Saudades...

For anyone not proficient in portugese, this word doesn't have a direct translation in english but it perfectly describes the mixture of nostalgic sadness and warm fondness I'm feeling at the moment...
I've just arrived in Penrith having taken a day out of my itinerary to attend the leaving party of my dear friend Laura Myers in Hebden Bridge, at the house of one of my other dear friends, Leah Whitaker (who we are also currently congratulating on her acceptance to RADA - well done Leah!).
It meant being a bit naughty and jumping on a train to get there, not to mention the additional burden on my credit card bill, but it was the sort of gathering you can't put a price on. It's a big time of change for a lot of us personally; Laura's off to Canada indefinitely, others are moving to London, or preparing to travel to far off destinations; and in the context of the rapidly shifting world around us to be able to get together and mark these moments in the ever changing flux of our lives with dancing and drinking and camping and barbecues and big fires seems all the more precious...
And I know I'm getting a bit gushing now but I feel really blessed to have the support of so many beautiful people and next time I'm feeling miserable and tired and hungry and wondering why the hell I'm putting myself through it all I'll think back to last night, and all my other fond memories of friends and family, past and present, and draw strength from having such excellent companions in my little journey through life. So to all who've been reading this blog, and particularly leaving comments, thank you. Knowing you're out there makes every gruelling inch worthwhile. Ok, gush over, please dispose of your sick bags responsibly and return your seats to the upright position...
I'm staying tonight in the beautiful Bluebell Bookshop, which would be well worth a visit to Penrith alone. We stayed here on the G8 bike ride and the owner Derek has very kindly put me up again. It's a very progressive minded, lefty, socially/ecologically oriented place, and to top it off they do a great range of organic, fair-trade teas and coffees, and bookshop-made food, including freshly baked bread. Screw Waterstones, the world needs more Bluebells!
Tommorrow I cycle across the Lake District National Park to reach the Cumbrian coast where I will be visiting Sellafield before heading south to see a co-operatively owned wind farm, drop in to speak to the artistic director of Welfare State International and meet some anti nuclear activists. By the end of next week I will be back in Manchester for a little pit stop and to finalise the details of the last leg of my journey...
Although I'm doing a lot of head-work on the outcome of this project as the end of my journey draws ever closer, I'm trying not to worry too much about what will happen when I get back. As the scribble on the desk I'm sitting at says: 'Anticipation of the result stifles the process'.

photo fest

At long last! A splurge of photos of the last month of my journey... Not sure when I'll be able to post more so these'll have to do for now, they're not in much of an order but you can figure it out I'm sure...
Tomorrow I reluctantly leave Findhorn after spending nearly a week here having a much needed rest and reflection on all I've taken on-board over the last few weeks. The G8 experience has really re-framed things in my head and may have set me on a different course, but now I need to work out where that new direction might end up ultimately... Part of me just wants to leave theatre aside and go and be an activist, whilst part of me is aware that theatre can be direct action in itself and I've seen the effectiveness of increasingly creative responses to injustice, and even the use of traditional theatre forms as part of this such as clowning... (check out C.I.R.C.A). I've got a lot to think about... so it's just as well I've got a lot of hours in the saddle ahead of me to do just that!

On top of the Cairngorms! Have just worked out I can use the self timer button on my camera and my tripod so expect many more cheesy photos like this... And don't be fooled by the smile, it hides a world of pain!  

Oh flower of Scotland... 

My last night in Stirling. I wanted to get a picture of the American flag being burnt but it was a cheap plastic job and went up too quickly... probably made in ...? 

My lunch spot half way across the Cairngorms where I had a wee dip. Worth it. Just. 

Coming back from Glasgow the day after the end of the summit, musing about where Tony Blair's Africa/Climate Change agenda had ended up... and this sort of spoke to me!

The red on my face is paint courtesy of my make up artist here, the red on my chest is unfortunately courtesy of the sun. When will I learn?!  

Day 2 of the summit. We hold a kid's party in response to the sombre mood around the camp and have a great day in spite of the horrors around us... 

The first day of the summit. Don't know who these crazy characters are but the police look amused don't they? Don't they just. 

