A few days ago, an envelope landed on the doormat. Nothing unusual about that, except that this one was addressed to me in my own handwriting. Now, I know that talking to yourself is supposed to be a sign of madness, but writing to yourself and then forgetting you've done it...?
Anyhow, inside was a single piece of paper with the following on it, again in my own handwriting:
"Hello me,
Have I:
1. Promoted the lobbying network to others?
2. Blogged about it?
3. Remembered what we did at the Greenpeace office on 22/01/2011?"
Suddenly it all came flooding back - I'm not going mad, I simply forgot something I'd done 8 months ago. Given that I have to check my diary to see what I was up to a week back, this is unsurprising. So, what's going on?
Well, wayyyy back on Jan 22nd, I went to a political lobbying training day at the Greenpeace office in London. This covered all sorts of aspects of lobbying MPs and others, and at the end we were asked to write three relevant questions to our future selves, seal them in an addressed envelope and leave this at the office. It would appear at some point - a good way to ensure a little reflection somewhere down the line. So, did it work? Let's see.
Q.1 I definitely have sent out requests for others to get involved in lobbying so, a 'yes' to that. However, I haven't done so for a while, so here's a brief recap - we have a network of trained lobbyists who are occasionally asked to contact their MPs regarding our campaigns, sometimes by letter, sometimes face-to-face such as at one of their constituency surgeries. Given the amount of money some companies pour into lobbying, it's an important part of our campaigning to be able to do the same, albeit much more cheaply (though maybe as effectively!) and that requires volunteers. This is a good was to get involved locally, especially as you can write and (if your MP is available) visit according to your own timetable. For an example of another Greenpeace lobbyist who has written about their experiences, have a look here, and if you'd like to get involved, visit here. No experience is required; you just need to be willing to go on a one-day training course and have a go at lobbying occasionally - MPs really aren't that scary! More info via the lobbying link.
OK, Q.2 - another 'yes' to that - I'd blogged previously about lobbying Chris Huhne (my MP and Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change, which is handy) as part of an Oxfam event. This was before the training day, but afterwards, I met him again as part of a coalition of groups interested in the Energy Bill and blogged about this too.
So, onto Q.3 - well, the answer is another 'yes', though not consciously so until the envelope arrived I must admit. The training day has proved most useful and I can recommend the lobbying network - it doesn't take a lot of time and is a good way of getting involved with the political process which is after all how many decisions are made that relate to our campaigns.
That's all from me for now other than to wonder what will happen this Saturday as I'm off to another volunteers gathering at the Greenpeace office - maybe another envelope will appear next May!
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