Loads of pictures in this version
Some of the very first journalism about environmental issues I ever did was for the magazine Resurgence. So I was delighted to be able to join the celebrations at the weekend - Wadham College, Oxford, opened their doors to so many fascinating people. All I had to do was take photographs (lots of photographs!)
The event was also a celebration of their long-time editor/figurehead - Satish Kumar - who turned 90 recently. I have know Satish for 30 years - initially with a sense of awe. Famously he did an 8000 mile walk for peace, starting in June 1962, taking with him no money, relying, as a pilgrim, on the kindness of strangers. He also took packets of ‘peace tea’ - delivered to world leaders in Moscow, Paris, London, and Washington.
The story is captured in his book, No Destination.
The awe was softened as his humanity was revealed - kind and energetic. Occasionally he, and Resurgence, drift a little into the Straits of Woo - where I fear I get very quickly lost. But underneath there remains a solid bedrock of critical thinking - with a great aesthetic sense. Words and images are chosen with care.
The event was filled with supporters and contributors - and some very high profile names. It had been too long since I last spent time with Mya-Rose Craig - we first met when she was about 12, I think. Even then it was clear that ‘Bird Girl’ was someone very interesting! Now she is 24, with an honorary Doctorate, books published, and many, many birds seen!
She is a brilliant spokesperson for nature and held her own on a platform with Jackie Morris (yes, the artist and all round superstar) and Satish. As I watched her talk with confidence and wisdom beyond her years I spent a dismal moment thinking back to me at that age …
I got to catch up with Jackie the following day as she was holding court in the Weston Library in Oxford - they have an exhibition featuring lots of her work there, in conjunction with the stunning new work she has done with Rob Macfarlane - The Book of Birds. She was painting the fore edge of the books with golden feathers.
Next up was another formidable panel - Areeba Hamid, the co-lead of Greenpeace, Caroline Lucas, and Jonathon Porritt. They were gently directed by Hugh Fearnely-Whittingstall. It was the first time I have seen Areeba in action and was suitably impressed. Greenpeace may have lost some of the attention they used to command, but there is still a steely determination.
I think Porritt was one of the first people I ever interviewed for the radio - doing a piece for Radio 4 about the roads protests of the mid 90s … you know that idea of older people becoming more conservative … wow, none of that in evidence here. He is 76 - an elder of the environmental movement and a knight of the realm - and is even angrier than he was before. Oh, and has been arrested as a terrorist.
I have had the good fortune to meet and interview Caroline Lucas on a number of occasions and love the heart she brings with her rigorous analysis.
Take a look at the dodgy-dealers buying up political parties and the main media outlets, and the feeble nature of those who are supposed to be ensuring we do not tip into hell in a handcart - and then look to the people who spoke at this event. Who would do us, and the world, better service?
Lunch came from my old friend Will Pouget and his team at the Vaults and Garden - really wonderful food too!
Workshops took people around the college and further afield into Oxford - and we all came back for the main event - the BIG FIGHT - apples vs tomatoes!!!
So - now - which would you choose if there could be only one?
Obviously this was a lighthearted dive into these amazing fruits - with Livia Giuggioli Firth on the side of the tomato, and Hugh F-W speaking up for the apples. Many different varieties of both were there for us to try and Hugh had a blind-tasting of a number of sauces.
There is no tomato cider. There is no apple sauce (that works so well with pasta). Would love to hear your thoughts!
Before the close there was a moment to enjoy time sitting at the feet of one of our great poets, Alice Oswald. She managed to project both strength and vulnerability - I am sure that most of us would have sat there for hours, listening to her magical weave of words.
I came away from the event with an awful lot of photos to edit - remember, the substack version of this piece has loads more on show - and some thoughts. First up was how much they clearly missed out on not having me talk about hedgehogs! But pushing my ego to one side for now, really it was about the value of both kindness and good thinking.
Yes, it was a celebration, and yes, we were all pulled together by a common love. Even so, there were many differences, but the differences did not lead to rancour - just to deeper conversation. The wisdom of some who were present stood in stark contrast to many of our current leaders. And the kindness, even more so. Has kindness been beaten out of us? Was there a kinder time? Can we reestablish a kinder world?
Just to finish, a poem, not from Alice, but from Wendell Berry who died a couple of weeks ago - it spoke to me about the process of aging - me, Resurgence, Satish - daily with ‘less reason not to give yourself away’
“No, no, there is no going back.
Less and less you are
that possibility you were.
More and more you have become
those lives and deaths
that have belonged to you.
You have become a sort of grave
containing much that was
and is no more in time, beloved
then, now, and always.
And so you have become a sort of tree
standing over a grave.
Now more than ever you can be
generous toward each day
that comes, young, to disappear
forever, and yet remain
unaging in the mind.
Every day you have less reason
not to give yourself away.”
Sabbaths, 1993, I by Wendell Berry