The artwork adorning the entrance to the convergence space in Stirling... how many plays on the number 8 can you cre8? 

Rinky Dink Sound System at the Make Poverty History rally... Aren't they a colourful bunch?! 

Grangemouth oil refinery. Another glowing image of the future of fossil fuel economies... 

Tired bunny rabbits 

'We'd better be going the right way cos I'm not going back down that hill!' 

Knackered cyclists celebrate their arrival in Lanark by making percussion instruments out of bikes, beer cans and wheelbarrows. Crazy. 

The official finish line at Talamh community in Lanark, from there on it was uncharted G8 territory... who knew what was in store?! 

Cracking open a bottle of Scotch to celebrate my 1000th mile... one of the highlights I previously forgot to mention, but one of the best! The monument is one of 1000 milestones erected around Scotland, so rather convenient it was there really... 

Gettin all blued up to cross the Scottish border! 

Local people just don't like wind farms! 

The ancient stone circle at 9 ladies where we stayed with a bunch of about 30 activists who've been living in tree houses for the last 5 years to stop the reactivation of quarries in that area, not road building as I previously mentioned. Still means big diggers ripping up the countryside though don't it?! 

Critical Mass hits Manchester's Canal St. 

James argues with the life guard about why he should be allowed to swim in a public lake... This was shortly before we stormed the water in an impromptu critical splash action. 

The insides of Pedals, our mobile sound system... she might not look like much but she sure packs a punch! 

One of the lads from Coventry Peace House, and Dillon, the youngest (and probably cutest) member of our contingent... 

Closing down Coventry Airport, and having a few words about its illegal expansion... 

Redfield Community and Low Impact Living Initiative where we stopped for the first night... outside, not in unfortunately! 

The G8 Bike Ride leaves London on the hottest day of the year... and promptly gets lost! 

BedZed - A truly inspirational answer to the problem of high density sustainable housing (ZED stands for Zero Emissions Development, Bed is short for Beddington which is in Surrey) John Prescott should get out of his jag(s) and have a look... 

One of the most fascinating photos I've ever taken, I'm sure you'll agree! This is at a camp site in Northamptonshire, a possible warning of things to come if our summers keep getting hotter?  

The lovely Islington Ecology Centre... slightly overshadowed by the new Arsenal stadium being built next door but well worth a wander nonetheless... 

Renewably powered traffic signs! Leicester council are sooo progressive... (Well it was the country's first environment city) 

Eggborough coal fired power station. Beautiful eh? Let's build lots more of these... and no more ugly wind farms. 

Heeley City Farm in Sheffield, one of the best of the many amazing urban farms in the UK, providing inner city young people and adults with life enhancing encounters with nature through agriculture, animal husbandry, alternative energy etc. Visit your local one now! 

World Naked Bike Ride! As you can see, not everyone was getting into the spirit... 

But some were very colourful! 

Just to prove I was (at least half) naked... 

