Airport Pledge leads to all out war

Transposed from an older blog

Now I’m not sure I should be writing about this, as it’s a tale of bitchyness and woe. But to give a true insight into local groups, networks, and Greenpeace I guess it’s worth covering the bad stuff.

This is of course my version of events, I’m sure other people have there own views, which are no less valid, except of course I’m right and they’re wrong. So there.

To date 3 of us had decided to start up a new Group meeting in Stratford. I had discussed the idea with the old Area Networker for NE London, and he may have suggested Stratford as the place. Then in January I had had a long conversation with the new Area Networker, and she seemed pretty cool with the idea. Before the Esso picket I had emailed the Area Networker’s for Essex and SE London to see what they thought. At the Esso picket itself we had long conversations between the 3 ‘East Londoners’, the Area Networker for Essex, the group contact for Havering (part of the Essex Network) and the Area Networker for NE London.

Everyone happy, everyone consulted, new group in East London, lots more people going to get involved, more stuff going to happen, world now saved. Wrong.

Friday before last I had been in the office, and rather than get IT to create a new home page for the new group, we luckily discovered that the home page for the old East London network still existed, so we just reactivated that and I edited it back into shape, cross linking it with the Essex network as well as London NE and London SE.

That way everyone is encouraged to check out what’s going on all over East London, and neighbouring areas, good idea eh? Unfortunately not.

So Saturday I didn’t have any plans, and I knew the Essex network were looking to expand there activities into Hertfordshire at Bishops Stortford. Last year they had expanded into Kent, and had set up 3 new groups there. The Essex networker was also looking for a climate campaign to support and Bishops Stortford was a good place to try and get people to sign the airport pledge.

So we’re all mates, and I thought I’d come along and help them out. Didn’t have much else to do, even if Bishops Stortford was a bit of a pain to get to from Hackney, especially if I go a stupid way, via bus to Liverpool Street.

Several hours of campaigning in the rain later, lots of pledge cards signed, campaign event considered a success, so we hit the pub. Couple of pints later, need to have a quick word with Essex networker to see how things are going. Then I get my head ripped off.

Wow! Don’t like getting abused, and especially not after a couple of pints, but hey the charm of NVDA training is you learn to keep your mouth shut, smile and nod.

His complaints seem to revolve around a conversation he’d had in the office, not with me, although I am apparently to blame. He’d been told that there was a new East London network and I was the new Area Networker. First thing I’d heard about my promotion. OK as a collective of people who were going to meet in Stratford, maybe one day we would be a network, but not yet and the idea seems a bit premature. Equally there is nothing wrong with the idea.

But as the Networker for Essex his view was that there isn’t room in East London for another Network, and that if there is going to be another group then it shouldn’t be called East London, as that confuses the issue with Havering (a London borough, part of the Essex network)

OK I’m confused now. What business of Essex is it, what happens in London? If Havering wants to be the East London Network then that’s cool, then they can call themselves that, but you can’t be part of the Essex network and the East London Network. OK you probably can, but they didn’t want to be. And more specifically you can’t forbid another group to call itself East London, if you don’t want to call yourself East London. Arrgghhh, and what difference does it make.

If there is a webpage called East London, then more people are going to get in touch, more people are going to get involved, and more stuff it going to happen. Still can’t see what’s wrong with that.

What’s especially frustrating is that as a volunteer, I have spent my time over days and weeks keeping Essex in the loop regarding what’s going on in London. I have built bridges and set up meetings to get everyone’s input into what’s going on. In the absence of any Greenpeace activity in East London I have published leaflets, emailed 1000’s and edited web pages to push anyone in East London towards Havering to help build there group. And now I get all this grief, because the office doesn’t consider them part of London, because they don’t get enough respect for what they do, and they don’t get to veto every decision in London, beyond there existing empire in Hertfordshire, Essex and Kent. And they still want to be part of the Essex network, not a London network, I mean what on earth…

Well bollocks to that.

More pythonesque, in fighting to follow.