PETITION CLOSED AT LAST - our week of complete inactivity starts today!
My 398 UK supporters and 423 overall (subscribed and non-subscribed),
Thank you all for helping me through a very difficult spring with constantly seeing “Easter on the wrong date” everywhere, you truly helped me and I have a tear in my eye. All of my other petitions and side projects will also remain closed during our campaign hiatus.
The moment I have been longing for has finally arrived, and have had an email confirming my ads have officially finished their views, this means that, at last, I can officially lock my petition and conclude Phase 1 at 423 signatures.
From today until Wednesday 12th August, this petition is completely blocked and is no longer accepting any new signatures with the ‘sign petition’ button completely disabled!
Locking my beloved petition was an extremely difficult decision and certainly not one taken lightly, but I HAVE TO ACCEPT DEFEAT and have literally run out of new UK supporters interested in supporting the cause because the platform ads have unfairly mostly been feeding the petition back to my existing support base (rather than new supporters) due to an unfair design flaw which immediately needs to be fixed (which is why I have started my brand new petition deliberately targeting change.org itself and Ben Rattray as a decision maker), which has seen a very sharp increase in momentum after a slow start now standing at a comfortable 23 signatures although intentionally frozen like all my petitions for my week off).
This petition’s overall momentum has been steady, it has only really been in the last month after comfortably passing 379 signatures at our original pace, that momentum generally started to deteriorate. Up until we hit 396 signatures we were actually receiving at least 1 new signature daily which is why seeing my signature counter repeatedly get stuck was even more distressing to look at.
Although we managed to break the 422 signature freeze on July 28th after being stuck there for five consecutive days, momentum has generally been significantly slower than earlier in the campaign so this break of no paid ads or being marked as ‘active’ is absolutely needed after five gruelling months of costly non-stop campaigning which has finally caught up with me and has taken its toll!
As a campaigner having been with change.org since ‘boring’ 2023, I understand that not having a Facebook page or any other social media account is a MAJOR DISADVANTAGE, as I have to rely wholly on using change.org’s paid promotion tools in order to gather signatures. Having access to those social media accounts would make it so much easier to bypass the dreaded “UK echo chamber” I have ended up in and naturally gain international traction and reach higher signature milestones significantly faster without having to rely solely on change.org’s paid promotions; I acknowledge that this is precisely why some petitions can easily reach 1,000 signatures days after launch and as an analogy, it’s like being in a job which requires driving when you (the applicant) don’t have a driver’s licence, I literally cannot campaign for free!
change.org needs to GROW UP, acknowledge that its supposedly “global” scope setting IS A LIE and also be clear about this on its website for neurodivergent independent campaigners like myself who take these things literally. It then it needs to fix its localised/localized algorithmic flaws which is what my new spinoff petition aims to address, currently sitting at 23 signatures during an intentional freeze.
This campaign ABSOLUTELY DOES need to have supporters from the UK, particularly from Scotland where school and bank holidays are different from the rest of the country, however a 94% UK support base is like EXCESS BODY FAT and is very unhealthy for the campaign!
Our campaign’s timeline:
February 27th – petition created!
March 25th – 100 signatures reached
April 13th – 200 signatures reached
May 9th – 300 signatures reached
June 18th – 400 signatures reached
By New Year’s Eve (December 31st) – Hope to hit 500 signatures
Intentionally locked at 423 signatures with the page completely blocked for new signatures during our temporary campaign hiatus from paid promotions following a severe deterioration in momentum (though a nice number because we have exactly 99 more signatures than the Orthodox petition created exactly 2 days before mine, which is now completely stuck and which we surpassed in mid-May at our original pace).
After the 1,000 signature milestone is reached, our symbolic targets will be 1,569 (the total tally of my successful campaign), 1,818, then 1,983, then 2,010 and 2,285 signatures!
Status of my other campaigns:
For reference, my spinoff meta-campaign is intentionally frozen at 23 signatures after a good start (recently seeing a strong uptick in momentum) and my unrelated secondary “salt on an open wound” rival petition about a London-based cause is intentionally locked at 233 signatures (a milestone this petition easily reached without any issues) after that one itself hit 100 signatures on February 20th eleven days after launch and 200 signatures recently on July 20th).
I deliberately blocked it and cut my nose off to spite my face because I couldn’t bear to see its signature count go up without my active promotion seeing recent strong momentum after stagnant growth (putting it at the very front of the visibility queue and a looming deadline), while this Easter petition was simultaneously completely stuck and despite it being another one of MY OWN petitions, I NEVER want it to surpass the signature count of this Easter petition - that is also that very same petition that has received signatures from Canada and American Samoa (this petition has zero signatures from either of those countries)!
