When I become an activist I imagined the debates at the meetings would be around big issues such as British defence policy, or whether or not air travel is acceptable, or if an oil based economy is sustainable. But they weren't, everyone in South West London Greenpeace seems to agree on these points. Instead the most interesting debates tend to focus on logistical issues, such as where we meet.
In fairness, finding good meeting places is a problem for all activist groups I've been involved with. One is to meet in a pub. A pub won't charge, it will serve drinks, and several other groups also meet it pubs. But meeting in a pub can be noisy and it can make the group hard to find for new people who don't know which of the many groups in the pub is a Greenpeace group.
The other option is to meet in a community centre. This is quiet, and the room will be easy to find for new members, and several other groups meet in community centres. But meetings work so much better with coffee or beer, which won't be available in community centres, and most community centres charge.
Wouldn't it be nice, we thought, if we could somehow get the best of both worlds. And now, it seems we have.
We've found a pub with an upstairs function room that they will let us have for free (providing we buy drinks and no one else wants the function room). Like a community centre this will be quiet and easy to find. And like a pub we won't have to pay for the room and can get beer or coffee with our meeting.
It also helps that the landlady is really sympathetic towards Plane Stupid.
We think we've found an ideal venue, but what do you think. Please come along to our next planning meeting and judge for yourself.
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