A group of LAOD supporters arrived in Leicester at 8.00am to get on the coach to Lancashire on a cold February morning. We travelled to Preston New Road to march peacefully in solidarity with the people of Lancashire as a sign of support to them and a way of showing Cuadrilla our opposition to fracking in Lancashire. It was a lovely supportive group and we had a very proactive/productive day.
The people from Preston were very welcoming with tea and cake. There were fantastic speeches and a long walk down Preston New Road to the fracking site accompanied by masses of police. We threw red roses over the fence onto the working site in memory of the beautiful field it once was, with cows grazing peacefully in it.
A big highlight was the singing – we sang all the way down PNR to the site and standing in front of a line of police and security guards sang songs of peace – ‘We are a gentle, angry people and we are singing, singing for our lives. We are an anti-fracking people and we are singing, singing for our lives…’ We were very lucky to have members of Red Leicester Choir with us – it was beautiful and brought tears to my eyes and to a few other people's as well. The songs are still reverberating in my head. An amazing day! Highlights of my day were the number of people driving past honking their horns as a sign of support to the rally - it was constant all day - even after people had been in long queues of traffic, they honked down the entire road and waved and shouted out of windows.
Report by Melanie Wakley, Leicester Friends of the Earth anti-fracking co-ordinator
