Have Coach, Will Travel

On the 30th October 2024 Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) decided to have a demonstration in Parliament Square. This date coincided with the Chancellor announcing the budget details and was a good opportunity to remind the government of the outstanding WASPI issue.

Once the demonstration was announced there was enthusiasm to attend by around 25 women in the Devon WASPI group.

I got a quote from 3 different coach companies for a 53 seat luxury coach – this featured a toilet, extra leg room and air conditioning. All 3 companies were located near the starting pick up point. Price difference between different companies was hundreds of pounds so a very worthwhile exercise.

Before making a final decision I made contact with the lowest price option to ensure they would be able to cater for all our needs. I also selected five pick up points. These were as centrally based as possible along the route of the journey and were chosen to take account of parking, major routes from other locations and suitable for coaches including somewhere safe for a coach to stop. Once this was agreed and our needs agreed I booked Roselyn Coaches from Liskeard and Plymouth.

Pick up points were Plymouth, Newton Abbot. Exeter, Tiverton Parkway and Bristol.

Places were first offered to the Devon WASPI group and once wider interest in attending the demonstration started to grow I advertised on the WASPI Facebook page. The response was immediate and the coach filled up very quickly. I kept a waiting list and if someone dropped out I simply approached the next person on the list to offer a seat on the coach.

I appointed bus monitors for each pick up point. The main duty of bus monitors was to act as a mustering point and to inform the next bus monitor on the coach progress on the route. Bus monitors were given a list of passengers from their pick up point but it was made clear the coach would not be able to wait for late arrivals.

To calculate timings I used Google maps to establish journey times and added 20 minutes for each pick up point. I used the same method to calculate the full journey time and then discussed the timeframe with the coach company. This gave a start time of 05.30am (also known as half past dark) from Plymouth and an estimated arrival time of 12.00 noon in Westminster.

Never Stop Learning

The Never Stop Learning group firstly got together and reviewed what was missing from the learning offers available to adults today.  We concluded that it was the democratic model which was developed between learners and tutors by the WEA. It was a well known and much loved way to learn and the Never Stop Learning group say it is needed more than ever in these difficult times. In order to demonstrate how the traditional WEA model works best for learners, the group members researched and wrote up a great example of collective learning and action in 1970’s and ’80’s Washington New Town. The example focuses on teaching and learning developed by and for women.

Our Voices Were Heard

Elders Council members worked with Unfolding Theatre to express our genuine recollections of  events within the context of `Spirit of Rebellion’ and Protest.  We were able to incorporate our views and experiences from the 60s to the present day. We soon realised  that events of the past are mirrored in the present day.  We created a performance including well known songs, some with our revised lyrics, encouraging others to pick up the baton of protest.  Watch this short video to see what we achieved https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKUT4XjoVnM