The only one of my previous petitions that had more signatures overall than this one was the successful one about a UK cause which I declared victory on with exactly 1,564 UK supporters and 5 international ones, which I successfully won without social media because my existing supporters shared it, promoted it and there were other campaigns for the exact same cause, thereby saving money and causing a huge spike in momentum after struggling to reach 1,300 signatures (this was my main campaign after painstakingly converting all those Busy Bee diaries).
I am worried that because of my behavior/behaviour in my early July updates that some of my supporters may have opted out of receiving my campaign update emails. I did not behave that way out of malice (notice the name in bold and italic), I was just frustrated about finding out about my campaign’s true global reach and declining momentum after faster growth earlier in the campaign with the platform prioritizing/prioritising trending topics such as petitions about PM Andy Burnham protecting children from the summer heatwaves and banning Argentina from the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
Lack of recognition:
This lack of Orthodox holiday recognition is so hidden and unrecognised that most people are completely unaware of it, including those retailers who are paid to clear out all seasonal stock. I would have to physically be in a shop and tell those retailers exactly what they are doing just to point the problem out and I reckon most of my 94% UK supporters probably only learned about Orthodox holidays solely through my campaign updates this lack of recognition is so bad I physically have to point the problem out!
While I was stressing over a rare calendar alignment, through my research I learned that real people were stressing about failing exams because of school calendars not aligning with Orthodox holidays and real people were being penalised for unauthorised/unauthorized absences from school – therefore advocating for better Orthodox inclusivity and recognition in seven populous English speaking countries including the UK became the major secondary goal of my entire movement.
The UK is just one of seven English speaking countries which fails to recognise Orthodox holidays, therefore 50% of UK supporters are needed for the petition to succeed in it’s UK-specific goals including supporters in Scotland where school/bank holidays are different to the rest of the UK, however this petition cannot succeed in its primary goal of Fixing Easter to March 22nd if we have 94% of all supporters based in the UK.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSPfqBNqc7Q - I found this 2021 YouTube video from an Orthodox Christian resident in Glasgow, which is evidence that Orthodox Christians live in Scotland and that their holidays are ignored by the UK and Scottish governments!
General:
Petitions are not always the best choice if you want to see small minor changes, for example if you live on a small Cul-de-Sac with just 20 residents and someone is fly tipping at the end of the road or if you want the road resurface, emailing the council and complaining about those issues is the best option instead of a petition as there is no point creating a petition about a small street with only 20 residents!
This petition about Christmas cards, despite the time of year, is actively being promoted now, which is evidence that this petition needs signatures year-round.
It is now "Awful August", generally my least favourite/favourite month of the year and my second least favorite/favourite month of 2026 after “Awful April”. This is the month (for those in the Northern hemisphere) that daylight really starts to noticeably deteriorate, meaning winter really is on its way having to adjust to the earlier sunset times after enjoying post-9pm sunsets roughly since “Reddit Day” in May for UK residents.
This petition, launched in March 2026, has followed a very similar growth trajectory to mine throughout its first few months and passed its own 400 signature milestone at a similar time to mine, however it has since overtaken my total signature count and could easily have over 100 more signatures than mine – PLEASE DON’T SIGN IT AS IT WILL MAKE THE SIGNATURE DISCREPANCY EVEN HIGHER!!
https://www.change.org/p/bin-strikes-in-birmingham-need-to-be-stopped?source_location=search
Watching this petition pull in over 50 more signatures than mine has really hurt because it’s growth trajectory was very similar to my own and hit 400 signatures at roughly the same time as mine because I feel my petition “should” have the same number of signatures as the bin strike petition!
Because the bin strike petition isn’t mine I cannot close it and seeing it reach 500 signatures will be like seeing “Easter on the wrong date” in shops, I explicitly want the creator of the bin strike petition (Emma Tucker) to close it so my petition can catch up, I’m so jealous and I have lost the signature race!
While I did miss my first initial target to reach 100 signatures by March 22nd, momentum was smooth at that time hitting the milestone only three days later and we reached all our other targets on time without any stalls until we hit 396 in June, just managing to hit 400 before June 21st.
The “high speed train” analogy:
Think of being on a train, in January the train is moving at 10mph but the train (daylight) is accelerating meaning high speeds (summer) are/it on its way. In August the train is moving at 50mph but the brakes are on, meaning that slower speeds and a dead stop (winter) is on its way.
