Here in the UK (and beyond) you may have heard about Antony Gormley’s Fourth Plinth art project called ‘One & Other‘. The project involves a different member of the public standing on the empty Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square every hour, 24 hours a day, for 100 days to make a living monument. Each individual may use their hour on the plinth as they wish.

Here in Nottinghamshire a local artist and actress, Hazel Ellerby-Sansom, has been chosen to stand on the plinth on Wednesday 12th August at 3pm. Hazel has decided that she wants to spend her time celebrating women of the East Midlands (UK) and the traditional craft of patchwork.

So, Hazel wants women of the East Midlands to create patchwork squares which will be sewn together to make a quilt. She will display the quilt on the plinth whilst reading out a message for each square. After its time on the fourth plinth the quilt will travel around art galleries in the East Midlands and will finally be auctioned off with the proceeds going to charity. Details of art galleries, dates of auction etc are still to be confirmed as this will be an ongoing project.

If you’re a woman living in the East Midlands of the UK (it really does need to be the East Midlands only please) then how about you send a green message from the Fourth Plinth? All you need to do is create a patchwork square sized 12″ x 12″ of any design with a short message attached. Tell London and the world about how important the environment is to you. Keep it short though (just a few words) as Hazel only has an hour to read them all out.

Please send your completed square (one per person please) to Hazel Ellerby-Sansom, 17a Fisher Lane, Bingham, Nottinghamshire, NG13 8BQ by 1st August to be displayed on the plinth. Hazel will accept squares after this date for the quilt’s longer term plans but they may not be included in the plinth display.

I’ll be making my patchwork square this weekend and I’m very excited to be involved!

The Fourth Plinth project began on 6th July and will end on 14th October 2009. You can watch the footage 24/7 online at www.oneandother.co.uk.

Attention all East Midlands (UK) based GGG readers!

You are cordially invited to an East Midlands Day of Action on the Climate Change Bill outside East Midlands Airport on Saturday April 12^th from 1.30 until 3 p.m.

What’s it all about?

Since Friends of the Earth launched the Big Ask campaign in June 2005 we’ve made amazing progress towards securing binding climate change legislation in Britain. The Government has introduced a Climate Change Bill which will become law in 2008. However the Bill they propose is not strong enough to realise the carbon dioxide emission cuts that are needed to ensure global emissions are kept below dangerous levels.

For this reason Friends of the Earth are now campaigning to see 3 key amendments in the Bill:

· An increase in the overall target for 2050 to 80 per cent CO₂ reductions;

· The inclusion of the UK’s share of international aviation and shipping emissions;

· The adoption of annual targets rather than 5 year budgets. 

What are the aims?

We need to highlight the need for ALL emissions to be included in the Climate Change Bill and show how Gordon Brown and his government are wilfully ignoring the impact of international aviation emissions.  We need to generate as much local media coverage as possible. MPs carefully monitor the local press and coverage and it really does influence the decisions they make. With an impending vote on the Climate Change Bill this coverage could make all the difference.

What’s the Plan?

We’d like to get as many people as possible posing outside the airport wearing Gordon Brown masks with their hands over their eyes, as the planes fly overhead. The image is intended to show how Gordon Brown is wilfully ignoring international aviation.  We have already received support from Members of Parliament across the region and David Taylor MP for North West Leicestershire will also be joining us on the day.

How do I get involved?

We will provide all the masks and props for the day but we need you to register your attendance by contacting callie.lister@foe.co.uk or calling 0115 9506 926, this will allow us to alert the press in advance as to how many Gordon Browns they can expect outside the airport! If you can please wear a dark suit and tie for an even better Gordon Brown effect!

You can find information about public transport to the airport by clicking here.

We will meet by the airport sign outside the front of the airport at 1.30 p.m. (please be very careful if you are crossing the roads near the airport as they are very busy and the traffic travels incredibly fast). If you need to contact us on the day for any reason you can call 07831 648 171 – but please do register your attendance in advance.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any queries,

Thank you

Callie Lister

Friends of the Earth Regional Campaigns Co-ordinator

East Midlands Region