Three out of four of us

Another long day ending a longer week.  This afternoon we cleared out the pop-up shop, where the Neighbourhood Plan displays have been presented to the public since Monday.  Then it went into the cars, mostly in mine, and moved a hundred yards up the road to Lansdown Hall where we set it all up again for the final event tomorrow from 10am till 2pm.

The core group of five of us managed a quick drink in a new bar  just along the road before some of us set off for the Brunel Goods Shed.  It  was the opening night of the Stroud Film Festival being hosted by Stroud Valleys Artspace who have taken over the lease of the shed from the Preservation Trust.  I just realised that three of the Trustees who had previously regenerated the shed, are also key members of the Neighbourhood Plan team, and we all went to the Festival as well.

The first film of the two week festival was going to be a silent film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, with a select group of musicians called 'Minima' playing the accompanying soundtrack.  I wasn't going to watch the main film but I'd been asked to attend the opening as the three winning films of the Short Film contest organised by the Festival for local filmmakers were going to be played at the start of the evening.

Philip B., Ben and I had made a film last summer following the action day organised by Jaine Rose called 'Wool against Weapons', which I blipped about several times including the eventual day of action, when the seven mile long pink knitted scarf was unrolled from Aldermaston to Burghfield.  I will add some links below which explain more about it.

Tonight the four of us went up to collect the award and a cheque  and then the film was projected to the large audience.  Jaine brought along a piece of the knitted scarf, which of course says 'Peace' on it.  It felt really good to stand in that old Goods Shed and watch a motley band of Stroud people, and many others, on the film which we made together.  The only other time I have been in a similar situation was when Helen Fletcher and I made a film telling the history of the United Nations which was shown during the ceremony of the 50th Anniversary celebration in Westminster Hall, London, where the UN had first met in 1946.

Next week Philip and I are running another Film Festival event celebrating the award for local films on Stroud Community TV.  I've now got to get the technical side sorted out, so no peace for the next few days.  Maybe after that?

ps
I got my laptop back today with a brand new Retina screen, and I didn't have to pay.  Yay!


Jaine at Aldermaston

with various links in the text

Jaine blipped in her garden