Although August overall has more daylight than January (50mph is faster than 10mph), you are having to rapidly adjust to earlier sunsets (which is harder to adjust to) whereas in January, you are already well adjusted to the early sunsets and summer really is on its way.
I want to, but know I can’t launch a change.org petition/campaign to stop the days from getting shorter!
(EDIT) - Actually I have done just that despite knowing it will fail, with the direct link here https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-days-from-getting-shorter-keep-9pm-sunsets-forever - Here is the direct link to a fun petition for you all to sign, it’s a fun petition to STOP THE DAYS FROM GETTING SHORTER, though I obviously know it will fail but please sign anyway! It is visible despite having less than 5 signatures because I have provided is a direct link to it in this Easter petition update, it will be ready for signatures once our campaign closure ends on Wednesday 12th August.
I use all these analogies in my updates to help the neurotypical public understand just how my brain works and the way I see the world.
Other:
https://www.volunteeringkingston.org.uk/organisation-spotlight-larch-club/ - Here is info about the social autism club I attend. As someone on the autistic spectrum, I receive DLA (Disability Living Allowance) benefits so must use that money wisely and not all on this petition, though most of the money I have used to chip-in has come from my savings account to save money for things such as groceries, toiletries, my social life (the Larch club activities), having a pint at the pub and automatic Oyster card top-ups as a regular rail and bus commuter!
As a way to gain signatures organically and faster without my constant promotions which I heavily and constantly rely on, I would like a direct link to the petition posted on international autism forums, YouTube channels and autism websites in an effort to get the international neurodivergent community to sign – if any of you could do that that will be really helpful as I cannot continue campaigning without a “driver’s licence” social media page!
I have permanently abandoned the “global” scope because it is a lie and regardless of how many signatures we get by New Year’s Eve, this will certainly be one of the most unusual and unique change.org petitions of 2026.
I have been following an Australian campaigner, Brodie Marschall, who runs multiple petitions like myself and he issues “emergency updates” whenever his petitions get stuck. Despite loving my Easter petition, I chipped in to help one of his petitions surpass 404 signatures after it got stuck there for three months solid (marked as active), and gave him an international signature from the UK despite the petition not being related to my cause because I had just past 400 signatures, having just discovered my CSV spreadsheets and at that time had just suffered the 396/398 traps, knowing just how frustrating it is when a petition gets stubbornly stuck, giving him the support I so desperately need at the moment (ending a long signature drought and providing him international signatures). I helped his own petition reach 422 signatures, the exact figure mine was stuck at from July 23rd to 28th.
UK supporters, please sign this petition -
Because I really don’t like August, I am watching that ‘infamous’ Alice in Wonderland apron video again which I haven’t seen since "Awful April" and will throughout our week off, although her channel has since been renamed to Miranda Shaffer. In most years I prefer April to August because of the declining daylight, this year however both months I hate equally!
I have removed the Union Jack image from my early update titled “I’m going to be famous to celebrating Easter on March 22 2026!” and have removed an image of Australia in my March update titled “2026 – The Year of Three Easters”, though we do have THREE, yes three, random signatures from Myanmar. I did know about the Julian calendar and its leap year pattern before coming across the Reddit post.
Leaking my true identity:
The closest I will reveal about my true identify is that my real first name is six letters long and is specifically either Roland, Robert or Ronald (NOT Rowan). My real surname is either Ashcroft, Ashfield or Ashworth and I will reveal that my real middle name is Miles.
I have short brown hair, grey eyes and am approximately 5 feet 7 inches tall and as a general description of my face, I have been told that I look like Buzz from Home Alone, so if any of you can find a YouTube video of Buzz from Home Alone, that is a general description of what I look like!
My real date of birth is 22nd February 1993, hence I celebrated my 33rd birthday exempt from my Lenten fast as it was a Sunday, exactly four weeks before “Easter” and six weeks before Alice in Wonderland Day which I hated.
Therefore, from the possible options listed above, one of those nine listed names below is my TRUE identity!
Roland Miles Ashcroft
Robert Miles Ashcroft
Ronald Miles Ashcroft
Roland Miles Ashfield
Robert Miles Ashfield
Ronald Miles Ashfield
Roland Miles Ashworth
Robert Miles Ashworth
Ronald Miles Ashworth
One of those nine names above is the true identity of “Mr Easter”, the Easter campaigner who hated seeing “Easter on the wrong date”!
We will reopen for signatures once again on Wednesday 12th August 2026 and I’m absolutely not abandoning this campaign.
Ro---- Miles Ash-----!