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WILPF UK takes part in Wool Against Weapons

On 9 August 2014, the minibus holding Orpington WILPF branch, Bromley CND and others from further afield set off for the Rainbow AWE Burghfield milestone to join our part of a knitted/crocheted scarf to the many other pieces coming from all parts of the UK and beyond.  The aim: to join the atomic nuclear weapons factories of Aldermaston and Burghfield with a pink seven-mile longscarf knitted and crocheted by people from all over the world.

The weather was very kind to us and upon arrival we shortly found a stretch of road that needed a bit of scarf to join a gap.  By 1.00pm word had been passed down the line that we had exceeded the 7-mile length objective and the scarf had joined the two weapons factories.

As planned, at 1.00pm there was a reflective silence followed by bell ringing before we cut the stitches holding our length of scarf to others on either side and began to carry it back towards the Rainbow AWE Burghfield milestone.  Along the way we noticed a WaW/CND pinwheel awaiting collection, so we rolled up our own piece to lay it by its side.  A pinwheel is 40 metres of scarf rolled up – just enough for one person to carry.

We were not the only WILPF group at this national event; Brighton Branch were at the opposite end of the scarf at Rainbow AWE Aldermaston milestone and our fellow WILPFers from Norwich passed by our spot and stopped for a chat and photos. The event was inspired by Jaine Rose of Wool Against Weapons and supported by Action AWE and CND.  The scarf will be repurposed into blankets for humanitarian aid, including projects in Tanzania, Uganda, Syria and the UK. Click for photos of this event

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