Children and adults light their lanterns for a procession starting from the Town Hall
Our second annual Earth Hour event at the Gill Nethercott Centre last night was a fantastic success.
The evening started with a candle-lit lantern procession from the Town Hall. Many locals, including our mayor, walked the short distance down Winchester Street with the chairman of Whitchurch Arts, Andrew Reeves-Hall, pushing a wheel-barrow that was filled with Earthy things, including a large ’60′ sign, representing the 60 minutes in Earth Hour to come later that evening.
Inside the Gill Nethercott Centre, visitors watched the 2010 Earth Hour video from the WWF on the Centre’s new video projection system, and then settled down to a delicious supper made by Kay, Alice and Beth. Then, it was time to put on our thinking caps to answer the various quiz questions. Our thanks go out to Christine Brown, Bethany Wright, and Ekaterina Popova for compiling the various quizzes; and a special thanks goes to Gillian Anderson for playing the piano in the dark for the musical round!
The town's mayor, Councillor Vince Bradbury, holds his lantern high
Around the world, at 8:30pm local time, people and businesses switched off their lights in a global event to raise awareness of climate change. Beth asked the Carnival Queen, Annabel Sankey, to do the honours alongside our town Mayor, Councillor Vince Bradbury; Keith Watts, B&DBC; Eric Dunlop, B&DBC; and, Sir George Young, MP. New this year was the total darkness in and around the Centre – Jean Watts flipped the switch to turn off the lights outside! Suddenly, just a few lanterns from the procession were all that lit the Centre.
The Carnival Queen, flanked by local and national politicans, switch off the Centre's lights at 8:30pm
Everyone’s eyes slowly adjusted to the new reality as the next round of the quiz got underway. It proved a challenge not only to read the questions but to write down the answers too. It all goes to show just how much we rely on lighting, let alone the raw materials that go into its production.
Two local musicians, Keith and Mick, then entertained us with their guitars and singing. Be sure to check them out every other Sunday down at the Bell pub.
Finally, it was the end of Earth Hour. Bethany asked if we should turn the lights back on… “No!” was the resounding reply.
At the end of the evening, John Buckley handed out the prizes for the Green Aware photography competition.
Congratulations to our quiz question winners, and to all who came out to celebrate Earth Hour together.
The Gill Nethercott Centre is plunged into darkness, lit only by candle lanters (and the occasional torch!)
Tags: Carnival Queen, Earth Hour, Gill Nethercott Centre, Keith Bell, Mayor, Sir George Young MP