Eye - 11 July 2014

From pinky subversion to a piece of peace

Pinky subversion

Wool Against Weapons has sparked ‘a whole subculture of pinky subversion, knit-ins, protests, cake and nattering’ says Jaine Rose, organiser of the campaign.

A seven-mile pink peace scarf will be unrolled as part of a direct action protest on 9 August, between the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) sites of Aldermaston and Burghfield in Berkshire.

With the date of the protest fast approaching, knitters are industriously working to get the scarf completed and lapsed knitters are being inspired to get their needles clacking once more.

Fifteen Friends from Street and Wincanton Meetings have recently joined the initiative. The group, some of whom have not knitted in fifty years, emptied local charity shops of pink wool. Their efforts have resulted in a forty metre-long addition to the scarf.

Tyna Redpath and Sandi Kirk were already running a monthly crafting group at the Meeting house in Street but were inspired by Tyna’s daughter Rhiannon to get involved with Wool Against Weapons.

Tyna said: ‘We found our “Grand Pink Knitting Days”, full of laughter and chocolate, deepened our sense of Quaker community – many a Quaker topic was chewed over and friendships grew in the sheer pleasure of working towards a common goal.’

The growing scarf has made some spectacular appearances recently. 900 metres were unfurled by over 100 volunteers along the Royal Mile in Edinburgh on 28 June (see above). And on 5 July a 120 metre section was unfurled through the Welsh town of Knighton.

Knighton resident Angie Zelter, co-founder of Action AWE and Wool Against Weapons, said: ‘It is wonderful to see so many local people joining in our colourful and creative protest. It is a wake-up call to our government to disarm Trident and play a positive role in global disarmament.’

A piece of peace

Quakers in Devon took part in a celebration of peace in June.

The Tagore festival is a three-day arts event ‘celebrating the works of Rabindranath Tagore, the inspiration for Dartington [a social enterprise charity], through live music, dance, debate, film, food and drink’.

Bob Lovett, of Torbay Meeting, wrote to Eye about the extra peace Friends brought to the celebration.

‘Friends from Local Meetings in South Devon supported a Peace Tent and held a Witness for Peace at the annual Tagore festival at Dartington Hall…

‘In wonderful weather and after an initial Meeting for Clearness (see above, left), Friends established an oasis of calm (see above, right)…

‘Peace cranes were made instead of war planes, and peace was celebrated in poetry, song and dance across cultures and across the estate.’

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