August 2013

Louise Alexander is a multi-skilled actor with a keen interest in puppetry. She works part-time at Puppet Centre as their administrator and is also the director of her own company, LAMA Creative, which undertakes digital design and theatre making.

It’s not every day the opportunity to help create a giant polar bear puppet the size of a double decker bus comes along. For an actor, theatre maker and wannabe puppeteer this is pretty irresistible stuff. But that’s not what’s at the heart of Aurora; that’s a whole other kettle of fish.

The video of our hijack of Sunday's Shell-sponsored Belgian Grand Prix ceremony has been pulled by YouTube following a "copyright" (aka "embarrassment") complaint. While the take down appears to have been ordered by the Formula 1 organisers, we suspect Shell is pleased. They may even be behind it. Now, why would we think that?

Are you in the market for a nice two bedroom house in the North West? In a previously quiet residential area, close to minor earth tremors, with the potential for high volume traffic and drilling right under your property? Then you’ve come to the right place!

There’s nothing defensible about shark finning. It’s the marine equivalent of the poachers who kill rhinos to hack off their horns or kill elephants to hack off their tusks. It’s not dissimilar to killing bears or tigers for spurious ‘traditional’ cures either. But it happens out at sea, to animals which don’t have big brown eyes, and which aren’t usually touted as cuddly toys or ‘adoptable’. They rarely win public polls on favourite animals, yet they fill column inches every silly scaremongering summer season in the tabloids.

Much like the movement to save the Arctic, Grand Prix fans are made up of all sorts of people. I would know - I was a big fan of the sport growing up.

Is it possible that a lifelong environmental and social justice activist can harbor a secret love of racing? I’d like to think we embrace diversity in the movement and celebrate different points of view.

I’m on board the Greenpeace icebreaker Arctic Sunrise, about to cross into an area of the Arctic that Russian authorities don’t want us to see. They’ve contravened international law by denying our ship access to an important sea route and tried to shut us out - tried to shut you out. But with the world watching and millions of Arctic Defenders at our sides, we are defying the Russian authorities, claiming our rights to bear witness and to protest, and entering the Kara Sea.

Freshly delivered into letterboxes in Balcombe - a strongly worded (bordering on downright anti-) fracking leaflet from the local Labour Party.

Fracking activists are taking part in a 'day of action' today spanning Balcombe, London and Lichfield.