposedbyGloucestershire’s

council.It promptedmetoconsider

environmentalissuesindepth,

includingfracking– a process

thatblastswater,sand

andchemicalsdeep

undergroundtoextract

gasoroil,whichhasa

hugeimpactonourclimate

andcountryside.I decided

togetintouchwithanti-

frackingcampaignerKaty

Dunneandcrowdfundedto

printleafletsaboutfracking’strue

consequences. The leaflets made

Oxfordgraduateandmotheroftwo,JojoMehta,campaigns

tirelessly, for free, to protect the Cotswold countryside she loves

❝

animpact,inspiringstrong

resistanceinmanyareas,

andhelpingframea

nationaldebate.

Toraiseawareness

abouttheincinerator,

wedecidedtoholdsofa

sit-insanda teaparty!

Wewantedtodo

somethingthatwouldbe

inclusivetoshowactivism

couldbeforeveryone.

Sittinganddrinkingteaseemeda

suitablygenteelapproach.Weset

uptableswithprettycrockeryonthe

grassyvergeattheincineratorsite.

About 100 peopleattended,and

wehadgreatlocalnewscoverage.

IhelpedpersuadeactorJeremy

Ironstojoinourfight.Inspring

2016 a projectwasunderway

tocrowdfundanalternativetothe

incinerator.KnownasR4C,this

facilitywouldbefarcheaper,and

muchlesshazardous.Jeremyhad

madea filmcalledTrashed, arguing

forbetterwastemanagement

methods.Hewasperforming

ata theatreinBristol, so

Iwenttoseethe

show and

lefta postcardinhisdressingroom.

Attheendofthenight,hemetme

andpledgeda donationtoR4C.

Hewouldalsofilma speechinits

support.Manytensofthousands

ofpoundswereraised,yetstillthe

contractwenttotheincinerator.But

thereis nowa policeinvestigation

intoirregularitiessurroundingthe

contract.Sowatchthisspace...

Oneofthemostimportant

meetingsofmylifecameabout

throughmyworkagainstfracking.

In2014,I gottoknowactivistPolly

Higgins,a formerbarristerwho

hadmovedtothearea.Polly

wascampaigningtocreate

aninternationallawagainst

ecocide,orseriousdamagetothe

environment.I startedtovolunteer

alongsideher.A lawagainstecocide

couldbeourbesthopein

tacklingtheclimatecrisis.

Tragically,Pollydiedearlier

thisyear,buthermissionlives

on.Thisis nowmylife’spassion.It’s

incredibletothinkit allstartedwith

a fewleaflets.NowI amfighting

toprotectthelandscape

locally,andbeyond.Small

actionscanleadtobigchanges.

TosupportJojoandPolly’s work,

visit stopecocide.earth

Localshave

unitedintheir

missiontoprotect

the countryside

Jojobringsa senseoffun

toheractivism,despitethe

serious motivation behind it

LOCAL HERO

COUNTRY HOMES & INTERIORS 91