Thanks to the Nannas for the invite to contribute a guest post on my one-year anniversary as a Sydney Knitting Nanna. I’m Nanna Purl and although I’m stuffed, I’m delighted to be here. Check out the video of my trial in the Peoples Court.
Who would’ve thought that when I asked a couple of old ladies in yellow T-shirts if there was a public toilet in Martin Place, twelve months on, I’d be arrested with them for entering enclosed non-agricultural lands, interfering with business, and assisting in obstructing a rail locomotive? (FYI it’s easier to find a place to wee at a railway siding than at Martin Place.)
Let’s get things straight. I do not enjoy interfering with anyone, let alone endangering them, (as the NSW Premier has said of people like me). But there comes a time when a retired go- go dancer with a lifelong fascination for irrigation says enough is enough. If people in “that place” won’t read and act on the science, and “business as usual” is allowed to continue, then those of us under 18 and over 65 will reluctantly have to intervene to protect the public. And now that the NSW Government has passed harsh undemocratic laws and made us criminals for an incident of peaceful protest, we have nothing left to lose. They have started a backfire in my undergrowth believe me.
The traditional Greek occasion toast “May your children outlive you” no longer feels comfortable when you are condemning your children to live in a world where slow cooked lamb can be made without using an oven. This offsets stuff is for fools. Everyone knows a salad for dinner after spanakopita and chips at lunch doesn’t bring your calories intake back to zero.
I too yearn for the time when the half-finished matinee jacket in my bag is as innocent as the baby it’s intended for and not as a cover for a stake out of a MP’s electoral office. I never imagined spending my sunset years re-tweeting horrific weather incidents and rising CO2 emissions that have made it impossible for me to think of traveling to New Zealand to meet up with a man I last saw in Primary School. Sadly, this is just part of what I have learnt since joining this craft-based group.
So, we call on our parliamentary representatives – give us a break? While the greedy and powerful laugh at your table we are out on the streets doing your job – that is alerting the public to what will happen if we don’t stop extracting gas and coal and instead commit to an equitable transition to renewables. Please take the time to listen and respond to us climate defenders. Especially listen to the science and First Nations People because they know what’s needed to heal this place.
Ending on a high note, my social life has really taken off since joining the climate action movement! I haven’t met this many people since 1985 and Signal is much easier to use than the other dating apps so that’s a positive.
Nanna Purl will join the Rally Against Repression on Saturday July 8. She won’t make the start at Pyrmont Bridge at 12pm, but will meet up with the Sydney Nannas along the way.