For some weeks now I have been giving up a little of my copious video-game-playing and YouTube-watching time to organise a collaboration between Southwark Greenpeace and the Camberwell Free Film Festival. The first event we chose to get involved in was taking place on Sunday the 17th March, and by the time I went to bed on the preceding Friday I was confident I had sorted out all the details without letting it get too last minute. Come 1 o’clock on Sunday morning however, I returned from a slightly-botched evening out to find myself locked out of my house, and then picked up a message from coordinator Steve reminding me that there was one detail I had managed to leave to the last minute. So it was that I awoke later on that morning on my friend’s sofa having had slightly less sleep than I’d have liked, and headed round to Steve’s to pick up leaflets, stickers, tablet and bear before heading to Myatt’s Fields park. Upon arrival I was hoping to meet my fellow Greenpeacers, set up our crafty ‘I *heart* the Arctic’ stall in double quick time and spend the next hour or so engaging members of the public wandering through a sunny park toward the delightful little café.
Unfortunately, the weather was abysmal. And as all who live upon these fair isles know, a temperamental jetstream can wield greater influence over our lives than virtually any other force known to science. The grey skies and periodic showers meant that the park was pretty empty that morning, and so the first stage of our plan did not quite go as, well, planned. But let it not be said that Greenpeace members backed down in the face of adversity. Never! Rather, we prepared ourselves to bravely Sit Around until the event organisers engaged us to help them put up the marquee in which the film would be shown. Arguably, it was in doing this that we made our greatest contribution to the event – with half a dozen hardened activists on hand the thing practically shot up.
At this point things really started to get going. While attendees enjoyed the café’s home-grown Ratatouille and watched a pedal-powered presentation of the film of the same name, Arctic animal masks were scribbled on, leaflets were handed out, Arctic Defenders were recruited instantly using a magical device (they tell me it’s called a ‘tablet’) and a strange Polar Bear-Human hybrid was spotted having a go on the bike generator. Our pure-blooded ursine friend was unable to reveal herself on account of muddy conditions, but you can’t have everything, eh?All in all then, a successful outreach event and an enjoyable experience all round. Hopefully, it will also mark the start of a fruitful partnership with the film festival for years to come. And although there were hitches and it was hard work, I very much enjoyed my first go at organising a Greenpeace event.
P.S. Now I just have to sort out Thursday’s possible event. Update soon, keep an eye on our events page…
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