My Weekend in Bath

Beverly Cumblidge

I arrived in Bath on Friday just in time for lunch, and was almost instantly thrown into the networking frame of mind.

The introductory session was a welcome to Bath, followed very shortly by the first workshop sessions. The ice-breaking session for newcomers buzzed with anticipation; broken only by Donald Richie, one of the conference organisers, giving a short but amusing speech on what to expect.

After dinner, the main hall was full for the John Preedy Memorial Lecture. Alison West from the Community Network Foundation gave an excellent speech, of how community groups have been created; and how we, as FOE, can learn to build a symbiotic relationship. The lecture was great, and was mentioned several times in many places throughout the weekend, from the bar to the workshops. 'Tomorrow's World - enough for everyone' was the theme of the conference, and the John Preedy Memorial lecture certainly set the tone for a vision of a world-wide community.

Saturday started gently with a slide show review of the year, followed by the Executive Director's opening address. Charles Secrett wasn't on top form, and I'm sure I'm not alone in considering this part of the weekend a bit limp and even lumpy at times. Ron Bailey, from the Parliamentary Unit, got things back on track with an outline of what they've been up to, such as the Road To Ruin Act, and what they intend to pursue.

"Some would consider the local groups presentations to be the best part of conference, and I would tend to agree with them."

This year there were five presentations, starting with Jenny Bates (Greenwich + Lewisham FOE) jamming as much as possible into her time allotted, and unfortunately not quite making it, to tell us about the Millennium Dome from a local perspective. Tim Ackroyd and Terry Figg (Mid-Herts/CASE) gave us a brilliant insight into the housing issues around Stevenage. Jo Ripley (Devizes + Marlborough) rather modestly told us how they stopped a GMO field crop trial being planted on a nearby farm. The proposer's being Monsanto (Boo! Hiss!). Tim Shaw (Wales) gave us an extremely amusing run down of how our access to information is often blocked by excessive photocopying charges by local authorities; how much does your local authority charge to copy current planning applications? Finally Leeds FOE performed their version of 'Bill And Ben and the peat monster'. All of the presentations were enlightening and inspirational.

Later on, various activities took place and I heard snippets of what these were, from Ultimate Frisbee to the Tomorrow's World lively debate.

Saturday night was social night, and the networking went on and on and on. A great band (no, I can't remember their name either, but they were very good! -Ed) played in one bar and the networking continued.

Sunday started with the infamous motions debate, and there will be more info on the outcome of motions elsewhere in this newsletter (See Andy O'Callahans' piece -Ed)

"..The BNRR is 27 miles of greenbelt planned toll motorway.."

The next session was highlighted by the packed presentation of campaigns overview by Tony Juniper the Policy and Campaigns Director. I always knew FOE did lots, but wow Tony knew it all, I know that's his job, however just to put one thing straight the BNRR is 27 miles of greenbelt planned toll motorway, not 20. Things got crowded on the platform after that, for a question session with a panel of senior campaigners.

After Sunday lunch Sam Clarke, Chair of the Board Ltd, told us the Board election results and informed the conference of who all the Board members are. There are still 2 regions without Board members, which are Midlands and South Central, and I think this is a real shame.

Andy Moore (South West Board member) presented the Earth Movers award to Max Wallis of Penarth FOE, who went on to give a presentation of how this came about. From toxic waste dumps to the Sea Empress disaster, Max has been an avid campaigner. Later on he planted a Mulberry tree in the grounds of Bath University, to leave a footprint from local campaigners of FOE, for all to see that we care and do bring about positive change.

"...FOE is an open university for all"

A local campaigns overview was given by Robin Maynard the Local Campaigns Director. This was very interesting, as he told us what others thought of us, such as "Intellectual but on a different planet." But I agree with how he summed up by saying that "FOE is an open university for all."

Beverly Cumblidge