Finding Findhorn

Well the Cairngorms and the scorching weather did their best to kill me but I made it and am now chilling out in one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to.
My first day's cycling from Stirling, after leaving the declining camp and the last few stragglers from the bike ride group, was relatively light - about 60 miles but no killer hills. I camped in a farmer's field just outside of Blairgowrie against a spectacular sunset and spent the evening readjusting to my own company.
The next day will go down as probably the best and worst day of the whole trip so far. I'd decided to do two days in one in order to be able to spend more time up here, which meant doing nearly 70 miles and climbing four hills marked with chevrons on the map (for those uninitiated with OS, read: bloody steep!).
The first, known locally as 'The Elbow' as it climbs up around a big mountain, was a toughie - you know you're in for hard work when you see the signs offering ski hire! This took me to Braemar in the heart of the Cairngorms, where I stopped for lunch and had an amazing swim in an impossibly beautiful river. The next hill after lunch was as long as it was steep, and the following one was a 1:5 gradient that felt like cycling vertical. It was nearly 7pm by then and I was wondering how I'd make it up the next one, but it never came! I'd already climbed it thinking it was part of one of the others (my map's not very detailed...) and just sailed down hill all the way to a great youth hostel, a shower, and a real bed!
The next day, a mere 40 odd miles, was still pretty hard work - legs tired and battling the coastal wind coming off the Moray Firth I was rapidly approaching. I had a great evening of doing nothing when I arrived in Forres at the house of my former English teacher who has very kindly let me use it while I'm here...
So now I'm spending a few days getting to know the Findhorn community and local area. I was lucky enough to meet the artistic director of the arts centre here when I was in Edinburgh, and she was also at Stirling so I've had a good introduction already and everyone has been exceptionally welcoming and friendly. The community began with two people, a caravan, a garden and lots of meditating and grew rapidly in the 60s when all the hippies heard about the amazing garden that had flourished and started moving here. There are now about 180 people in the community itself and many hundreds more in the nearby village who work and volunteer for the foundation. So far I have seen various different meeting/meditation/ritual spaces, a community centre, arts centre, cafe, amazing shop, and an out-door wood-fired hot tub! I'm meeting someone today to talk about the sustainability side of things in more detail but I've also noticed wind turbines and a 'living machine' that processes everyone's sewage and grey water (shower, washing etc) using natural mechanisms like reed beds. They even have their own local currency! Accomodation ranges from 70's prefabs to caravans to houses made out of old whisky barrels to the very latest in eco housing technology. And the people, and their spiritual practices, are even more diverse than the dwellings they live in, although meditation is a common thread that links everyone here. It's a fascinating place, and one I'm glad I've given myself a decent amount of time to explore properly. There was a big pot luck dinner at one of the women's caravans here last night, and when I mentioned I hadn't decided when I was leaving yet they all replied 'yeah, that's what we said too!' So if you don't see me some time soon, you know where to find me...

Solidarity

My brief respite in Edinburgh and the luxuries of staying in a flat are now over and it's back to campsites and warehouse floors. I left on tuesday having avoided the violence there on monday, only to encounter more 'riots' when I reached Stirling. Most of this violence is of course heavily provoked by police and blown out of proportion by the media, but a majority of protesters I spoke to, still condemn those who spoil the party by throwing their toys out of the pram... (Even if they are only throwing them through the windows of the outlets of multinationals, it still doesn't make sense to trash the town that's hosting you and give the police more reason to be heavy handed...) Anyway, if you do want to see a perspective on the protests from a source unsullied by the vested interests of mainstream media, check out Indymedia or Schnews, both excellent sites of 'honest' reporting...
For the last few days I've been staying at the rural convergence space in Stirling, a huge tented village organised into neighbourhoods or 'barrios' responsible for cooking, cleaning, caring for and entertaining its inhabitants. The place is mostly (but not entirely) run off biodiesel generators and wind turbines, has medical tents, an independent media centre and even a solar powered cinema! I was really amazed by it all and was sorry to leave the convivial community atmosphere created there.
The first day of the summit saw a load of our bike posse (excluding me unfortunately) get right to the gates of Gleneagles, holding up all the press and workers in the process and creating a lot of media attention. I spent the day riding around trying to give support to those blockading the road, and then running away from the police as they took exception to us holding up both lanes of the A9 back to Stirling! All good honest fun...
And then Thursday morning came, with the news that riot cops had arrived in the night and penned us in at camp and that several explosions had occurred on the London transport system. Needless to say the mood was very sombre, despite the radiant sunshine, and we struggled to maintain the active optimism and triumphant feeling of the previous day. Then Tony (who built our sound system) and I decided to hold a kid's party, as there were a few birthdays on site. We wheeled the system around the camp with a band of musicians and had soon gathered a pied-piperesque stream of kids and parents to the tune of teddy bears picnic and winnie the pooh. We partied all afternoon, with pass the parcel, musical statues and face painting and in the circumstances it was about the best thing we could have done.
In the evening we held a midnight candlelit vigil, silently seated at the feet of the police as we mourned for those lost in London, and all the others around the world who lost their lives that day as a result of terrorism, be it autonomous, state sponsored, environmental or economic. It was one of the most powerful moments of my journey so far, punctured only slightly by a really bad rendition of 'Imagine'!
So now I'm in Glasgow, having come here yesterday for a fun but vaguely ineffectual protest against the M74 extension, but followed by a good party in the park and an amazing ride back to our crash space, half cut, tunes blaring and accompanied by fireworks!
I'm about to start on the next stage of my journey, leaving my new friends and heading off to cross the Cairngorm mountains up to Forres near Inverness to visit the Findhorn Foundation and Eco-Village community. It'll be sad leaving such an amazing bunch of people who've been my family for the last couple of weeks, but I'm ready to strike off on my own now, and have just about got the bugs out of my system in preparation... Next news from the other side of some big ole mountains!
And to all in London or with friends or family there, my thoughts are with you and I hope you are holding up. God bless.

