It was a hot day but that didn’t put off our mate Carlos from holding out inside a thick polar bear costume for more than an hour. When I asked him how he managed to bear the claustrophobic heat, he told me matter-of-factly, ‘It’s OK, I’m Spanish’.
Carlos’s transformation into Paula the Polar Bear was a big help in attracting support for our campaign to stop Shell drilling for oil in the Arctic. As we walked towards the Shell service station in Blackheath with Paula and our big ‘Save the Arctic’ banner, loads of motorists honked their horns in support.
Unfortunately the manager of the petrol station wasn’t so pleased to see us. He refused to take the letter from Greenpeace UK’s executive director and complained that our ‘Shell Out of Order’ placards would make people think the station was closed for business. But we stuck to our guns and started handing out leaflets to motorists as they drove into the forecourt as well as to passing pedestrians.
As you will see from the slideshow, a van load of local police officers took the opportunity to fill up and find out what we were up to at the same time. After a friendly chat we were allowed to carry on….but not before our ‘Shell out of order’ placards were confiscated for ‘being liable to obstruct a lawful business’. If you ask me, trying to trash the Arctic to drill for the very stuff that is creating climate change isn’t very lawful, but it’s a funny old world…..
Huge thanks to Gillian and Stephanie for their enthusiasm and of course to Carlos, who, as it was the first day of the Olympics, should be awarded a gold medal for extreme heat endurance.
Camilla
Greenwich and Lewisham Greenpeace Active Supporters
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