Gethyn Stone is a new columnist for the SNJ. The 25-year-old is a chef, youth worker, vegan, activist and lover of hip hop, and will write about issues affecting Stroud and the wider world.

 

Stood there in the rain amidst thousands more frizzy haired people, thousands more pouring from buses, bikes, tube stations and street corners we set ourselves to march on London.

Vivienne Westwood over our shoulder, Jeremy Corbyn to our left (no pun intended) and Natalie Bennett in front, 50,000+ passionate people of all ages prepared to stomp and shout for climate, justice and jobs.

Listening to every case for our communion before we did so set off a fizzing between these people - a belief and possibility we might just change the world.

Perhaps a Passover of sorts from those who had marched on Melbourne, Brisbane already, one we would pass on or share with those marching on New York, on Berlin and those who had their protest banned in Paris. A belief that altruism might just insight global ecological change.

I must admit, arriving at Stratford Park to join my fellow Stroudies on our three buses to London didn't fill me with much of what I've just described.

I was quite disheartened at the lack of youth willing to sacrifice a Sunday to support the world they will inherit.

I feared by the time they come to love and fight for the world they need it will have already been poisoned, cut up and sold off; and they will be enslaved as passive consumers after the TTIP agreement is passed.

And my cynicism grew further after the bus stopped for a toilet break and everyone whipped out their packed lunches, there's a benign hypocrisy of a bunch of climate activists bundled into a bus eating meat sandwiches and drinking milky coffees after stopping off a service station.

After we set up someone asked for the heating to be turned up too, fantastic... “What are we going to achieve here?” I remember thinking bitterly.

But standing there in our congregation as the wind blew the last of the autumn leaves across the concrete at Marble Arch, I couldn't help feel it was to make the concrete more colourful.

As the wind blew hoods back and rain into faces, I thought of it as a cleansing wind of change. Whatever it was it nevertheless failed to dampen or deter the objective of that day.

Arguments for the abolishment of coal and oil industries, for a total refusal of fracking, for a reformation of capitalism, for green jobs, for a sustainable agriculture industry and veganism, for raising awareness of the implications we can expect if we do not act and who the people profiting from them are were all made by a multitude of speakers as feet left sprang, whistles blew, drums thumped, voices jeered and fists flew; the momentum had manifested before one forward movement had been made.

And then I, along with Creative Sustainability CIC began. CSCIC work at ensuring inclusion of people with disabilities and from disadvantaged backgrounds have a say in our communities. They work on encouraging personal responsibility for the natural environment, living and working more sustainably and developing an understanding of the issues.

They empower the youth, and I think that's imperatively important because if saving the planet stays a complicated matter people bury their head in their hands for instead of seeing how utterly cool it would be to be part of a generation that allows other generations to blossom, then we might all be doomed. Many thanks to Anna and the gang for having me.

We started at Marble Arch and headed past Green Park and Trafalgar Square before arriving at Parliament, witnessing five heavily armed policemen stand behind the gates of Downing Street as we cheerfully went on by.

That was absurd - protests and demonstrations can be very different depending on their cause and demographic. As only a day before tens of thousands marched on London to demand we stay away from another pointless war the Tories seem adamant on going to it's safe to say the tone of that protests was fed up, and looking at how unsuccessful Iraq was who could blame them?

The anti-austerity marches earlier on this year drew hundreds of thousands out to tell the government that those least to blame should not suffer the most harm in defiance, beautifully justified defiance and the last protest I attended in London whilst living and hoping to study there was after finding out the lies about tuition fees that prevented me from further education, those protests turned to riots and the tone became complete contempt, all of which at the time I condoned.

But Sunday was none of these things in my experience. This was about common sense and common decency for the common good. To be counted in, counted on and counted for.

An actual future and not just the future century; we marched simply to point out how prehistoric our current system is debunk it joyfully, for ourselves, our children and for the six billion others who share this earth. To see such massive artillery at Cameron's doorstep was rather telling.

So, after asking what was this, us humble Stroud lot getting on a bus to the city, going to achieve, well I'm tempted to tell you we achieved smiles and laughter, we achieve chants, songs and dance. We achieved solidarity through compassion even if we were pushed towards it by desperation.

50,000 souls walked the roads where cars would otherwise take precedence for a cause that impacts all of us on this magnificence wet ball in space.

We deepened the awareness of a collective consciousness that will expand once those individuals got home to think of it all and further when they speak of it. What we achieved and will strive to continue achieving is the birth of a new age. Join us.