Embra

Things have moved so fast I haven't even kept up with events in my diary, let alone online... I'll catch up soon and post some more photos but in the mean time here's a quick installment as I grab half an hour in an internet cafe in the beautiful city of Edinburgh... However, if you want to know some more about the last two weeks of my journey from some of the other cyclists I've been with go to g8bikeride.blogspot.com for accounts and lots of photos...
We arrived in Embra last night after officially ending the g8 bike ride in Lanark the day before. From here some of us are staying in town, some have gone to Glasgow and will be blockading the Faslane military base on monday, and some have headed up to the convergence space in Stirling which is the closest to the summit that large groups of protesters can get to, although there will be a protest meeting in gleneagles station on tuesday, not sure how that will go but could be interesting...
I missed the big Make Poverty History march today due to an agressive stomach bug that at least half the group contracted in Lanark, although I did venture out in the afternoon and caught some of the bands playing in the park, and then managed to find a street party where people were playing capoeira and couldn't resist getting involved... then I came to get some food in a cafe and ended up sitting next to some people who live at Findhorn which is my next stop after the summit... And THEN a guy came up to me who'd seen me playing capoeira in the street and we got chatting about my project, and he was telling me how he'd cycled around Argentina to prepare for a film he acted in. I enquired which film, he replied 'The Motorcycle Diaries', I asked who he played - 'Che Guevera'! Shit, I can't believe I didn't recognise one of my favourite actors! He was cool though, really sound guy and we had a nice chat. It's amazing the little bits of synchronicity I keep chancing upon...
Anway, I don't really have time to describe all of the last two weeks, except a few highlights such as stopping for lunch by a lake on the way from Nottingham to Nine Ladies and chasing off the guy in the speedboat who tried to make us get out of the water. We called it Critical Splash!
Nine Ladies was a highlight in itself actually, a protest camp in the Peak District where about 30 people have lived in tree houses for the last 5 years to stop the Government building a big fat road through a site of special scientific interest and an ancient stone circle...
Then there was Critical Mass in Manchester which was the most fun yet, a massive turnout and great to be back in my home city for the night. After a restful stop in Lancaster we cycled straight to Penrith, bypassing Carlisle, where we slept in a beautiful bookshop.
The next day we crossed the border en masse singing 'Flower of Scotland' at the top of our lungs, substituting 'proud Edward's army' for Tony's of course! There was a picture of us in the Telegraph too if anyone wants to look it up - weds 29th. We camped rough in a forest in Lockerbie that night and got eaten alive by midges, though we were able to keep them at bay a bit more once we got to Lanark as we could make a fire there; you're not allowed in Forestry Comission areas and the police have been paying us special attention - purely because they're concerned for our safety of course! Some have actually been quite friendly, even helping us out when we've been lost, but it's kind of anathema to a fossil fuel protest ride to have a police escort!
Although it's been frustrating at times being with a large group of people and all the inconveniences that entails, they're a fantastic bunch and I'm going to miss my new friends when I leave them next week. It'll be an adjustment to being on my own again; you take so much encouragement and energy from cycling in a group, and especially when the sound system is pumping even the toughest hill can feel like a doddle.
I have some great times ahead though, more beautiful scenery, more fascinating people and communities to visit and be a temporary part of, and more daily challenges in the form of hills, hunger, headwinds and heaving too much bloody kit around!
I'm looking forward to getting home but I'm going to miss being on the road and all the freedom it brings. But we have some people from New York in the group who have mooted the idea of riding from there to Montreal, and then of course there's the next G8 meeting... in Russia! Bring it on...